Ricky Garza
@rickygarza.bsky.social
A world beyond borders is possible. Civil rights lawyer in the RGV, Border Policy Counsel at Southern Border Communities Coalition. he/él Posts my own.
Reposted by Ricky Garza
This is important: "arrest" and "detain" are synonymous for all relevant purposes: both are government seizures of a person. Bureaucratic distinctions between them are just mouth-words for evading the basic requirements of a free people.
June 13, 2025 at 10:41 PM
This is important: "arrest" and "detain" are synonymous for all relevant purposes: both are government seizures of a person. Bureaucratic distinctions between them are just mouth-words for evading the basic requirements of a free people.
Reposted by Ricky Garza
The correct way to connect the authoritarian presence in LA and the Big Beautiful Bill is that the bill gives the government the resources to do this in dozens of cities at once. So if you don't like what's happening in LA, it's coming to your town if the bill passes.
June 9, 2025 at 5:54 PM
The correct way to connect the authoritarian presence in LA and the Big Beautiful Bill is that the bill gives the government the resources to do this in dozens of cities at once. So if you don't like what's happening in LA, it's coming to your town if the bill passes.
Reposted by Ricky Garza
Reposted by Ricky Garza
The soldiers are putting up razor wire. One holding a rifle asked me "What are you doing here?" & fist pumped me thru the slatted border wall as if we have a mutual interest in the military's endeavor. He was giddy. A superior quickly pulled him back & whispered something.
Cruel, deadly symbolism.
Cruel, deadly symbolism.
April 29, 2025 at 12:11 AM
The soldiers are putting up razor wire. One holding a rifle asked me "What are you doing here?" & fist pumped me thru the slatted border wall as if we have a mutual interest in the military's endeavor. He was giddy. A superior quickly pulled him back & whispered something.
Cruel, deadly symbolism.
Cruel, deadly symbolism.
Reposted by Ricky Garza
I've been to Dilley, the "family residential center" I think he's referring to.
It's a jail. They're surrounded by barbed wire fences and armed guards. It's a jail.
It's a jail. They're surrounded by barbed wire fences and armed guards. It's a jail.
Tom Homan spoke to local news about the children in his own town abducted by ICE: “First of all, the family is not in a jail. They’re in a family residential center, it’s an open air campus.”
Oh, ok.
Oh, ok.
Border czar Tom Homan speaks out about ICE sweep near Sackets
President Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, is speaking with 7News about an immigration case in his own backyard.
www.wwnytv.com
April 6, 2025 at 2:41 AM
I've been to Dilley, the "family residential center" I think he's referring to.
It's a jail. They're surrounded by barbed wire fences and armed guards. It's a jail.
It's a jail. They're surrounded by barbed wire fences and armed guards. It's a jail.
Reposted by Ricky Garza
Immense emergency response challenges have left some residents in the Rio Grande Valley stranded in flooded neighborhoods through Saturday night, as a disaster declaration by Gov. Abbott listed no new major deployments of personnel to the region. acrosstheamericas.substack.com/p/rio-grande...
Harlingen Mayor Urges Residents to Report Damage as Region Seeks FEMA Aid
Local leaders in the Rio Grande Valley call on residents to report property damage as they navigate lingering floodwaters, limited drainage options, and the slow path to federal aid.
acrosstheamericas.substack.com
March 30, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Immense emergency response challenges have left some residents in the Rio Grande Valley stranded in flooded neighborhoods through Saturday night, as a disaster declaration by Gov. Abbott listed no new major deployments of personnel to the region. acrosstheamericas.substack.com/p/rio-grande...
Reposted by Ricky Garza
a bunch of government goons from ICE/HSI showed up to an elementary school in DC this morning and tried to detain a staff member in the parking lot but the person's colleagues intervened and stopped it and let that be a reminder to all of us that we can do that
March 26, 2025 at 7:02 PM
a bunch of government goons from ICE/HSI showed up to an elementary school in DC this morning and tried to detain a staff member in the parking lot but the person's colleagues intervened and stopped it and let that be a reminder to all of us that we can do that
Reposted by Ricky Garza
For folks who don’t know, ethnic studies programs like African American/Africana Studies, Asian American Studies, Chicano Studies and the like come directly from civil right era campus activism. Attempts to disempower such programs should be framed as attacks on civil rights same as much else rn.
March 22, 2025 at 3:57 PM
For folks who don’t know, ethnic studies programs like African American/Africana Studies, Asian American Studies, Chicano Studies and the like come directly from civil right era campus activism. Attempts to disempower such programs should be framed as attacks on civil rights same as much else rn.
Reposted by Ricky Garza
The instinct to want things to just be normal is understandable but capitulation to avoid confrontation doesn’t get us there at all
March 21, 2025 at 10:04 PM
The instinct to want things to just be normal is understandable but capitulation to avoid confrontation doesn’t get us there at all
Reposted by Ricky Garza
abducted by masked agents of the state in the streets of the capital and slated for deportation for the offense of being linked to views
SCOOP: Hooded ICE agents snatched Indian-born Georgetown postdoc Badar Suri from Rosslyn street Monday, per court filing. Like Khalil, linked to pro-Palestinian views & Rubio 'foreign policy' power, lawyer says. Then whisked to Louisiana. w/ @kyledcheney www.politico.com/news/2025/03...
Trump is seeking to deport another graduate student who is legally in the country, lawsuit says
Badar Khan Suri, a fellow at Georgetown, says he is being punished because of the suspected views of his wife, a U.S. citizen with Palestinian heritage.
www.politico.com
March 20, 2025 at 3:49 AM
abducted by masked agents of the state in the streets of the capital and slated for deportation for the offense of being linked to views
Reposted by Ricky Garza
They are saying they can just put any regulation or policy into effect without ever having to go through the normal procedure. That means no right for the public to see these rules in advance or to comment on them.
That is definitely not permitted.
bsky.app/profile/trad...
That is definitely not permitted.
bsky.app/profile/trad...
Can you explain this in laymen’s term please? Thanks
March 13, 2025 at 7:32 PM
They are saying they can just put any regulation or policy into effect without ever having to go through the normal procedure. That means no right for the public to see these rules in advance or to comment on them.
That is definitely not permitted.
bsky.app/profile/trad...
That is definitely not permitted.
bsky.app/profile/trad...
Reposted by Ricky Garza
The US deports hundreds if not thousands of US citizens every year under every administration.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
March 11, 2025 at 2:25 AM
The US deports hundreds if not thousands of US citizens every year under every administration.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Ricky Garza
The arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil—a green card holder whose wife is eight months pregnant—is a blatant assault on the First Amendment and a sign of advancing authoritarianism under Trump. He must be released now.
This extreme escalation is an egregious violation of first amendment rights. Now is the moment to speak out and oppose this as fiercely and loudly as possible.
March 9, 2025 at 9:25 PM
The arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil—a green card holder whose wife is eight months pregnant—is a blatant assault on the First Amendment and a sign of advancing authoritarianism under Trump. He must be released now.
Reposted by Ricky Garza
This is why we must fight for everyone. Whether they’ve been incarcerated or have had contact with the criminal legal system or are merely undocumented. When you accept that some people are deserving of detention and deportation the scope of who is eligible is always under threat of expanding.
re the previous repost: if they can disappear permanent residents they can disappear citizens
March 9, 2025 at 11:48 PM
This is why we must fight for everyone. Whether they’ve been incarcerated or have had contact with the criminal legal system or are merely undocumented. When you accept that some people are deserving of detention and deportation the scope of who is eligible is always under threat of expanding.
Reposted by Ricky Garza
I don't know that I'll ever get used to concertina wire and armed soldiers on Main Street. This is what the future of the entire United States will look like if we don't start claiming our rights
March 4, 2025 at 12:15 AM
I don't know that I'll ever get used to concertina wire and armed soldiers on Main Street. This is what the future of the entire United States will look like if we don't start claiming our rights
Reposted by Ricky Garza
Left: February 7.
Right: February 23.
Right: February 23.
February 24, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Left: February 7.
Right: February 23.
Right: February 23.
Reposted by Ricky Garza
"Stop the Coup!"
Scene at Treasury.
Scene at Treasury.
February 4, 2025 at 9:46 PM
"Stop the Coup!"
Scene at Treasury.
Scene at Treasury.
Reposted by Ricky Garza
This is unironically good advice, if you've been putting off a Covid or flu shot for some reason, or really any immunization, now's a great time to see your doctor or stroll over to CVS
Get caught up on vaccinations asap
February 4, 2025 at 3:42 PM
This is unironically good advice, if you've been putting off a Covid or flu shot for some reason, or really any immunization, now's a great time to see your doctor or stroll over to CVS
February 2, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Reposted by Ricky Garza
A USAID HR director sent out this email today to staff letting them know he was placed on administrative leave.
“Today, representatives of the Agency's front office and DOGE instructed me to violate the due process of our employees by issuing immediate termination notices to a group of employees.”
“Today, representatives of the Agency's front office and DOGE instructed me to violate the due process of our employees by issuing immediate termination notices to a group of employees.”
January 31, 2025 at 1:08 AM
A USAID HR director sent out this email today to staff letting them know he was placed on administrative leave.
“Today, representatives of the Agency's front office and DOGE instructed me to violate the due process of our employees by issuing immediate termination notices to a group of employees.”
“Today, representatives of the Agency's front office and DOGE instructed me to violate the due process of our employees by issuing immediate termination notices to a group of employees.”
Reposted by Ricky Garza
"Guantanamo is and always has been a legal black hole where abuse runs rampant. It’s a stain on our nation’s history and has no business being used for detaining migrants or anyone else." -Raha Wala, NILC VP of Strategy & Campaigns
Trump orders opening of migrant detention center at Guantánamo Bay
Trump orders opening of migrant detention center at Guantánamo Bay
President signs executive order instructing preparation of facility to house 30,000 immigrants at US naval base in Cuba
* US politics – live
Donald Trump has signed an executive order to prepare a huge detention facility at Guantánamo Bay that he…
www.theguardian.com
January 30, 2025 at 12:31 AM
"Guantanamo is and always has been a legal black hole where abuse runs rampant. It’s a stain on our nation’s history and has no business being used for detaining migrants or anyone else." -Raha Wala, NILC VP of Strategy & Campaigns
Reposted by Ricky Garza
Migrants have been held at Guantanamo before — most significantly Haitians who were fleeing a military dictatorship in 1991. Recently, too, a small number was held at Guantanamo (<40 bw 2020-2023 per Hamed Aleaziz’s reporting from last year). So this would be a massive expansion.
Trump announces an executive order authorizing a 30,000 capacity migrant detention center in Guantanamo.
"Some of them are so bad we don't even trust the countries to hold them because we don't want them coming back, so we're going to send them out to Guatanamo Bay."
"Some of them are so bad we don't even trust the countries to hold them because we don't want them coming back, so we're going to send them out to Guatanamo Bay."
January 29, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Migrants have been held at Guantanamo before — most significantly Haitians who were fleeing a military dictatorship in 1991. Recently, too, a small number was held at Guantanamo (<40 bw 2020-2023 per Hamed Aleaziz’s reporting from last year). So this would be a massive expansion.
Reposted by Ricky Garza
A plea: Please at least attempt to verify before spreading information about supposed ICE / CBP raids, checkpoints, patrols, etc. I have seen so many posts and reports that have turned out to be completely false; spreading fear is exactly the objective, and you should ask yourself who you're helping
January 28, 2025 at 8:10 PM
A plea: Please at least attempt to verify before spreading information about supposed ICE / CBP raids, checkpoints, patrols, etc. I have seen so many posts and reports that have turned out to be completely false; spreading fear is exactly the objective, and you should ask yourself who you're helping
Reposted by Ricky Garza
A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans that could total trillions of dollars and cause disruptions in health care research, education programs, and other initiatives.
Via @bostonglobe.com
Via @bostonglobe.com
Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump’s federal funding freeze. Follow live updates. - The Boston Globe
US District Judge Loren L. AliKhan blocked the action, minutes before it was set to go into effect.
www.bostonglobe.com
January 28, 2025 at 10:22 PM
A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans that could total trillions of dollars and cause disruptions in health care research, education programs, and other initiatives.
Via @bostonglobe.com
Via @bostonglobe.com
Reposted by Ricky Garza
Trump’s unilateral decision to freeze federal funding is illegal. Unless MAGA concedes that he is our new King. If that's the case then ask them on the record.
January 28, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Trump’s unilateral decision to freeze federal funding is illegal. Unless MAGA concedes that he is our new King. If that's the case then ask them on the record.