The U.S. State Department has sent letters to Americans rescued abroad during the pandemic asking for repayment for the repatriation flights and threatening to withhold tax refunds or social security payments if the debt goes unpaid for months.
border
Posted in
Texas 2020 Elections
Analysis: Texans in many border counties voted for Donald Trump — and then for Democrats
Trump flipped a couple of historically Democratic counties on the Texas border this year. But in many cases, his showing didn’t benefit the other Republicans on the ticket.
Posted in
Texas 2020 Elections
Joe Biden’s struggles along the Texas border raise questions about Democrats’ outreach there
Democrats once again won a large number of counties along or near the Texas-Mexico border, but by narrower margins than in recent elections. That showing played a big role in disappointing results for the state’s Democrats.
Posted inState Government
President Trump can’t use $3.6 billion in military funds for border wall construction, federal court rules
The 2-1 decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes as $3.6 billion was slated for construction of about a dozen projects, including two projects in the Laredo and El Paso areas.
Posted in
The Texas Tribune-ProPublica Investigative Unit
Veteran, war hero, defendant, troll: Man who raised millions for border wall uses social media to attack his detractors
Brian Kolfage, who’s charged in a case where he’s accused of defrauding thousands in a “build the wall” effort, has used personal attacks and misinformation against perceived opponents.
Posted in
Texas 2020 Elections
Texas Democrats from the border team up for new PAC in effort to flip the state House
The group, Corazón de la Frontera PAC, is being organized by El Paso Rep. Joe Moody, the House speaker pro tem.
Posted in
The Texas Tribune-ProPublica Investigative Unit
Privately built border wall will fail, engineering report says
The report, set to be filed in federal court this week, confirms reporting from ProPublica and The Texas Tribune that found portions of the wall were in danger of overturning if not fixed due to extensive erosion just months after it was built.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
In an investigation tied to private border wall, federal prosecutors have Steve Bannon’s murky nonprofit in their sights
Tucked at the bottom of the long indictment against Bannon, prosecutors say they want to seize the assets of his nonprofit Citizens of the American Republic, shedding more light on the secretive political group’s finances.
Posted in
The Texas Tribune-ProPublica Investigative Unit
Nonprofit that financed a private border wall is now the focus of a corruption case
Investigators say fundraisers for nonprofit We Build the Wall, including Steve Bannon and founder Brian Kolfage, lied to donors and pocketed funds. Trump has tried to distance himself from the group but Kolfage has bragged about their ties.
Posted in
Immigration
Advocates urge a legal review of Trump’s immigration policies after report finds two top officials are not eligible to serve
A federal report determined that two Department of Homeland Security officials, including the acting secretary, aren’t legally qualified to hold those posts.
