🚨🛂 Trump Administration Revokes Legal Status for 900,000 CBP One Migrants
🏞️🇺🇸 Eagle Pass Reclaims Shelby Park After Yearlong State Seizure for Border Security🎯🗳️ Democrats Target Rep. Monica De La Cruz’s South Texas Seat for 2026 Flip
🏞️🇺🇸 Eagle Pass Reclaims Shelby Park After Yearlong State Seizure for Border Security
Ayden Runnels, The Texas Tribune.– A year after Texas seized Shelby Park in Eagle Pass for its Operation Lone Star border mission, the 47-acre riverfront park has quietly reopened to the public. The state withdrew Department of Public Safety troopers and National Guard forces, citing a sharp drop in migrant crossings and crediting President Donald Trump’s policies.
Gov. Greg Abbott had used the park as a staging area, drawing backlash from local leaders and residents who likened the militarized space to a war zone. The park reopens as Texas pushes the Trump administration to reimburse the nearly $11 billion spent on the state-led border effort. While law enforcement has exited, barriers like shipping containers and razor wire still line the Rio Grande, leaving lasting marks on the public space.
🎯🗳️ Democrats Target Rep. Monica De La Cruz’s South Texas Seat for 2026 Flip
Jasper Scherer, The Texas Tribune.– National Democrats have again set their sights on flipping Texas’s 15th Congressional District, naming Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz’s South Texas seat as a top target for the 2026 midterms. It’s the only Texas district included in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s initial “Red to Blue” list and a rare competitive seat after GOP-led redistricting.
De La Cruz, who flipped the long-Democratic seat in 2022 and held it in 2024 with just 57% of the vote, will face renewed pressure from Democrats eager to reclaim ground along the U.S.-Mexico border. The district spans Hidalgo County through rural South Texas into Guadalupe County and is nearly 75% Hispanic. DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said De La Cruz “should be running scared,” accusing her of economic failures. The GOP, defending a slim House majority, also targets South Texas Democrats Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez in 2026.
🌳💧 Rebuilding the Thornforest: One Man’s Mission to Restore the Rio Grande Valley’s Lost Ecosystem
Laura Mallonee, Grist and The Texas Tribune.– Once blanketed by the lush Tamaulipan thornforest, South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley has seen more than 90% of that diverse ecosystem vanish. But Jon Dale, who started planting native trees as a teen birder in Harlingen, is working to reverse that loss. Now a director at American Forests, Dale is leading a regional effort to restore 81,444 acres of thornforest—enough to support endangered ocelots—while helping low-income communities combat climate change impacts like flooding and extreme heat.
Dale’s group has launched its first “community forest” in flood-prone San Carlos, using native trees to absorb stormwater and provide cooling shade. Their approach combines ecological restoration with climate resilience—planting drought-resistant species like Texas ebony and mesquite and shielding seedlings in protective tubes to boost survival. However, funding is tight: restoring just 800 acres costs $10 million, and the group warns that development pressure and rising temperatures could complicate reforestation efforts.
Despite challenges, Dale and his allies say the work is vital—not just to protect wildlife but to reconnect people with the region’s natural heritage. “This is going to enrich your life,” Dale says of the revived thorn forest, echoing his grandfather’s preacher-like passion for nature’s healing power.
🛂⚖️ Harris County DA Issues Witness ID Cards Amid Surge in Immigration Arrests
Anna-Catherine Brigida, Houston Landing.– In response to increased immigration detentions under President Donald Trump, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare has implemented a new policy to protect undocumented immigrant witnesses. Investigators are now directed to notify the DA’s general counsel if immigration authorities arrest a cooperating witness and to issue bilingual ID cards identifying individuals as key witnesses, including case information and a DA contact number.
The move follows high-profile cases like that of Carmelo Gonzalez, a Guatemalan immigrant and central witness in his daughter’s murder case, who was nearly deported by ICE earlier this year. Teare emphasized that while his office can’t control immigration outcomes, it must advocate for victims and ensure prosecutions aren’t jeopardized by fear of deportation.
The policy aims to bridge tensions between local law enforcement and federal immigration crackdowns, especially in Houston’s immigrant communities, where fear of ICE can hinder justice efforts. Despite state laws restricting sanctuary policies, the DA’s guidance highlights a commitment to prioritize public safety and support victims, even under legal constraints.
🚨🛂 Trump Administration Revokes Legal Status for 900,000 CBP One Migrants
Valerie Gonzalez, AP.– The Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that it has revoked temporary legal status for migrants who entered the U.S. under the Biden-era CBP One app, instructing them to leave the country “immediately.” More than 900,000 individuals had used the app to schedule entry at the southern border since January 2023, receiving two-year stays and work permits under humanitarian parole authority.
The revocations were communicated via email over the weekend, with DHS urging affected individuals to voluntarily self-deport using a new version of the app, now renamed CBP Home. “It’s time for you to abandon the United States,” read a termination notice sent to Honduran families.
The CBP One program was a centerpiece of President Joe Biden’s strategy to reduce unauthorized crossings by expanding legal pathways. President Trump ended new CBP One appointments on his first day in office and has since targeted nearly every parole program enacted under Biden, including one for over 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, which ends April 24.
Legal aid groups like Al Otro Lado report that families from Honduras, El Salvador, and Mexico are among those affected. Advocates warn the policy could endanger thousands now facing deportation after receiving prior legal authorization to stay.
🚨🎓 U.S. Colleges Alarmed as Student Visas Are Quietly Revoked Under Trump Administration
Annie Ma, Associated Press.– Colleges nationwide — including Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, Ohio State, and Michigan — are raising the alarm as international students unexpectedly lose legal residency status under a Trump administration crackdown. The revocations have come with little to no warning, upending students lives and creating fear on campuses already grappling with broader immigration enforcement actions.
Historically, losing a visa didn’t mean immediate deportation. But under new practices, revocation of student status means students must leave the U.S. immediately or risk detention. College officials report learning of these terminations only by checking Homeland Security's SEVIS database.
While some students involved in pro-Palestinian protests have been targeted — like Columbia University’s Mahmoud Khalil — others have had visas revoked over minor infractions or for unexplained reasons, college leaders and immigration advocates say the sudden, public removals are unprecedented and could deter future international applicants.
“This is something new,” said Sarah Spreitzer of the American Council on Education, citing the risk of sudden deportation. Schools are urging students to carry immigration documents at all times and re-evaluating travel guidance as fear and confusion spread across campuses.
⚖️🇺🇸 Supreme Court Greenlights Trump’s Use of 18th Century Law to Deport Venezuelans — But With Court Safeguards
Bridget Brown and Bernard McGhee, AP.– The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Trump administration can proceed with deporting Venezuelan migrants under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, a wartime-era law rarely invoked in modern times. However, the 5-4 decision mandates that migrants must be granted a court hearing before removal.
The ruling came amid intense scrutiny over President Trump’s use of the law to deport hundreds of Venezuelans — many accused of gang ties to Tren de Aragua — without due process. The court's majority said that while the administration can act under the old statute, individuals must be given “reasonable time” to challenge their removal in court.
The decision follows weeks of legal turmoil after deportation flights to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison continued even after a federal judge ordered them halted. Immigrant advocates say many deportees have no proven ties to criminal organizations and were swept up based on vague criteria like tattoos or clothing.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a fiery dissent, warned that the ruling opens the door to mass deportations without full constitutional protections, calling it "a dangerous precedent cloaked in national security."
The administration hailed the ruling as a victory for border enforcement, while civil rights groups pledged to keep challenging the underlying use of the Alien Enemies Act, last broadly used during WWII.