The State of Texas: Border militia leader arrested after detaining migrants near El Paso

What Texas is talking about today No Images? [Click here]( [Take our advice: The Bull x The Horns]( [Texas Monthly]( April 22, 2019 QUOTE OF THE DAY "These groups say that they are coming to the border because they are answering the call of President Trump to protect the border. It is clear they embrace a racist ideology and an anti-immigration agenda, the combination of all of this creates a very explosive situation. " —Fernando Garcia, director of El Paso's Border Network for Human Rights. Following the arrest of right-wing border militia leader Larry Mitchell Hopkins on Sunday, [Garcia called for an investigation into militias like Hopkins's United Constitutional Patriots.]( Last week, the UCP detained more than 300 migrants, including children, near El Paso in Sunland Park. THE LATEST [Thefts of Austin-Based Car2Go Rentals Show the Vulnerability of Our App-Based World ]( DAN SOLOMON More than 100 of the company’s 400 cars in Chicago were stolen via its own app. [Read more.]( THE TEXANIST [The Texanist: Any Recommendations for a Big Bend Newbie? ]( DAVID COURTNEY Q: I’ve lived in Houston for the past 39 of my 65 years. After this length of time, I consider myself a proud Houstonian and loyal Texan. I’ve taken numerous trips throughout this great state over the years, to places like Austin, San Antonio, the Hill Country, and my favorite of all, North Padre Island. It’s hard to beat the Padre Island National Seashore in the summer. I’ve never been to Big Bend, though, so I have planned a road trip during the end of February. I’ve seen the pictures in Texas Monthly and checked out the internet for information. Any tips you might have for a first-time traveler to that region? I’ll be staying in Terlingua. Luke Rifkin, Houston A: If the Texanist were to make a list of all of life’s great pleasures, a good road trip would sit right up there near the top. Really, is there anything better than rousting the inner nomad, packing up the ol’ horseless carriage, and hitting the trail, leaving the stress and workaday worries in the dust-filled rearview mirror, with nothing but adventure and good times ahead? Wait, let the Texanist answer his own question: There is not. [Read more.]( Look here every Monday for the latest from the Texanist, or [peruse his archives here.]( Tomorrow, and every Tuesday, you’ll find a selection from our archives. OUR TOP STORIES [Truth & Justice Podcast Offers $20,000 Reward for Info in Controversial Houston Murder Case ]( Bob Ruff is working on his fifth Texas case in fewer than four years, this time hoping to prove the innocence of Sandra Melgar in the killing of her husband, Jaime Melgar. [Read more.]( [BBQ News Roundup: Busting Brisket Myths, Obama Loves Texas Barbecue, and New Fort Worth Joints ]( Plus: the best steak that Aaron Franklin ever ate. [Read more.]( [Schlotzsky’s Is Rebranding its 300-Plus Locations as Schlotzsky’s Austin Eatery ]( The restaurant chain’s updated menu—which now includes tacos, sliders, and ’tins’—features Texas favorites like, uh, Pastrami Stackers? And California chicken flatbreads? [Read more.]( THE STATE OF TEXAS Border militia leader arrested after detaining migrants near El Paso The FBI arrested 69-year-old Larry Mitchell Hopkins, the leader of far-right militia group The United Constitutional Patriots on Sunday. The arrest comes after the [UCP detained more than 300 migrants, including children, in Sunland Park, New Mexico, a town adjacent to El Paso.]( In a livestream posted by the group on Facebook last week, two UCP members can be seen with what look like semi-automatic rifles near the group of immigrants. The group claims to be operating within the law and working with Border Patrol. In a statement to The Daily Beast, a Border Patrol official denied working with the UCP, saying that they do not “endorse private groups or organizations taking enforcement matters into their own hands.” Nonetheless, Border Patrol agents were previously documented giving information to a border militia in 2016. Hopkins is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court on Monday. Hunger strikes spread at ICE detention centers Over the past three months, [a growing number of hunger strikes have taken place at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities throughout the country.]( A short-lived demonstration at the end of March in Louisiana was at least the sixth to take place since January. Hunger strikers have been demanding release while their cases are adjudicated. A recent [77-day hunger strike in El Paso](made headlines after a federal judge authorized ICE agents to force-feed the protestors. Though asylum cases can take months or even years to be resolved, immigrants in detention are denied bond or parole around half the time. Activists have noticed an increase in the number of strikes at detention centers across the country. "We have never seen so many hunger strikes in so many different places in less than three, four months," said Maru Mora Villalpando, an immigrants rights activist based in Washington state. "And the ones we have been able to engage with have been led by asylum-seekers." House bill could eliminate Confederate Heroes Day With the help of Akin Gump, one of the country’s largest lobbying firms, there has been a renewed effort to eliminate Confederate Heroes Day in Texas. The recent push comes after the removal of a plaque in the Texas Capitol denying that slavery was the catalyst for the Civil War. House Bill 1183, authored by Representative Jarvis Johnson, D-Houston, [would abolish the holiday that has been celebrated since 1973.](Currently, Texas is one of nine states with Confederate holidays, and previous attempts to get rid of the holiday haven’t gained much momentum. The House State Affairs Committee left the bill pending late last week. “I don’t mind people wanting to embrace their culture — their history — but make for doggone sure it’s not impactful to others and hurtful, because in itself, that’s wrong,” Johnson said during the committee hearing. NEWS & POLITICS [Best & Worst Legislators in Real Time: Senator Bob Hall ]( CHRISTOPHER HOOKS If you’re going to traffick in conspiracy theories, at least be nice about it. [Read more.]( [15 Things to Do in the Golden Isles]( 15 Things to Do in the Golden Isles]( No matter which activities you choose to check off your bucket list, your visit to the Golden Isles is bound to be a slice of heaven. 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