Dallas Observer | The Leading Independent News Source in Dallas, Texas

A program that keeps undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions detained in local jails is snaring those without records.

Local ICE Partnerships Are Supposed to Target Criminals. In North Texas, They Rarely Do.

By Michael Murney

Jul 14, 2021

During a meeting with several sheriffs of border counties this past weekend, Gov. Greg Abbott said he wants the state to give more money to bankroll local law enforcement in enforcing immigration laws. "Our goal is not to release them," the governor said. "Our goal is to jail them." Enforcing immigration...

CPAC attendees were told that the liberals wanted to indoctrinate their kids with critical race theory, take their guns away through door-to-door vaccine distribution, steal elections and flood the country with illegal immigrants.

CPAC in Dallas Was a Different Kind of Strange

By Jacob Vaughn

Jul 12, 2021

Overall, the event, which would be capped off with a speech from the former president, seemed like a watered down version of the Q-affiliated For God & Country Patriot Roundup event in Dallas over Memorial Day weekend.

QAnon acolytes gather outside the Omni Dallas Hotel for Q Con over Memorial Day Weekend.

CPAC Is Coming to Dallas This Weekend. Will QAnon Be on the Program?

By Jacob Vaughn

Jul 6, 2021

July 9-11, conservatives will be at Dallas’ Hilton Anatole hotel, where the American Conservative Union is holding "America UnCanceled."

In April, a 'White Lives Matter' rally in Fort Worth only managed to attract a handful of supporters

‘They Need to Go Home’: Neo-Nazis Can’t Find a Warm Welcome at Texas Rallies

By Steven Monacelli

Jun 14, 2021

When a group of White Lives Matter demonstrators showed up in the small town of Centerville, they didn't find the warm welcome they were hoping for.

The new federal public charge rule is causing fear and confusion among immigrant families in Texas.

Dallas Officials Received Dozens of Anti-Immigrant Emails Over Boys at Convention Center

By Jacob Vaughn

Jun 4, 2021

The emails often referred to the teen boys as “aliens,” “infectious” and potential criminals.

The conspiracy theory revolves around the idea that the so-called “deep state” is controlled by pedophile Hollywood elites and powerful Democratic politicians, all of whom are supposedly acting against the former president.

At Dallas QAnon Convention, Conspiracy Theories Run Wild and Reporters Kicked Out

By Jacob Vaughn

Jun 1, 2021

The faces behind the group are the couple John Sabal and his partner, Amy. On the social media platform Telegram, the two go by QAnon John and QueenAnon Amy.

The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center is now home to immigrant teenage boys.

Volunteers: Migrant Teens Held in Dallas Convention Center Feel Imprisoned

By Jacob Vaughn

May 13, 2021

The longer time goes on, the more the convention center feels like a jail to the boys.

Ken Paxton speaks at the Partnerships to Eradicate Human Trafficking in the Americas at the 2019 Concordia Americas Summit in Bogota, Colombia.

Ken Paxton Went to the Border to (Again) Blame Biden for Immigration Crisis

By Patrick Strickland

Apr 28, 2021

Ken Paxton traveled to Mission, Texas, on Wednesday to hold a press conference lamenting the Biden administration's immigration policies.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is in a political row with the Biden administration over a spike in migrant arrivals

Texas Officials Signed Last-Second Agreement to ‘Hamstring’ Biden Immigration Policies

By Patrick Strickland

Apr 17, 2021

Hoping to thwart Biden's immigration reforms, Louisiana, Texas and Arizona entered agreements with DHS during the last days of the Trump administration.

As Texas Republicans Blast Biden, the President Defends Border Policies

By Patrick Strickland

Mar 25, 2021

As arrivals on the southern border continue to swell, President Biden defended himself against Republican criticism.

In Dallas, Gov. Abbott Takes Aim at Biden Administration over Immigration

By Patrick Strickland

Mar 17, 2021

Texas officials have blamed the Biden administration for an uptick in arrivals on the border, a charge rejected by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Besides coordinating the lease of the facility, the city won’t be involved in the operation at all.

Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center To House 3,000 Immigrant Teens

By Jacob Vaughn

Mar 16, 2021

On Saturday, Homeland Security directed FEMA to support response for unaccompanied children. Around the same time, FEMA and U.S. Health and Human Services staff were on a tour of the convention center with Dallas’ Office of Emergency Management.

Dallasites are posting these stickers around the city to cover up white supremacist propaganda.

'Fascism Free Zone': Dallas Activists Counter Patriot Front's White Supremacist Propaganda

By Jacob Vaughn

Feb 25, 2021

A Dallas activist said they saw an uptick in Patriot Front propaganda going up in the city after the riot at the Capitol last month.

Dallas did not fare well in a study they conducted with the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin analyzing community inclusion.

High Marks for City Hall, but Livability and Jobs for Immigrants Need Boost, Study Says

By Jacob Vaughn

Aug 20, 2020

Until recently, Aaron Escajeda had never been to Dallas. He grew up in El Paso and worked at a settlement home, surrounding him in the flow of immigrants. So, when he came to the Big D with 15 of his classmates from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs...

Activists Want Tarrant County to Stop Doing ICE's Work For Them

By Tyler Hicks

Jul 16, 2020

On a humid Tuesday morning in mid June, more than 100 parents, daughters, sons and activists gathered on the steps of the Tarrant County courthouse. The county’s commissioners were convening for a vote on a controversial agreement between the sheriff’s office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and members of...

The U.S. Supreme Court voted Thursday to uphold the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Immigrant Advocates Across North Texas Celebrate Supreme Court's DACA Decision

By Simone Carter

Jun 19, 2020

The U.S. Supreme Court has been busy settling landmark cases this week. Monday, it ruled that gay and transgender people are protected from workplace discrimination under the Civil Rights Act. Thursday, it upheld the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which shields certain undocumented immigrants from deportation. Considering the court’s...

The COVID-19 pandemic is creating new worries for refugees in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Coronavirus Pandemic Creates New Worries for North Texas Refugees

By Tyler Hicks

May 15, 2020

Refugees in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and the organizations that work with them worry that the coronavirus pandemic and the economic turmoil it's causing will make life harder for an already-vulnerable group of people. “My parents’ work is no longer safe, and they don't have many hours to work,” says...

Women fleeing gender-based violence aren't considered a protected category under U.S. asylum law. A Dallas-based organization is looking to change that.

Dallas Immigration Advocates Seek to Protect Women Fleeing Gender Violence

By Meredith Lawrence

Mar 17, 2020

Growing up in Egypt, Sahar lived in a city near the sunny Mediterranean Sea. In the center of her hometown is a shrine to her great-grandfather, considered a saint in the Muslim faith. But her parents did not require her to wear a hijab, and her mother didn't wear the...

As Public Charge Rule Goes Into Effect, Disinformation and Fear Have Biggest Impact in Texas

By Meredith Lawrence

Feb 28, 2020

The new federal public charge rule took effect temporarily this week, significantly expanding the number of factors immigration authorities weigh when considering green card applications. While the new regulations will absolutely affect Dallas area green card applicants, immigration advocates caution that the rule applies to a very small number of...

Activists gathered at the U.S. Supreme Court last year ahead of an anticipated decision regarding the use of a citizenship question on the 2020 census.

Ahead of Census, Dallas-Area Immigration Groups Work to Allay Fears

By Meredith Lawrence

Feb 24, 2020

Many adults in the United States wrongly believe this year’s census will be about citizenship status, and some worry about participating because of it, according to two recent studies. Dallas-area immigrant and refugee organizations say that concern and confusion are symptomatic of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce immigration to...

Immigration

As ICE Broke Its Own Healthcare Protocols, Dozens of Immigrants Died in Detention

Exotic Cat Rancher Locked Up On Federal Gun Charges

I support

Keep Dallas Observer Free.

This Week's Issue