• Updated

North Carolina Democrats have had success in winning elections for governor. It's a different story in Senate races. A former governor is out to change that when Roy Cooper takes on Republican Michael Whatley in November. Whatley was Donald Trump's national Republican Party chairman. Republicans want to frame Cooper as too far left for a state that Trump won three times. That tactic will test Cooper’s bond with voters established across four decades of winning campaigns. Cooper wants to turn that narrative on its head. He says Whatley is a tool of “well-connected friends in Washington” who can't effectively represent the state.

The long-held practice of faith leaders ministering to detained migrants has become far more contentious — and consequential — as detention numbers soar across the country during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Many of the clergy and volunteers from faiths as diverse as Catholic and Sikh say they are worried about inconsistent access and deteriorating conditions. And yet, they argue their role is vital not only to preserve the right to worship, but to remind migrants of their humanity and that they’re not forgotten. Groups of Christian clergy sued the government recently in Illinois and Minnesota after being denied access.

Newly released videos showing the fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by a federal immigration agent in Texas last year call into question assertions by the Department of Homeland Security that a driver intentionally rammed an agent with his car. The footage released Friday comes nearly a year after the death of 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez. His death was the earliest of at least six fatal shootings by federal agents since a nationwide immigration crackdown was launched in President Donald Trump’s second term. A friend who was riding in the car with Martinez told investigators the driver had not intended to harm federal officers but panicked because he feared getting arrested for driving while intoxicated.

Court documents say immigration authorities arrested a reporter for a Spanish-language news outlet in Tennessee without a warrant. But U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says in a court filing Friday that a valid arrest warrant was issued. Agents arrested Nashville Noticias reporter Estefany Rodriguez Florez during a traffic stop Wednesday. She is being detained by ICE’s enforcement and removal operations. Rodriguez has done stories critical of ICE. Her lawyers want her released. They say in court records that Rodriguez is a Colombian citizen who entered the U.S lawfully and has applied for political asylum and legal status through her husband, a U.S. citizen. A lawyer for ICE says her visa had expired.

  • Updated

The calls to 911 poured in from staff at Camp East Montana, the nation's largest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility, in its first months of operation in El Paso, Texas. The emergencies included repeated suicide attempts by detainees, seizures, injuries from fights and a pregnant woman in pain. Data from more than a hundred 911 calls obtained by The Associated Press, interviews with detainees and court filings offer a portrait of overcrowding, medical neglect, malnutrition and emotional distress. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson rejected claims of subprime conditions, saying detainees receive food, water and medical treatment in a facility that's regularly cleaned.

  • Updated

Muslims across the United States are observing Ramadan under rising fears tied to immigration raids, anti-Muslim rhetoric, and war in the Middle East. Community members in places like Paterson, New Jersey, and Minneapolis say many are striving to maintain the Ramadan spirit while grappling with myriad concerns affecting their communities. In Minnesota, an imam says a mosque has canceled communal iftar meals after local businesses took an economic hit from the federal government's immigration crackdown. National groups are sharing know-your-rights guidance for mosque leaders. Leaders also point to harsh anti-Muslim vitriol during the current election season. Even so, many communities keep praying, fasting and supporting one another.

  • Updated

Serious medical and mental health emergencies have been routine at the nation’s largest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility since its opening in August. Data from more than a hundred 911 calls at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, along with interviews and court filings, offer a disturbing portrait of overcrowding, medical neglect, malnutrition and emotional distress. Current and former detainees say they struggle to obtain health care as disease spreads, lose weight because of a lack of food, and fear security guards known to use force to put down disturbances. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson rejected claims of subprime conditions, saying Camp East Montana detainees receive food, water and medical treatment in a facility that is regularly cleaned.

After James Talarico won the Democratic Senate nomination in Texas, Republicans are racing to paint him as too progressive. Conservatives started flooding social media with old clips highlighting his comments on gender, immigration and race. Republican strategists believe they can use his comments as fodder for attack ads in the general election. On Wednesday, Talarico warned supporters that powerful elites will smear him because they find him threatening. Although Talarico gained prominence through viral videos, Republicans hope to use years of on-camera musings against him.

AP Top Story Wire
  • Updated

President Donald Trump has fired his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Trump said he was nominating Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin for the position in an announcement on social media on Thursday. The announcement came after Noem faced a two-day grilling on Capitol Hill from Republicans and Democrats and as Noem faced mounting criticism over her leadership of the Department of Homeland Security. Trump says he’ll make Noem a “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas.” Noem touted her achievements on social media and thanked Trump for the new role.