Bernardo Cruz
@brafacruz.bsky.social
Assistant County Attorney in El Paso; former immigrants' rights attorney @aclu in Texas
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
This unconstitutional power grab by the AG for prosecutorial records is unprecedented and should sound the alarm. Sensitive case information to include health records, sexual assault records, and other private information is at jeopardy.
elpasomatters.org/2025/05/16/e...
elpasomatters.org/2025/05/16/e...
El Paso, Travis counties sue Paxton over mandate giving AG access to prosecutors’ confidential records El Paso, Travis sue Texas AG over mandate giving access to prosecutors’ records- El Paso Matters
The new mandates are the latest move by the AG to investigate organizations and governments whose work conflicts with conservative political views.
elpasomatters.org
May 21, 2025 at 9:27 PM
This unconstitutional power grab by the AG for prosecutorial records is unprecedented and should sound the alarm. Sensitive case information to include health records, sexual assault records, and other private information is at jeopardy.
elpasomatters.org/2025/05/16/e...
elpasomatters.org/2025/05/16/e...
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
Operation Lone Star migrant trespass arrest program gone federal
This is playbook from Gov Abbott's arrests of migrants under Texas trespass law. In TX, to circumvent prohibition on state immigration enforcement. Here, to circumvent bar on military arrests of civilians
#txlege
This is playbook from Gov Abbott's arrests of migrants under Texas trespass law. In TX, to circumvent prohibition on state immigration enforcement. Here, to circumvent bar on military arrests of civilians
#txlege
Breaking news: The Justice Department has begun the first criminal prosecutions of migrants who breach a newly expanded military zone at the southern border that is patrolled by U.S. troops, threatening people with additional penalties for crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.
First migrants charged with entering restricted military zone at border
The Justice Department has begun the first criminal prosecutions of migrants who breach a newly expanded military zone at the southern border that is patrolled by U.S. troops.
www.washingtonpost.com
April 29, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Operation Lone Star migrant trespass arrest program gone federal
This is playbook from Gov Abbott's arrests of migrants under Texas trespass law. In TX, to circumvent prohibition on state immigration enforcement. Here, to circumvent bar on military arrests of civilians
#txlege
This is playbook from Gov Abbott's arrests of migrants under Texas trespass law. In TX, to circumvent prohibition on state immigration enforcement. Here, to circumvent bar on military arrests of civilians
#txlege
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
Some context on the Texas detention center, Bluebonnet, where currently held: it’s a black box.
It’s north of Abilene, huge, and really remote - in an area w no immigration attorneys.
Had largest COVID outbreak in country in spring 2020, but very few COVID habeas petitions - bc it was so isolated.
It’s north of Abilene, huge, and really remote - in an area w no immigration attorneys.
Had largest COVID outbreak in country in spring 2020, but very few COVID habeas petitions - bc it was so isolated.
🚨URGENT—Despite the Supreme Court declaring that it would be illegal to deport people under the Alien Enemies Act without giving them a meaningful chance to seek judicial review, the Trump admin is reportedly about to send a group of Venezuelans detained in Texas to El Salvador in a matter of hours!
April 18, 2025 at 5:47 AM
Some context on the Texas detention center, Bluebonnet, where currently held: it’s a black box.
It’s north of Abilene, huge, and really remote - in an area w no immigration attorneys.
Had largest COVID outbreak in country in spring 2020, but very few COVID habeas petitions - bc it was so isolated.
It’s north of Abilene, huge, and really remote - in an area w no immigration attorneys.
Had largest COVID outbreak in country in spring 2020, but very few COVID habeas petitions - bc it was so isolated.
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
We are here b/c there were no consequences for individual ICE & Border Patrol agents, officials, and US Attorneys who directly carried out or helped execute unconscionable acts -- from disappearing children from their parents for months, warrantless home raids, to shooting people across the border.
Leavitt confirmed that the WH is working on deporting US citizens to El Salvador
April 8, 2025 at 8:05 PM
We are here b/c there were no consequences for individual ICE & Border Patrol agents, officials, and US Attorneys who directly carried out or helped execute unconscionable acts -- from disappearing children from their parents for months, warrantless home raids, to shooting people across the border.
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
What happens when ICE encounters the illegal idea of the government stopping ideas from crossing the border???
April 10, 2025 at 7:03 PM
What happens when ICE encounters the illegal idea of the government stopping ideas from crossing the border???
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
Extremely troubling. The Texas AG's website lists DOB and license plate numbers as mandatorily confidential:
www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/open-governm...
& at odds w Mayor Whitmire's claim that Houston wouldn't work w ICE on immigration enforcement
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
#txlege
www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/open-governm...
& at odds w Mayor Whitmire's claim that Houston wouldn't work w ICE on immigration enforcement
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
#txlege
April 5, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Extremely troubling. The Texas AG's website lists DOB and license plate numbers as mandatorily confidential:
www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/open-governm...
& at odds w Mayor Whitmire's claim that Houston wouldn't work w ICE on immigration enforcement
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
#txlege
www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/open-governm...
& at odds w Mayor Whitmire's claim that Houston wouldn't work w ICE on immigration enforcement
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
#txlege
Excited to see my former colleague doing such important work!
On the National Constitution Center's We the People podcast this week -
I discussed our Campaign Legal Center lawsuit challenging Elon Musk & DOGE's lawless actions to cancel federal grants & contracts, reduce the federal workforce, & more:
constitutioncenter.org/news-debate/...
I discussed our Campaign Legal Center lawsuit challenging Elon Musk & DOGE's lawless actions to cancel federal grants & contracts, reduce the federal workforce, & more:
constitutioncenter.org/news-debate/...
Is DOGE Breaking the Law?
Podcast for Is DOGE Breaking the Law? from the National Constitution Center
constitutioncenter.org
March 17, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Excited to see my former colleague doing such important work!
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
False claim of immigration "invasion" underpins EO invoking Alien Enemies Act.
How we got here: Starting in 2021, former Trump admin & Texas state & local officials pushed this idea - grounded in white supremacist "great replacement" conspiracy
More here👇
www.justsecurity.org/91700/the-bi...
How we got here: Starting in 2021, former Trump admin & Texas state & local officials pushed this idea - grounded in white supremacist "great replacement" conspiracy
More here👇
www.justsecurity.org/91700/the-bi...
The Biden Administration Must Use Civil Rights Enforcement to Push Back Against Texas’s Racist Invocation of Invasion
Texas Governor Greg Abbott's invocation of "invasion" is based in the white supremacist "great replacement" conspiracy theory.
www.justsecurity.org
March 15, 2025 at 10:32 PM
False claim of immigration "invasion" underpins EO invoking Alien Enemies Act.
How we got here: Starting in 2021, former Trump admin & Texas state & local officials pushed this idea - grounded in white supremacist "great replacement" conspiracy
More here👇
www.justsecurity.org/91700/the-bi...
How we got here: Starting in 2021, former Trump admin & Texas state & local officials pushed this idea - grounded in white supremacist "great replacement" conspiracy
More here👇
www.justsecurity.org/91700/the-bi...
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
Our Campaign Legal Center lawsuit on behalf of organizations of everyday Americans harmed by Elon Musk and DOGE's lawless seizure of power over federal spending, federal agencies, & federal workers 👇👇
campaignlegal.org/sites/defaul...
campaignlegal.org/sites/defaul...
March 5, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Our Campaign Legal Center lawsuit on behalf of organizations of everyday Americans harmed by Elon Musk and DOGE's lawless seizure of power over federal spending, federal agencies, & federal workers 👇👇
campaignlegal.org/sites/defaul...
campaignlegal.org/sites/defaul...
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
“If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me.”
static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics...
All of this. All. Of. It.
static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics...
All of this. All. Of. It.
February 14, 2025 at 4:08 PM
“If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me.”
static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics...
All of this. All. Of. It.
static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics...
All of this. All. Of. It.
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
Today, the Florence Project and eight partner organizations, represented by Gibson Dunn, sued the federal government in response to the stop work order that shut down critical legal access programs for immigrants, including our Legal Orientation Program (LOP) services.
January 31, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Today, the Florence Project and eight partner organizations, represented by Gibson Dunn, sued the federal government in response to the stop work order that shut down critical legal access programs for immigrants, including our Legal Orientation Program (LOP) services.
El Paso County supports multiple efforts to stop President Trump’s unlawful executive order limiting birthright citizenship.
January 29, 2025 at 6:42 PM
El Paso County supports multiple efforts to stop President Trump’s unlawful executive order limiting birthright citizenship.
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
🚨 BREAKING: OMB has just issued a memo *rescinding* the previous memo freezing all federal financial assistance programs.
Full text, per government source:
Full text, per government source:
January 29, 2025 at 5:48 PM
🚨 BREAKING: OMB has just issued a memo *rescinding* the previous memo freezing all federal financial assistance programs.
Full text, per government source:
Full text, per government source:
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
Hi @mattyglesias.bsky.social @daralind.bsky.social – really alarmed by mainstreaming of legally fringe “invasion” theory on this pod. It's rooted in white supremacist "great replacement" conspiracy theory
"Invasion" rejected by courts, & rhetoric has fueled violence inc 2019 El Paso shooting. 🧵:
"Invasion" rejected by courts, & rhetoric has fueled violence inc 2019 El Paso shooting. 🧵:
January 25, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Hi @mattyglesias.bsky.social @daralind.bsky.social – really alarmed by mainstreaming of legally fringe “invasion” theory on this pod. It's rooted in white supremacist "great replacement" conspiracy theory
"Invasion" rejected by courts, & rhetoric has fueled violence inc 2019 El Paso shooting. 🧵:
"Invasion" rejected by courts, & rhetoric has fueled violence inc 2019 El Paso shooting. 🧵:
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
Trump’s DOJ is making baseless threats to bully states into facilitating his cruel immigration policies. The truth is states have a constitutional right to opt out of mass deportation. Ignore the political bluster and read the actual law on this: www.aclu.org/documents/ac...
ACLU Letter and Memo on the Trump Administration’s Legally Baseless Threats Against State and Local Officials | American Civil Liberties Union
www.aclu.org
January 24, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Trump’s DOJ is making baseless threats to bully states into facilitating his cruel immigration policies. The truth is states have a constitutional right to opt out of mass deportation. Ignore the political bluster and read the actual law on this: www.aclu.org/documents/ac...
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
What Just Happened: Sanctuary Policies and the DOJ Memo’s Empty Threat of Criminal Liability
by Ahilan Arulanantham (@ahilantoolong.bsky.social)
#SanctuaryCities #immigration #Federalism
by Ahilan Arulanantham (@ahilantoolong.bsky.social)
#SanctuaryCities #immigration #Federalism
Sanctuary Policies and the DOJ Memo’s Empty Threat of Criminal Liability
A leading expert analyzes the Justice Department threat to prosecute state and local officials in sanctuary cities.
www.justsecurity.org
January 23, 2025 at 9:03 PM
What Just Happened: Sanctuary Policies and the DOJ Memo’s Empty Threat of Criminal Liability
by Ahilan Arulanantham (@ahilantoolong.bsky.social)
#SanctuaryCities #immigration #Federalism
by Ahilan Arulanantham (@ahilantoolong.bsky.social)
#SanctuaryCities #immigration #Federalism
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
Just a reminder: as a lawyer you don’t have to do immoral things for the client. You can quit.
BREAKING, via The Seattle Times: Trump's executive order to restrict birthright citizenship is blocked for at least the next two weeks by a Reagan appointee in Seattle who eviscerated the Trump lawyers present defending the order. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
January 23, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Just a reminder: as a lawyer you don’t have to do immoral things for the client. You can quit.
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
Trump's "invasion" executive order directs military to "repel" migrants at the border
This extreme idea is from Russ Vought, OMB nominee who says he's a "Christian nationalist," & Ken Cuccinelli. Pushed in AZ & TX for years
And in TX, an org tied to Nick Fuentes strongly backed this at #txlege 👇
This extreme idea is from Russ Vought, OMB nominee who says he's a "Christian nationalist," & Ken Cuccinelli. Pushed in AZ & TX for years
And in TX, an org tied to Nick Fuentes strongly backed this at #txlege 👇
White Supremacist Conspiracy Theory Is Fueling Extreme Border Policy in Texas
A new Texas bill would give state and local police the power to unilaterally remove people they believe to be undocumented from the U.S.
www.justsecurity.org
January 24, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Trump's "invasion" executive order directs military to "repel" migrants at the border
This extreme idea is from Russ Vought, OMB nominee who says he's a "Christian nationalist," & Ken Cuccinelli. Pushed in AZ & TX for years
And in TX, an org tied to Nick Fuentes strongly backed this at #txlege 👇
This extreme idea is from Russ Vought, OMB nominee who says he's a "Christian nationalist," & Ken Cuccinelli. Pushed in AZ & TX for years
And in TX, an org tied to Nick Fuentes strongly backed this at #txlege 👇
Removing these protections weakens community trust in law enforcement and the rest of the local justice system.
Our schools, courthouses, hospitals, and churches have long served as safe havens for those seeking education, justice, help and solace. Removing those protections harms entire communities. We stand ready to fight back.
January 24, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Removing these protections weakens community trust in law enforcement and the rest of the local justice system.
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
Our schools, courthouses, hospitals, and churches have long served as safe havens for those seeking education, justice, help and solace. Removing those protections harms entire communities. We stand ready to fight back.
January 24, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Our schools, courthouses, hospitals, and churches have long served as safe havens for those seeking education, justice, help and solace. Removing those protections harms entire communities. We stand ready to fight back.
I’m guessing we’ll see at least one of those in Texas.
! The Trump administration wants ICE to build four detention centers each with 10,000 bed capacity. Only the LA County Jail and Rikers are larger, and that's about the size of the Cook County and Harris County jails.
That would cost tens of billions and require thousands of new personnel.
That would cost tens of billions and require thousands of new personnel.
January 23, 2025 at 5:16 AM
I’m guessing we’ll see at least one of those in Texas.
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
This is flatly, fragrantly, illegal. www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-d...
U.S. border agents told to summarily deport migrants without asylum hearings under Trump edict
U.S. border agents have been instructed to summarily deport migrants crossing into the country illegally without allowing them to request legal protection.
www.cbsnews.com
January 22, 2025 at 5:35 PM
This is flatly, fragrantly, illegal. www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-d...
Reposted by Bernardo Cruz
Sharing an incredible resource for people looking to follow the legal changes on immigration under Trump. A law professor and numerous students at Yale Law and Stanford Law will be tracking and summarizing every change in immigration policy. immpolicytracking.org/home/
Immigration Policy Tracking Project
A comprehensive and dynamic catalogue of immigration policies issued by the Trump administration since January 2017.
immpolicytracking.org
January 19, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Sharing an incredible resource for people looking to follow the legal changes on immigration under Trump. A law professor and numerous students at Yale Law and Stanford Law will be tracking and summarizing every change in immigration policy. immpolicytracking.org/home/