๏ฟฝ๐ Cartels Target Migrants in Northern Mexico, Holding Them for Ransom as Border Threats Rise
๐๐๏ธ Elon Musk Proposes New Texas Town, Starbase, with SpaceX Employees Leading the Way ๐๐ผ Trumpโs Mass Deportation Plans Face Realities as ICE Operations Struggle with Limited Resources
๐๐ Dear Border Center News Readers,
As the year draws to a close, we want to take a moment to express our heartfelt thanks for your continued support and engagement. Your interest in the issues that shape the U.S.-Mexico border has helped make this community stronger and more informed. We couldn't do this without you!
We wish you the very best in the coming year, filled with peace, prosperity, and progress.
Please note that Border Center News will be taking a short break to recharge and reflect. We'll be back with fresh content on January 2nd, 2025.
Thank you again for being part of our journey, and we look forward to bringing you more in-depth analysis and news in the new year.
Warm regards,
The Border Center News Team
๐ Cartels Target Migrants in Northern Mexico, Holding Them for Ransom as Border Threats Rise
Anna-Catherine Brigida, Houston Landing.- Migrants in northern Mexico, particularly in cities like Reynosa, face increasing threats of kidnapping, especially as they wait for appointments via the CBP One app. Cartels, including the Gulf Clan, are exploiting the vulnerability of migrants, targeting them for ransom payments ranging from $1,500 to $5,000. This trend has worsened, with kidnappings escalating in the past year as cartels turn to extortion. One migrant, D, described the harrowing experience of being kidnapped with her family on a bus. Such incidents are becoming more common, especially as cartel violence spikes in response to U.S. immigration policies. Advocates warn that the upcoming administrationโs policies could exacerbate the danger for migrants. While the Mexican government has increased enforcement efforts, migrants are still caught in the crossfire of criminal organizations as they attempt to navigate a dangerous borderland.
Central Statistics:
Kidnapping Ransom: Migrants pay between $1,500 and USD 5,000 for release.
Targeted Migrants: About 1 in 10 kidnapping victims in northern Mexico are migrants.
Migrants Waiting for CBP One: Several cases involve migrants waiting for CBP One appointments.
Cities Affected: Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Ciudad Juรกrez are major hotspots for kidnappings.
Duration of Captivity: Migrants are held for 1 week to 3 months before release.
๐๐๏ธ Elon Musk Proposes New Texas Town, Starbase, with SpaceX Employees Leading the Way
J. David Goodman, The New York Times.- Elon Muskโs vision for a new town in Texas, named Starbase, has taken a significant step forward with a formal petition filed by SpaceX employees. The town, located near SpaceX's Boca Chica launch site in South Texas, is planned to house around 500 residents, many of whom work for Musk's companies. The proposal suggests a small, company-dominated community of 1.5 square miles, with SpaceXโs security manager, Gunnar Milburn, as the potential mayor. SpaceX owns most of the real estate in the area and provides essential services to its employees. While the rationale behind the townโs creation remains unclear, advocates hope it will be a model for future cities. The petition now awaits legal review by Cameron County officials, with an election for city officials potentially set for next year.
Central Statistics:
Proposed Population: Around 500 inhabitants, with at least 219 primary residents and more than 100 children.
Area Size: 1.5 square miles, slightly larger than Central Park.
SpaceX Employment: Nearly all residents work for SpaceX or have family members employed by the company.
Real Estate Ownership: SpaceX owns almost all real property in the proposed Starbase area.
Potential Mayor: Gunnar Milburn, SpaceXโs security manager.
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๐๐ผ Trumpโs Mass Deportation Plans Face Realities as ICE Operations Struggle with Limited Resources
Rebecca Santana, Associated Press.- As President-elect Donald Trump readies his return to office with promises of mass deportations, the reality of carrying out such an ambitious plan is becoming clear. A ride-along with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in New York highlights the challenges facing agents targeting specific individuals, such as those convicted of serious crimes. While ICE has a long list of targets, staffing limitations, sanctuary policies in certain cities, and the complexity of tracking down individuals in the U.S. legally complicate efforts. Despite the rhetoric of large-scale removals, ICE agents are focused on specific individuals, with the backlog of deportation orders far outnumbering the number of officers. Advocacy groups express concerns over the potential impact on immigrant communities, as critics fear that mass deportations could lead to collateral arrests, undermining community trust.
Central Statistics:
Deportation Target List: 1.4 million people have final removal orders, with 660,000 under supervision.
ICE Staffing: 6,000 ICE officers monitor noncitizens, but staffing is about 30% lower than needed.
Deportation Numbers: ICE deported 270,000 individuals in the past 12 months, the highest total in a decade.
Criminal Backgrounds: Most recent ICE arrests involve individuals with serious criminal convictions.
Backlog of Deportation Orders: The deportation caseload for ICE currently stands at 7.6 million cases.
๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐บ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐๐: ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ฃ'๐ ๐๐บ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐น๐๐
Nearly half of Republican votersโand their messianic figurehead, Donald Trumpโare openly embracing one of the darkest chapters of modern history, endorsing policies that echo the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II or, worse, the grotesque state-led oppression seen in totalitarian regimes. According to a pollโconducted by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI)โa staggering 56% of GOP voters support rounding up undocumented immigrants and locking them in military-run detention camps.
This chilling endorsement is not just a reflection of Trumpโs authoritarian rhetoric but a damning indictment of his base, a faction increasingly divorced from democratic norms and unbothered by the stench of militarized xenophobia. These votersโclaiming the mantle of โpatriotismโโapparently believe that tanks and armed soldiers should police their imagined racial purity.
Even Robert P. Jones, the president of PRRI, admitted to feeling a kind of moral nausea at having to ask these questions in the first place, yet here we are. Trumpโs playbook of exploiting baseless fear and resentment to target vulnerable populations seems to be working, with his supporters willing to abandon reason, humanity, and basic arithmetic (since there are far fewer undocumented immigrants than Trump falsely claims).
Trumpโs ludicrous suggestion of deporting 21 million peopleโa number he manufactured out of thin airโis as impractical as it is draconian, requiring a network of camps and a military apparatus that reeks of fascist ambition. Worse, this same demographic cheers him on as he hints at using the military not just against immigrants but against his political enemiesโactivists, journalists, and anyone daring to challenge his authorityโwhom he ominously calls โthe enemy within.โ
What does it say about a political party when nearly half its members are comfortable aligning with policies that would necessitate military force, disregard civil liberties, and perpetuate human suffering on an industrial scale? This isnโt just ignorance; itโs a willful embrace of authoritarian cruelty. If these are the policies Trump and his supporters celebrate, then they are not conservativesโthey are extremists masquerading as patriots, and they represent a grave threat to the ideals America claims to stand for.
https://substack.com/@patricemersault