Emily Bregel

Florence ICE detainee dead after untreated tooth infection, official says An ICE detainee, who had been at a Florence detention center for four months, died Monday following an untreated tooth infection.

An ICE detainee in Arizona has died of a TOOTH INFECTION after it went untreated for weeks, a local official says. He was a Haitian asylum seeker imprisoned in Florence, Arizona. @emilybregel.bsky.social reports.
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It's been three years since I came home from the hospital after an infection that started in my mouth spread to my brain and almost killed me. I was in ICU under heavy sedation and on a vent for 6 weeks. This poor man was forced to suffer. Infections of the mouth and teeth are serious.

“Damas' family members said another detainee reported hearing Florence staff "laughing and saying he was faking," as Damas cried for help…

Florence ICE detainee dead after tooth infection, Chandler official says A Haitian asylum seeker held for four months at Florence Correctional Center died Monday at a Scottsdale hospital due to complications from an infected tooth, a local official in Chandler

Haitian asylum seeker Emmanuel Damas, 56, died at a Scottsdale, AZ hospital Monday, while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, after struggling to receive timely care for a worsening toothache: @tucson.com tucson.com/news/local/b...

ICE releases 'la abuela,' 79-year-old asylum seeker, after Arizona Daily Star investigation After 9 months detained at an Arizona ICE detention facility, a Cuban grandmother and asylum seeker with dementia is free, pending the outcome of her deportation case.

A 79-year-old woman with dementia detained by ICE has been released following an investigation by @emilybregel.bsky.social of the Arizona Daily Star.

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Tim Steller's column: Why you should vote for, or against, Tucson area's RTA Next tax For Star subscribers: RTA Next locks the Tucson area into a renewed transportation tax and plan for 20 years — a long time and a risk. But it's a sure

Column: Still undecided on Propositions 418 and 419? So am I! Here are the factors I’m considering in deciding whether to vote yes or no on RTA Next, from the bird-in-hand to the too-long term of the plan.

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After 'heartbreaking' visit with elderly ICE detainee, Rep. Grijalva advocates for her release Rep. Adelita Grijalva visited with a detained asylum seeker with dementia, age 79, after learning about her from an Arizona Daily Star investigation.

After a "heartbreaking" visit with Julia Benitez, the 79-year-old asylum seeker known as "la abuela" among Eloy detainees, U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-AZ, said Wednesday she will advocate for Benitez's release from ICE detention on humanitarian grounds. tucson.com/news/local/b...

The cruelty is the point.

The elderly, the sick and inform, the children, the marginalized people who pose no actual threats to society, the women.... They will always get the short, cruelest deal and then be proselytized to that they should do better.

So many ridiculous ironies in this story. A widow of a Cuban dissident, threatened with deportation at the precise time the U.S. is making life in Cuba intolerable with an eye to regime change. Not a flight risk. Textbook case for humanitarian release.

Grandmother languishes 9 months in detention as ICE holds more elderly people; family says dementia worsens in Arizona facility Family says 79-year-old detainee Julia Benitez’s dementia has worsened during months in Arizona ICE custody, as advocates warn more elderly immigrants are being held without humanitarian release.

A 79-year-old Cuban asylum seeker with worsening dementia, who uses a wheelchair, has been detained in Eloy, AZ for nine months, despite her family's pleas to let them care for her. @tucson.com tucson.com/news/local/b...

Grandmother languishes 9 months in detention as ICE holds more elderly people; family says dementia worsens in Arizona facility Family says 79-year-old detainee Julia Benitez’s dementia has worsened during months in Arizona ICE custody, as advocates warn more elderly immigrants are being held without humanitarian release.

The number of elderly detainees in immigration prisons is booming, colleagues @emilybregel.bsky.social and @emilyhamer.bsky.social reveal. Aw oman from Cuba, detained in Eloy, Arizona, is suffering increasingly severe dementia, and her daughter in Fla. could care for her.
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“.. using millions of dollars from the former U.S. foreign aid agency to pay for the security detail of Russell Vought ..”

@reuters.com
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"Moderna's CEO announced the company will no longer invest in new Phase 3 vaccine trials for infectious diseases: 'You cannot make a return on investment if you don't have access to the U.S. market. Vaccines for Epstein-Barr virus, herpes, and shingles have been shelved.” 9:12 AM Feb 12, 2026 604.8K Views

In terms of what cures are being lost:

- Epstein-Barr virus is perhaps the major trigger for multiple sclerosis
- herpes simplex virus causes cold sores, genital herpes, infections in babies, deadly meningitis
- shingles virus causes an intensely painful disease

Bondi crashes out over Epstein: "The Dow is over 50,000 dollars! I don't know why you're laughing. You're a great stock trader as I hear, Raskin. The Dow is over 50,000 right now. The S&P at almost 7,000, and the Nasdaq smashing records. That's what we should be talking about."

Border Patrol Chief Praised Agent Who Shot Unarmed Woman Five Times Greg Bovino privately reached out to congratulate the agent who bragged about shooting Marimar Martinez in Chicago.

Gregory Bovino, who was leading Border Patrol at the time, praised the agent who shot citizen and Chicago resident Marimar Martinez five times in an October email newly released by federal prosecutors.

“In light of your excellent service in Chicago, you have much yet left to do!!” trib.al/znOXBBw

Rümeysa Öztürk’s case is "arguably the most blatant press freedom violation of this century, and maybe the last century as well," FPF's Seth Stern said.

Read more from @brianstelter.bsky.social: view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/177...

Grandmother languishes 9 months in detention as ICE holds more elderly people Among detainees at Eloy Detention Center, 79-year-old Julia Benitez is known as "la abuela," the grandmother in Spanish.

Julia Benitez, a 79-year-old Cuban asylum seeker with dementia, has been held in ICE detention in Arizona for nine months. Advocates say ICE is detaining more elderly/disabled people, as it issues "blanket denials" for release on humanitarian parole. @tucson.com tinyurl.com/4tchby7j

Like 75% of the US Olympic curlers are from Minnesota. A lot of them curl out of two clubs in Saint Paul, one club is in Frogtown, a neighborhood that has been very heavily targeted by ICE. These curlers are good neighbors.

ICE to begin detaining immigrants inside Social Circle warehouse in April Homeland Security plans to build warehouse detention facilities in other cities being met with opposition.

ICE has now spent over half a BILLION dollars just on purchasing warehouses around the country to convert into detention camps.

If these mega-camps are utilized to the full capacity ICE intends, they'll be the largest prisons in the country, with little real oversight. www.ajc.com/politics/202...

Immigrant whose skull was broken in 8 places during ICE arrest says beating was unprovoked Alberto Castañeda Mondragón was hospitalized with eight skull fractures and five life-threatening brain hemorrhages. Officers claimed he ran into a wall, but medical staff doubted that account.

Alberto Castañeda Mondragón was hospitalized with eight skull fractures and five life-threatening brain hemorrhages. Officers claimed he ran into a wall, but medical staff doubted that account. n.pr/4bHoZDU

Goddam it

DHS Hunts Down 67-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Who Criticized Them in Email The Department of Homeland Security is using a little-known tool to go after its critics.

Floored by this story. A man wrote a pollite email to a federal prosecutor objecting to the deportation of an Afghan seeking asylum. DHS responded with an administrative warrant to get the man's info from Google, then visited his home to intimidate him.

Judge Again Blocks Policy Restricting Lawmakers’ Access to ICE Facilities

A judge has blocked the Trump admin’s attempts to block Members of Congress from making unannounced inspection visits to ICE detention facilities AGAIN.

It is our duty to conduct oversight — and we will not let Trump and his lawless DHS stand in the way of that.

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Yesterday, five-year-old Liam and his dad Adrian were released from Dilley detention center. I picked them up last night and escorted them back to Minnesota this morning.

Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack.

Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...

BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.

Measles outbreak at ICE detention centers in Arizona prompts quarantine DHS's delay in addressing the three confirmed measles cases, and their location, has been frustrating for migrant-aid volunteers trying to understand the scope of the outbreak in Pinal County.

Immigration detention facilities in Florence, AZ are quietly managing a measles outbreak, with three cases identified there as of Friday, but information shared with the public has been limited and delayed, to the concern of volunteers who help recently released detainees. tucson.com/news/local/b...

DM me? We used to get hundreds of highly qualified applicants for a single job posting. Good prosecutors are increasingly hesitant to work for this DOJ.

Thousands in Tucson protest ICE Protesters across the country participated Friday in a national "no work, no school, no shopping" day. In Tucson, thousands of people filled downtown for hours.

Huge turnout for Tucson's anti-ICE protest Friday. An estimated 3,000 people came out as part of the national strike in protest of Trump's immigration policies. Charlie Borla (@charlieborla.bsky.social) reports for the AZ Daily Star: @tucson.com tucson.com/news/local/a...

TUSD may cancel Friday classes due to employee absences in protest of ICE - AZ Luminaria The Tucson Unified School District says it may cancel classes Friday because of hundreds of potential employee absences protesting immigration enforcement across the country. TUSD Superintendent Gabri...

TUSD warns Friday classes could be canceled if protest-related staff absences leave schools short on supervision. The district says a final call is coming by noon

AI image of Alex Pretti’s killing is the latest altered photo amid ICE surge in Minneapolis Look closely, slow down, think critically before believing what you see on the internet, experts caution.

It's hard to recognize AI-generated content because it’s increasingly realistic "and because we’re all vulnerable to the influence of our own biases, which can cause us to under-scrutinize things we want to believe.” - NLP's @peteradams.bsky.social in this @startribune.com story ⤵️