Migrants spell out ‘SOS’ with their bodies in a Texas detention center

S-O-S.

That’s what 31 male detainees in red and orange jumpsuits, all Venezuelan nationals, spelled out with their bodies on Monday as a Reuters drone flew over the immigration detention center in Anson, Texas.

The image — you can see it here — quickly spread on social media.

According to the news agency, the men had been handed notices from immigration officials 10 days ago accusing them of belonging to Tren de Aragua, the transnational gang founded in Venezuela, and were therefore subject for removal under the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 wartime law that grants the president the authority to deport noncitizens without an immigration hearing. The last time the law was invoked was during World War II, resulting in the mass incarceration of people of Japanese descent, including American citizens.

The men were then transported by bus from the Bluebonnet Detention Facility to the Abilene Regional Airport, where they were to be flown to the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT. The notorious maximum security prison in El Salvador is currently housing more than 100 Venezuelan nationals sent there by the Trump administration in March. But before they could be placed on a plane, the Supreme Court intervened and temporarily blocked their removals.

Several of the men being held at the Bluebonnet Detention Facility deny belonging to Tren de Aragua, and immigration officials have yet to provide any substantial evidence that proves otherwise.

“They’re making false accusations about me,” Jeferson Escalona, a 19-year-old former police officer, told Reuters. “I don’t belong to any gang.”

“If I don’t have a criminal record in the three countries in which I have lived in, how are they going to send me to El Salvador?” said another unidentified detainee in a recording obtained by the news agency.

It’s unclear what’s going to happen to these men. Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to expel foreign nationals, many of whom were granted legal protections by the Biden administration, is being challenged in court. On Thursday, a federal judge ruled that the Trump team’s reasoning for invoking the law was a stretch based on the statute’s language, which outlines that it can only be used during wartime or when a foreign country carries out a military invasion of the U.S.

“The court concludes that as a matter of law, the executive branch cannot rely on the A.E.A., based on the proclamation, to detain the named petitioners and the certified class, or to remove them from the country,” Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., a Trump appointee, wrote in his ruling. The decision, however, applies only to the Southern District of Texas. But even if the president is barred from continuing to use the enemies act, his administration has already made clear that there many more raids are coming.

Carrying out the “largest deportation operation in American history,” it seems, is the one campaign pledge Trump is hellbent on delivering.

More immigration coverage from the L.A. Times

• Trump pick to lead CBP accused of ‘cover-up’ over death of man at California border
• Trump promised vast deportations to Mexico. Why are the numbers so low?
• California warns ICE: Immigration detention centers across state need ‘significant improvements’
• Judge orders Border Patrol to halt illegal stops in the Central Valley after dozens arrested in raids
• Trump signs orders ramping up immigration showdown with sanctuary cities and states

We loved seeing you at the L.A. Times Festival of Books!

The 30th edition of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, the largest literary event in the country, took place this weekend at USC. Part of the festival included the De Los Stage in association with L.A. Times en Español, a space that featured bilingual and multigenerational programming. Some personal highlights: the appearance of former Dodgers Spanish broadcasters Jaime and Jorge Jarrín to talk about the legacy of the late Fernando Valenzuela; a panel about celebrating Black joy within the Latinx community; a conversation about using storytelling as a means to heal from generational trauma; and a somewhat unhinged discussion (I say this as a compliment) about the importance of poetry in our trying times with Ashley August, Diandra Marizet Esparza and Yesika Salgado — all three were gracious enough to read some of their wonderful work to the audience.

Jorge Jarrín, left, and Jaime Jarrín are interviewed by Los Angeles Times assistant managing editor for sports Iliana Limón Romero at the Festival of Books at USC.

(Eduard Cauich / Times en Español)

It was so heartening to see thousands of you show up for both days, to witness you embrace and support with your dollars the featured authors who volunteered their time to be there. One of the missions of De Los is not only to cover the Latinx community, but also to be in community. It was such a joy to get to meet many of you in person and to talk about our work and efforts to make this paper be more reflective of the city in which we live.

For the few hundred of you who signed up for this newsletter to at the Festival of Books, welcome! If you want to know more about why we picked that name, you can go here. One of the themes brought up multiple times by several authors was the concept of future-making, the willful act of imagining, enacting and actively shaping the future. My goal is to make this space a vehicle that facilitates and documents our collective journey to these future realities. It’s a privilege to have you along for the ride.

Stories we read this week that we think you should read

From the L.A. Times

Cazzu’s ‘Latinaje’ is her ode to América Latina

After a public breakup and subsequent media frenzy, the Argentine singer Cazzu returns to her roots in a new album, “Latinaje,” released on April 24.

Bad Bunny caused chaos on set of ‘Caught Stealing,’ says director Darren Aronofsky

Director Darren Aronofsky said Bad Bunny fans flocked to various filming locations across Manhattan to get a view of the music superstar show off his acting chops.

The L.A. Latino International Film Festival announces its 2025 lineup

LALIFF, which takes place May 28-June 1, will screen more than 90 films at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood. Roughly half of the selected films are made by U.S. Latinx filmmakers.

Betsy Martinez, left, and Cynthia Temblador sit inside their Fan Girl Cafe in West Hollywood.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Fan Girl Cafe carries on the musical legacy of its West Hollywood location with coffee and good vibes

Fan Girl Cafe in West Hollywood continues the legacy of its venue’s predecessors, P.J.’s and Starwood, by focusing on playing music and building community.

Mexico’s top lawman: Ranch in Jalisco was a cartel training site, not a crematorium

Mexico’s attorney general said a forensic investigation found “not a shred of proof” that corpses were burned at a ranch that was used as a training camp by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

A coach is suspected of killing a 13-year-old. Did a case backlog seal the boy’s fate?

A sex abuse allegation against a youth soccer coach appears to have languished for months before the coach was charged with killing a 13-year-old boy.

From elsewhere

A Mother and Father Were Deported. What Happened to Their Toddler? [New York Times]

Government officials claim that Maikelys Antonella Espinoza Bernal, the 2-year-old whose parents were deported (her mom was sent to Venezuela and her father was among those flown to the CECOT prison in El Salvador), is in foster care in the U.S.

Fearing deportation, a beloved music teacher gives a final lesson [Washington Post]

Jesús Rodríguez, a music teacher at an elementary school in northern Virginia, said goodbye to his students before self-deporting back to Venezuela. Rodríguez had been granted a work permit because of a humanitarian parole program that’s being ended by the Trump administration.

Neighbors stunned by sight of man hiding in tree to escape ICE agents [KSAT]

A San Antonio man climbed up a tree to avoid being detained by ICE agents. He surrendered more than eight hours later.

Andor creator explains recasting major Star Wars character with Benjamin Bratt [Entertainment Weekly]

This blurb contains spoilers! Imagine my surprise seeing Benjamin Bratt in the latest (and final) season of “Andor” portraying Sen. Bail Organa, a character previously played by Jimmy Smits. After Bratt’s appearance, you can’t convince me that “Andor” is not a Latinx show.

Road to Coachella with El Malilla [Remezcla]

The music and culture publication got behind-the-scenes access to the Reggaeton Mexa up-and-comer’s debut at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival this year.