Francesca D'Annunzio
LightNews LightNews
banner
francescadnunz.bsky.social
Francesca D'Annunzio
@francescadnunz.bsky.social
2.9K followers 780 following 360 posts
Texas Observer investigative reporter covering the immigration enforcement, US-MX borderlands, AI surveillance tech, + extremism.

multilingual, nosy, and probably filing records requests

📩 [email protected]
https://linktr.ee/FrancescaDnunz
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
francescadnunz.bsky.social
Francesca D'Annunzio @francescadnunz.bsky.social · Oct 20
A decade ago, Douglas Menjivar became a whistleblower and activist after he was raped in ICE detention.

He married a US citizen, but wasn't able to get a green card.

In June, agents arrested him just before his 50th birthday. 🧵

www.texasobserver.org/trump-ice-ar...
Trump's ICE Arrested a Whistleblower Who Exposed Sexual Assault in Detention. Now, He’s Left the Country.
Douglas Menjivar is a survivor and activist. He’s also married to a U.S. citizen, but he was caught up in the president’s mass deportation agenda anyway.
www.texasobserver.org
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
kitoconnell.com
I'm here, I'm queer, I belong in Texas, too.

thebarbedwire.com asked me to take a moment to introduce myself, and why our state needs reporters like me, and media where we can see our stories reflected.

This one starts when I'm just 13 years old...
I’m a Trans Journalist Choosing to Live in Texas. Here’s Why That Matters.
My name is Kit O’Connell. I’ll be covering queer and trans life in Texas for Big & Bright — The Barbed Wire’s first underwritten vertical.
thebarbedwire.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:07 PM
francescadnunz.bsky.social
UPDATE: I re-requested a bunch of records about the Hays County multi-agency raid, since the only criminal charges were dropped in October.

DPS declined to release more records, citing an ongoing FBI investigation.

www.texasobserver.org/prosecutors-...
Prosecutors Drop Only Criminal Cases from Hays County Airbnb Raid
Pending drug charges have been abandoned from the multi-agency April operation that supposedly targeted Tren de Aragua and led to multiple deportations.
www.texasobserver.org
November 21, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
stevanzetti.bsky.social
If you follow my work you know that I often ask my audience to support my journalism. This time, it's different. My fiancee's mother has been diagnosed with stage IV cancer. She's on fixed income and we had to relocate her to Dallas for care. She needs your help.

www.gofundme.com/f/extend-pat...
Donate to Extend Patti's Joyful Life Amidst Cancer Fight, organized by Kaitlin Siebert
On October 30th, 2025, my mom, Patti, was diagnosed with stage IV color… Kaitlin Siebert needs your support for Extend Patti's Joyful Life Amidst Cancer Fight
www.gofundme.com
November 19, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
stevanzetti.bsky.social
Last Thanksgiving, two Dallas Police officers knocked on my door, citing a tip from the FBI national threat operations center that I was beating my girlfriend. The incident report confirms this. Today, I obtained a file from the FBI via FOIA that states the FBI has no record of receiving such a tip.
A screenshot of the Dallas Police incident report A screenshot of the FBI report
November 18, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
karenattiah.bsky.social
A reminder that seven years ago almost to the day, the CIA determined that Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the killing of @washingtonpost.com journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination
Audio recordings, intercepted phone calls and other intelligence link Mohammed bin Salman to killing that Saudis say was conducted by rogue elements.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:05 PM
francescadnunz.bsky.social
In April, state + fed police raided a bday party near Austin, arresting ~50 people including nine kids.

Cops claimed w/o evidence they’d busted a Tren de Aragua gathering, + only charged two people w/ a crime.

Now, the local DA has dropped both charges
www.texasobserver.org/prosecutors-...
Prosecutors Drop Only Criminal Cases from Hays County Airbnb Raid
Pending drug charges have been abandoned from the multi-agency April operation that supposedly targeted Tren de Aragua and led to multiple deportations.
www.texasobserver.org
November 13, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
melissa-sanchez.bsky.social
You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants.

We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.

www.propublica.org/article/chic...
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
November 13, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
francescadnunz.bsky.social
NEW: The notorious 287(g) task force program has finally reached the Texas Department of Public Safety, raising fears of widespread racial profiling.

In other words: Texas is deputizing some of its state officers to act as roving ICE agents.

www.texasobserver.org/texas-dps-28...
Texas Turns Its Sprawling State Police Force Into Immigration Agents for Trump
The notorious 287(g) task force program has finally reached DPS, raising fears of widespread racial profiling.
www.texasobserver.org
November 4, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
BIG news for Texas. State troopers in Texas will now have the authority to make immigration arrests, same as ICE and Border Patrol.

Whether this means all state troopers, or only a subset of officers, will get trained and authorized to carry out this duty remains to be seen.
francescadnunz.bsky.social Francesca D'Annunzio @francescadnunz.bsky.social · 21d
NEW: The notorious 287(g) task force program has finally reached the Texas Department of Public Safety, raising fears of widespread racial profiling.

In other words: Texas is deputizing some of its state officers to act as roving ICE agents.

www.texasobserver.org/texas-dps-28...
Texas Turns Its Sprawling State Police Force Into Immigration Agents for Trump
The notorious 287(g) task force program has finally reached DPS, raising fears of widespread racial profiling.
www.texasobserver.org
November 5, 2025 at 12:01 AM
francescadnunz.bsky.social
NEW: The notorious 287(g) task force program has finally reached the Texas Department of Public Safety, raising fears of widespread racial profiling.

In other words: Texas is deputizing some of its state officers to act as roving ICE agents.

www.texasobserver.org/texas-dps-28...
Texas Turns Its Sprawling State Police Force Into Immigration Agents for Trump
The notorious 287(g) task force program has finally reached DPS, raising fears of widespread racial profiling.
www.texasobserver.org
November 4, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
josephcox.bsky.social
New incredible detail here: ICE says a match in its facial recognition app Mobile Fortify is a "definitive" determination of a person's status, and that this overrides birth certificates. This is an app ICE is using in the field to scan people

www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
Ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee Bennie G. Thompson said in a statement “Mobile Fortify is a dangerous tool in the hands of ICE, and it puts American citizens at risk of detention and even deportation.” He also said “ICE officials have told us that an apparent biometric match by Mobile Fortify is a ‘definitive’ determination of a person’s status and that an ICE officer may ignore evidence of American citizenship—including a birth certificate—if the app says the person is an alien. ICE using a mobile biometrics app in ways its developers at CBP never intended or tested is a frightening, repugnant, and unconstitutional attack on Americans’ rights and freedoms.”
October 29, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
francescadnunz.bsky.social
A decade ago, Douglas Menjivar became a whistleblower and activist after he was raped in ICE detention.

He married a US citizen, but wasn't able to get a green card.

In June, agents arrested him just before his 50th birthday. 🧵

www.texasobserver.org/trump-ice-ar...
Trump's ICE Arrested a Whistleblower Who Exposed Sexual Assault in Detention. Now, He’s Left the Country.
Douglas Menjivar is a survivor and activist. He’s also married to a U.S. citizen, but he was caught up in the president’s mass deportation agenda anyway.
www.texasobserver.org
October 20, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
mckenziefunk.com
Panicked kidnapping reports during immigration raids in Santa Ana:

“He’s bleeding,” one 911 caller said. “They dumped him into a white van. It doesn’t say ICE”...

Another: “Should we just run?”

New story by @davidmcswane.bsky.social and @hannahallam.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/trum...
How Trump is Building a Violent, Shadowy Federal Police Force
Trump’s DHS appointees have dismantled civil rights guardrails, protected agents’ anonymity and encouraged them to wear masks, threatened groups that stood in their way, and overwhelmed legal challeng...
www.propublica.org
October 21, 2025 at 12:09 AM
francescadnunz.bsky.social
A decade ago, Douglas Menjivar became a whistleblower and activist after he was raped in ICE detention.

He married a US citizen, but wasn't able to get a green card.

In June, agents arrested him just before his 50th birthday. 🧵

www.texasobserver.org/trump-ice-ar...
Trump's ICE Arrested a Whistleblower Who Exposed Sexual Assault in Detention. Now, He’s Left the Country.
Douglas Menjivar is a survivor and activist. He’s also married to a U.S. citizen, but he was caught up in the president’s mass deportation agenda anyway.
www.texasobserver.org
October 20, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
texasobserver.org
New from @francescadnunz.bsky.social: It was two days before his 50th birthday and he already had plans to celebrate with his wife, a U.S. citizen. Instead, ICE placed him in a detention center he once protested against.
Trump's ICE Arrested a Whistleblower Who Exposed Sexual Assault in Detention. Now, He’s Left the Country.
Douglas Menjivar is a survivor and activist. He’s also married to a U.S. citizen, but he was caught up in the president’s mass deportation agenda anyway.
www.texasobserver.org
October 20, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
robertdownen.bsky.social
Citing the “martyrdom” of Charlie Kirk, Texas AG Ken Paxton says his office is pursuing sweeping undercover investigations into “leftist” groups. “To those demented souls who seek to kill, steal, and destroy our country, know this: you cannot hide, you cannot escape, and justice is coming."
"Leftist political terrorism is a clear and present danger. Corrupted ideologies like transgenderism and Antifa are a cancer on our culture and have unleashed their deranged and drugged-up foot soldiers on the American people," said Attorney General Paxton. "The martyrdom of Charlie Kirk marks a turning point in America. There can be no compromise with those who want us dead. To that end, I have directed my office to continue its efforts to identify, investigate, and infiltrate these leftist terror cells. To those demented souls who seek to kill, steal, and destroy our country, know this: you cannot hide, you cannot escape, and justice is coming." The radical Left has incubated an environment where political violence is not only justified but celebrated and praised. In July, nearly two dozen armed leftists connected to various Texas-based Antifa-like groups ambushed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") facility in Alvarado, Texas. On September 10, 2025, a leftist assassin connected to the radical transgender movement murdered Charlie Kirk because of Kirk's bold support for truth, love of country, and unshakable faith. Two weeks later, another deranged leftist opened fire at an ICE facility in Dallas. President Donald Trump has officially designated Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization and instructed his administration to "utilize all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations — especially those involving terrorist actions — conducted by Antifa." Building on President Trump's bold actions, Attorney General Paxton has instructed his office to initiate sweeping investigations into radical leftist organizations engaged in or providing support to those performing political violence.
October 7, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
🚨NEW: For the first time in history, the single largest group of people arrested in the interior and sent to ICE detention is people with NO criminal record.

As of yesterday's data release, 40%(!) of those arrested in the interior and detained by ICE had no prior conviction or pending charges.
Chart shows Detention Population, Among Those Arrested by ICE in the Interior, by Criminal Record. The chart shows three lines; Prior conviction, pending criminal charges, and no criminal record. From 2019 through September 2025, the largest group is people with criminal convictions, with much further down people with pending charges. But starting in January, those without criminal records spikes dramatically. In July it crossed pending charges and in the latest data it jumps above criminal convictions.
September 26, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
texasobserver.org
Top story, from @francescadnunz.bsky.social: As a result of the raid, ICE arrested 35 people on federal charges of attempted illegal entry, according to a report obtained from DPS. But authorities never offered any evidence that the party attendees actually were Tren de Aragua members.
Officials Said They Busted a Tren de Aragua Party. Attendees Beg to Differ.
A highly publicized multi-agency raid in Hays County resulted in dozens of arrests on low-level immigration charges and left an Austin mother's life in tatters. It also fit a pattern of unproven…
www.texasobserver.org
September 23, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
motherjones.com
After spending around a year in ICE detention, Laura, a Nigerian mother of two, was told by her then-lawyer that she would be released and able to see her kids.

But under Trump, that never happened.
They’ve won in court, but ICE is still detaining and trying to deport them
Inside the “psychological torture” regime targeting migrants who can't be sent home
www.motherjones.com
September 22, 2025 at 6:44 PM
francescadnunz.bsky.social
In April, authorities raided what they say was a Tren de Aragua gathering. Attendees say it was a birthday party.

Among those detained included a homeless barber/DoorDash driver, and three people who fled Venezuela years ago *because of* that gang

🧵
www.texasobserver.org/officials-tr...
Officials Said They Busted a Tren de Aragua Party. Attendees Beg to Differ.
A highly publicized multi-agency raid in Hays County resulted in dozens of arrests on low-level immigration charges and left an Austin mother's life in tatters. It also fit a pattern of unproven gang-...
www.texasobserver.org
September 22, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
texasobserver.org
New from @francescadnunz.bsky.social: A highly publicized multi-agency raid in Hays County resulted in dozens of arrests on low-level immigration charges and left an Austin mother's life in tatters. It also fit a pattern of unproven gang-related accusations.
Officials Said They Busted a Tren de Aragua Party. Attendees Beg to Differ.
A highly publicized multi-agency raid in Hays County resulted in dozens of arrests on low-level immigration charges and left an Austin mother's life in tatters. It also fit a pattern of unproven…
www.texasobserver.org
September 22, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
freedom.press
Mario Guevara is here legally and is not facing any criminal charges.

He is being thrown out of the country for nothing but reporting news.
US appeals court orders deportation of Atlanta journalist detained by Ice
Mario Guevara faces imminent removal from US as his attorney files emergency petition
www.theguardian.com
September 19, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
texasobserver.org
Featured story, from @francescadnunz.bsky.social: By Escalona Mújicas’ account, before he opened his car door at the traffic stop, an agent told him “The President does not want to see Haitians, Nicaraguans, Cubans, or Venezuelans here.”
A Venezuelan Was Detained as a 'Documented' Gang Member by ICE, Which Refused to Provide Proof
The Venezuelan immigrant, who has no criminal record, previously worked for a multinational corporation that sells snacks, food, and soft drinks.
www.texasobserver.org
September 15, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by Francesca D'Annunzio
pulitzercenter.org
The border Mexican state of Chihuahua is raising a 20-story AI-powered surveillance building called 'Centinela'.

This massive investment in surveillance raises concerns about civil liberties.

Story by AI Fellow @francescadnunz.bsky.social for @texasobserver.org. bit.ly/46h18GP
The Eyes of Chihuahua
The 20-story Torre Centinela looming over Juárez is part of a much larger AI-powered surveillance system that won’t stop at the Texas-Mexico border. For three years, Luis Mendoza has periodically gone...
bit.ly
September 10, 2025 at 5:47 PM
francescadnunz.bsky.social
mil gracias a @aristeguionline.bsky.social por destacar nuestra investigación en el @texasobserver.org sobre la Plataforma Centinela, el sistema de vigilancia que el estado de Chihuahua está construyendo y ha ofrecido compartir con autoridades en EEUU y Texas

aristeguinoticias.com/090925/arist...
Torre Centinela: Chihuahua construye sistema de vigilancia masiva contra migrantes y ofrece datos a EE.UU., revela periodista
La oferta del gobierno de Maru Campus a Estados Unidos incluye la creación de una base de datos biométricos de migrantes.
aristeguinoticias.com
September 10, 2025 at 3:03 PM