Immigration

Yesterday afternoon, students from Lubbock’s Estacado High School and the Margaret Talkington School for Young Women Leaders walked out of their schools and down Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd to protest actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Our Brad Burt reports this comes after guidance from the Texas Education Agency outlined the consequences for students and teachers who participate in demonstrations during the school day.

Young Texans, including students in Lubbock, continued protests and walkouts over the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, despite threats from the governor and state education leadership.

Border wall projects could soon move forward in the remote Big Bend region of West Texas as part of the Trump administration's sweeping "Smart Wall" plan for the entire U.S.-Mexico border, according to officials and local residents who say construction firms have started contacting people in the area about the project.

The agreement with the Department of Justice and U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, filed in court Tuesday, settles the 2023 lawsuit alleging that owners of the development engaged in deceptive advertising and targeted Hispanic residents with predatory loans and seller-financed mortgages.

Officials said 18 cases of COVID-19 were also identified at the 5,000-bed tent Fort Bliss Army facility, where a Democratic congresswoman said many “chronic issues” persist.

Avian flu continues to spread among wild birds in and around Lubbock, with hundreds of dead geese collected in recent weeks, including near local lakes and water treatment facilities. Our reporter Bishop van Buren has more on the outbreak from Lubbock City Manager Jarrett Atkinson. New data finds that around 71,000 immigrants are being held in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention as of the end of January. Texas Public Radio's Marian Navarro reports the data shows around 74% of the detainees have no criminal conviction.

The University Interscholastic League, or UIL, officially revealed its new district alignments Monday, and our Bishop Van Buren has the details on the impact for Frenship High and Frenship Memorial High School. Meanwhile, San Antonio Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro is calling for a family immigrant detention center in the area to be shut down following two confirmed measles cases. Texas Public Radio's Marian Navarro reports doctors with UT Health San Antonio are also concerned with response and potential spread.

Lubbock community members and Texas Tech students rallied last Saturday to protest ICE as part of a national movement following fatal shootings by federal agents in Minneapolis, calling for solidarity, accountability, and limits on immigration enforcement in the region.

Hours after Midland High School students participated in a national anti-ICE protest movement last week, Midland ISD's police department shared a social media post asking for tips on who shared fliers advertising the event.

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro says a 5-year-old boy released from the Dilley family detention center is recovering, as confirmed measles cases there prompted a quarantine and renewed scrutiny of conditions inside the facility.