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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security is pausing the purchase of new warehouses intended to house immigrants as it scrutinizes all contracts signed under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, according to a senior Homeland Security official.

The development comes just days after the new Homeland Security Secretary, Markwayne Mullin, was sworn in last week to lead a department that was steeped in controversy during Noem’s tenure but also central to President Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. News of the pause was first reported by NBC News.

The official also said that warehouse purchases that were already made are also being scrutinized.

When asked about reports of the pause, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that “as with any transition, we are reviewing agency policies and proposals.”

The Department also noted that Mullin said during his confirmation hearing that he wanted to “work with community leaders” and “be good partners.”

Mullin inherited a $38.3 billion plan to boost detention capacity to 92,000 beds by acquiring eight large-scale detention centers, capable of housing 7,000 to 10,000 detainees each, and 16 smaller regional processing centers.

The plan was hatched during Noem’ s tenure but immediately ran into intense opposition around the country by residents and communities opposed to such large Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in their neighborhoods.

Many objected on moral grounds to ICE’s presence in their neighborhoods, while others questioned whether the facilities would be a drain on local resources, such as sewer and water systems.

So far, 11 warehouses have been purchased in Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah, with the federal government spending a combined $1.074 billion.

But lawsuits are pending in three of the states. Meanwhile, the capacity of at least one warehouse has been scaled back. Plans initially called for a warehouse in the Phoenix suburb of Surprise to be used as a 1,500-bed processing site, but Homeland Security now plans to cap occupied beds at 542, Surprise Mayor Kevin Sarter said during a news conference on Monday.

In many cases, mayors, county commissioners, governors and members of Congress learned about ICE’s ambitions only after the agency bought or leased space for detainees, leading to shock and frustration even in areas that have backed Trump.

The warehouse plan ran into challenges from the start. Eight deals were scuttled in places like Kansas City, Missouri, when owners decided not to sell.

Pressed on the lack of information during his confirmation hearing, Mullin acknowledged there had been issues.

“We’ve got to protect the homeland and we’re going to do that,” Mullin said. “But obviously we want to work with community leaders.”

Mullin, who took over and expanded his family’s plumbing business before representing Oklahoma in the U.S House and Senate, said that “one thing I do know is construction.”

He noted that most municipalities don’t have the capacity in their infrastructure for waste and water.

“So, it’s important that we’re talking to the communities and if we’re having additional needs, we can work with the cities,” he said at his confirmation hearing earlier this month.

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Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Missouri.

MORRIS COUNTY, Texas (KETK) — An out-of-state corporation recently broke ground in Naples as the start of a large-scale natural gas-based generation facility that encompasses over 100 acres of Morris County.

The Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC) is set to begin construction of its 850-megawatt facility in the summer as a two-turbine plant, with full operation expected by 2029.

According to the corporation, it evaluated potential sites in Arkansas before selecting the Morris County location. The AECC’s President and CEO Vernon Hasten said Morris County’s proximity to natural gas pipelines and transmission is its “primary factor” in location selection.

“The facility in Morris County, Texas, is crucial to maintaining reliable energy resources,” Hasten said. “AECC continues to develop proven, readily dispatchable power generation technologies to provide our members with reliable, affordable electricity.”

The facility is part of the AECC’s plan to address the company’s wholesale generation needs.

The plant’s location within the Southwest Power Pool regional transmission organization’s footprint accordingly supports reliability, according to the AECC.

“This new state-of-the-art asset will be one of the lowest-emitting and most efficient simple cycle natural gas generation stations in AECC’s fleet,” the AECC said.

The AECC provides services to more than 1 million members, including those in upper East Texas counties such as Bowie County.

HOPKINS COUNTY, Texas (KETK)– Miller Grove ISD Superintendent Dr. Linda Rankin announced on Tuesday that she will be resigning from her position at the end of the current school year.

During her time at Miller Grove, Rankin has helped the district improve its finances, increasing its fund balance from $2.07 million to $3.01 million, and securing a $1.2 million grant to acquire three air-conditioned buses, according to the board of trustees.

Under her leadership, Rankin oversaw the construction of an additional agriculture classroom and the installation of a new greenhouse facility while also prioritizing campus safety by strengthening security protocols and training initiatives.

Rankin said she will remain fully committed to supporting the district’s students, staff and community over the final few months of her tenure. Rankin also said she will work closely with the board of trustees to ensure a successful transition for the next superintendent.

“Serving the Miller Grove ISD community has been one of the greatest honors of my career,” Rankin said. “Our students have always been at the heart of every decision I’ve made. They mean so much to me, and it has been a privilege to watch them grow, achieve, and succeed. I will always cherish the time I’ve spent with them and will continue to be one of their biggest supporters in all they do.”

Rankin’s final day with the district will be July 1.

YUMA, Az. (AP) – Antonio Bustamante has kept a watercolor of labor leader César Chavez for more than 35 years, hanging it on the wall of his law office in Yuma, Arizona. As a young man, he was moved by Chavez and helped organize workers before joining his security team.

Like many others, Bustamante must now wrestle with reconciling the man he adored with the allegations Chavez groomed and sexually abused women and young girls.

“I’m trying to figure out how emotionally and intellectually I’ll be able to understand my perception of him as an extremely good man,” Bustamante said, his voice heavy with emotion, “compared to these things that are said he did.”

Chavez built a national reputation organizing in the fields. With Dolores Huerta — also one of his victims — he co-founded the United Farm Workers union, led a hunger strike, a grape boycott with Filipino farmworkers, and eventually pressured growers to negotiate better wages and working conditions for Mexican American farmworkers.

Nearly two weeks after a New York Times report detailing allegations of sexual abuse, communities and rights groups across the country are still figuring out how he should be remembered. His name and image have already been erased from monuments, streets and murals around the country.
Reckoning with a legacy

Bustamante said he learned of the allegations when an old friend called to tell him about the upcoming report. What flashed through his mind, he said, were the faces of others who had known and admired Chavez, and “how their eyes would be devastated.”

“We were looked down upon by society, we were Mexicans,” Bustamante said, recalling the first time he saw Chavez speak outside the Arizona Capitol in 1972 as he launched a hunger strike. He “gave us worth, and for young people that was everything.”

Now, some of Bustamante’s friends have taken down images of Chavez. In his community, Bustamante likened it to denouncing Catholicism and removing photos of the pope.

For many, it’s an example of why movements should not be tied to a single leader.

Teresa Romero, president of United Farm Workers, said the contradiction between the Chavez’s legacy and the allegations is unavoidable.

“We have in one hand César Chavez, the man who committed horrible acts that we’re not going to justify,” Romero said. “On the other hand, we have César Chavez, the organizer who brought thousands and thousands of people together to be able to work for farm workers, and improve their lives and working conditions.”

Unfortunately, both of those things came from the same person, Romero said.

Sehila Mota Casper, executive director of Latinos in Heritage Conservation, said the farmworker movement was always driven by collective effort.

“The rights and protections that came from it belongs to the people that built it,” she said. “It wasn’t just one individual.”

That perspective, she said, offers a way to move forward: recognizing Chavez’s role without letting it overshadow the contributions of others, including Huerta, and the challenges they faced.

Advocacy groups like the nonprofit Voto Latino took a similar stance, saying, “The women who organized, marched, and sacrificed alongside farmworkers carried this movement on their backs.”
Dismantling a man, preserving history

The allegations also prompted swift public action. Within days, statues were removed and celebrations cancelled or renamed, including events tied to the federal César Chavez Day on March 31.

Political leaders from both parties have condemned the alleged abuse. Some Republicans, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, cited it as part of a broader criticism of Chavez’s progressive legacy.

Abbot said Texas — a state with dozens of Confederate monuments — would no longer celebrate César Chavez Day, saying the allegations “undermine the narrative that elevated Chavez as a figure worthy of official state celebration.”

At the same time, groups like the nonpartisan Latino Victory Project, which focuses on developing Hispanic political leadership, said this current moment should not distract from the still-ongoing civil rights battles.

“Those legacies are unchanged,” said Paul Ortiz, a labor history professor at Cornell University and director of graduate studies for Latino Studies. “And those legacies are all about people power.”

What seems inevitable, Bustamante said, is that there will always be an asterisk next to Chavez’s name.

“Does that take away the greatness of what his accomplishments were, the meaning of them? No, it doesn’t,” he said. “But can we look past that to honor him? That’s the tough part.”