Out of Control
This is from a Chron editorial today:
After federal immigration agents fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo while he drove his van to work last week, Mayor John Whitmire said it fell on our federal partners, notably Texas’ two U.S. senators, to ensure a full and transparent investigation.
He should have called Maine instead.
After Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian immigrant, was killed by an immigration agent in a scenario similar to Salgado’s, Sen. Susan Collins picked up the phone and called Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and told him to put a stop to all non-urgent vehicle stops.
Duh. Collins is in a tough reelection fight. Democrats are going after her for her support of MAGA. Collins is fighting for her political life. This is about her political survival. It is not about doing the right thing. This is about MAGA DHS helping her out. Duh.
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Here is from Reuters:
BIDDEFORD, Maine, July 14 (Reuters) – The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has ordered its officers to suspend most vehicle stops around the country, after agents fatally shot two men six days apart during traffic stops in Texas and Maine, officials said on Tuesday.
The arsehole Tom Homan yesterday blamed Democrats for ICE thugs not having body cameras.
Yep. They know ICE is a loser in the eyes of most Americans. They are trying to figure out how to operate without pi__ing off Americans.
Then Donald Trump tweeted this early this morning:
“we CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!”
These guys are out of control.
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Here is the latest from the Chron on the response from H-Town Mayor John Whitmire:
Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Police Chief Noe Diaz on Tuesday asked the Texas Rangers to conduct an independent investigation into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents’ killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo last week, hours after the mayor and council faced public criticism for the city’s response to the shooting.
The request, outlined in a letter from Diaz posted on social media Tuesday night, marks the latest development in the city’s response to the July 7 shooting that has outraged Houstonians, prompting residents to hold vigils and protests over Salgado’s death at the hands of ICE agents during a traffic stop in Magnolia Park last Tuesday.
Diaz’s letter also was sent hours after Texas Department of Public Safety Director Freeman Martin disclosed that the rangers had not been asked to investigate the shooting in a way that would prompt their intervention. In a letter released Tuesday, Martin told a group of Houston-area lawmakers that while DPS investigates officer-involved shootings involving federal agents when asked, it “has not received a request from any local law enforcement agency or prosecutor to assist.”
“Mayor Whitmire and I are asking for the Texas Rangers to conduct their own investigation, which will ensure it is independent and transparent,” Diaz wrote in the letter posted Tuesday night. “This has been done in previous cases.”
Diaz said he met Tuesday with FBI officials at Whitmire’s direction and facilitated the attendance of the rangers, describing the meeting as an effort to enhance transparency and collaboration among local, state and federal authorities.
Stay tuned. We will see how the Rangers respond. And maybe how MAGA Gov. Greg Abbott responds.
This is like a game of chess. See the latest from the Chron:
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare is filing paperwork to get visas for the three men in Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s work van the morning of July 7 when he was shot by an ICE agent.
The move is meant to prevent the men, who were witnesses to the incident, from being deported while Teare’s office investigates the fatal shooting that has drawn national attention to Houston, sparking protests and calls for justice.
And this:
“We certified their U Visa requests determining that they are all three material witnesses to this case,” Teare said. “That is one of the first steps in the process to force the federal government to keep them here for the pendency of this case.”
The U nonimmigrant status, or U visa, is reserved for victims of certain crimes whose accounts may be helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity, according to ICE’s description of the visa.
Now let’s see how the State Department responds. Stay tuned again.
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I watched some of the public session at H-Town City Hall yesterday. See the featured photo. There was a lot of anger and passion in the City Council Chamber.
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As the World Cup comes down to the championship game this Sunday, I learned this fact from “Today” yesterday. 54,612 chicken tender orders were sold at Reliant Stadium during the seven World Cup games. Now you know.
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Yordan Alvarez got a base hit and scored the first run for the AL All Stars last night. The AL won 4-0.
The Astros get back in action this Friday evening at Daikin Park when we host the Orioles.