Latest news with #BrianMason
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Grinnell tornado victims face uncertain future
GRINNELL, Kan. (KSNW) — Recovery efforts continue in Grinnell after a tornado hit the town on Sunday. The destruction has nearly leveled the west side of town. From above, the scope of the destruction becomes clearer. 'You just want to cry. You just want to do anything you can to help them,' volunteer Brian Mason said. The language of devastation is often indecipherable. John Kraus's home was destroyed. While the walls still stand, much of the roof and the second floor are gone. His was one of many damaged or destroyed homes. Some victims have sought shelter with family. Kraus, his wife and two pets are living in a nearby hotel. He described coming out of his basement to discover the interior of his home wrecked and debris from other homes blocks away inside his house. 'I'm just awestruck,' Kraus said. 'I mean, it was over in a matter of a minute. We got down in the basement, it hit … I come upstairs, and once I come upstairs, I knew our house was gone. I knew it.' He is joined by others like Nathan Bollbrocht who is also looking to find an understanding. 'This house right here was my grandparents' house, and all the memories and growing up here as a kid. It's all gone now. So it's just difficult,' he said. The only thing that makes sense for those who lost everything is the effort to rebuild the community they call home. Kraus is awaiting a quote from his insurance appraiser and will likely have to demolish his home and start from scratch. The Gove County Sheriff says it will still be a while before rebuilding begins. Debris won't be cleared out for at least a week, but the sheriff hopes to have the town cemetery prepared for Memorial Day weekend. Catholic Charities of Northern Kansas Catholic Charities USA has provided a $25,000 grant, which will go directly toward helping the Grinnell community recover and rebuild. Catholic Charities of Northern Kansas suggests these ways to help: Make a financial donation by clicking here. The donations will help families meet specific challenges as they rebuild their lives. Donate items at the Catholic Charities offices in Hays, Salina and Manhattan. Items needed are: Work gloves & heavy-duty trash bags Flashlights & batteries Dust masks Storage tubs and boxes Cleaning supplies Laundry detergent, toilet paper & paper towels Furniture & household essentials Clothing, towels, and hygiene items Visa, Walmart, or gas gift cards Volunteer by checking in at the Grinnell VFW. Victims can seek assistance from Catholic Charities of Northern Kansas by calling 785-625-2644, emailing communications@ or by clicking here and filling out a form. Gove County Community Foundation The foundation has created the Neighbors Helping Neighbors Fund to provide immediate help and long-term support for the tornado victims. Click here to donate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ICE adopts new tactic: Deport before court, removing people facing criminal charges
DENVER ‒ Some suspects in violent assaults and sex crimes are escaping American justice because they're being deported before they can stand trial, according to a number of prosecutors and legal experts across the country. In one suburban Denver county, the district attorney has tallied at least six criminal cases he's had to shelve or drop because Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained or deported suspects before he could prosecute them. In another case in the city of Denver, a man suspected of attempted murder was released because ICE had deported the witnesses against him, forcing prosecutors to drop the charges. That suspect then tackled an ICE agent trying to detain him outside the jail. And in Boston, a judge was forced to drop charges against a man accused of using a fake name on a driver's license after ICE took him into custody mid-trial and refused to return him. Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden called ICE's actions "troubling and extraordinarily reckless," because the agents prevented him from prosecuting the detainee. Across the country, prosecutors, defense attorneys and legal observers say they've seen an uptick in ICE agents choosing to deport criminal suspects, instead of keeping them in custody and producing them for local court proceedings. "It's not only undermining to the justice system but also impacting community safety," said Adams County District Attorney Brian Mason, who serves a suburban area northeast of Denver. These rapid deportations mean some innocent people are being denied the chance to clear their name in a U.S. courtroom. For crime victims, it means they never see the satisfaction of their assailant behind bars. And it could be making all Americans less safe, legal experts say, when people with criminal backgrounds and no respect for the law cross back into the United States and commit more crimes. "My fear that is that people will get deported, will essentially avoid criminal prosecution, will sneak back into the country ... and live under the radar and never be held accountable and suffer no consequences whatsoever for their actions, and potentially perpetrate more crimes against other victims," Mason said. Legal experts say the increase appears to being driven in part by the new federal Laken Riley Act, which requires ICE to detain people living illegally in the United States once they have been accused or charged with certain crimes, including theft or shoplifting. Although the Riley Act, named for a Georgia nursing student killed in 2024 by an immigrant, doesn't require deportations, at least some of the people detained under the law have subsequently been removed from the United States, experts told USA TODAY. Sometimes that means those people are escaping prosecution for assaults, domestic violence or thefts. In other instances, prosecutors have dropped cases because ICE deported the witnesses. The people ICE targeted are accused of living illegally within the United States. In another Massachusetts case, ICE detained a man facing state driving charges and refused to produce him for his trial, prompting the ACLU to ask a federal judge to intervene. The judge ordered ICE to produce the man, and he was found not guilty of the state charges. He was then returned to ICE custody, which had been the prior procedure. President Donald Trump campaigned on tough new immigration policies, and ICE agents nationwide have been conducting high-profile detention operations, which the president said are primarily targeted at violent criminals and gang members. And he has chafed at judicial limits placed on deportations of people targeted because they were accused but never convicted. "Murderers, drug dealers, gang members, and even the mentally insane will make their home in our country, wreaking havoc like we have never seen before," Trump posted to social media in late April. "It is not possible to have trials for millions and millions of people. We know who the criminals are, and we must get them out of the U.S.A. and fast!" Prof. Michael Kagan, who runs the Immigration Clinic at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas law school, said the deportations-before-prosecution policy risks creating a two-tiered justice system: American citizens are imprisoned if convicted, but someone who commits the same crime while living illegally in the United States could be released with no punishment other than a free trip home. "If you think that it's worth incarcerating a citizen who has committed a crime, it becomes very hard to justify not incarcerating a non-citizen convicted of the same crime," said Kagan, whose clinic provides legal aid to people facing deportation. Kagan said some immigration experts have begun referring to ICE as a "getaway driver" because they believe the new system is ripe for abuse by offenders: "The U.S. citizen has to face trial and serious prison time while the non-citizen could just ask ICE to give him a ride to Mexico and get off free." Nicholas Reppucci, the chief public defender in Charlottesville, Virginia, said he's already seeing less willingness by immigrants to testify as witnesses over the aggressive new approach. "It is having a very significant negative impact, not just for criminal defendants but for complainants or people who have been victimized by crimes," he said. "Inherently, in my option, people are less likely to come to court to have wrongs righted." Mason, the Colorado district attorney, said he previously worked with ICE agents to secure what are known as U visas, which grant crime victims the right to remain in the United States so they can testify in local criminal cases. Now, the collaboration is gone, he said. "If a victim of crime is afraid to come to the Adams County courthouse because she's afraid she'll get detained in the parking lot by ICE, then I can't prosecute that case," he said. "It's not only undermining to the justice system but also impacting community safety." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ICE adopts new tactic: Deport before court
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shoshone-Paiute Tribes announces plans for casino between Boise, Mountain Home
The rendering above shows plans for the Shoshone Pauite Tribes' casino. The planned casino will sit near the border of Ada and Elmore counties in southwest Idaho. (Courtesy of the Shoshone-Pauite Tribes) The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes are developing their first resort and casino along Interstate 84 halfway between Boise and Mountain Home. For decades, the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes were the only tribe in Idaho without revenue. But the proposed resort and casino is estimated to generate tens of millions of dollars annually for Idaho's economy and create thousands of regional jobs. The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes also plan to share 5% of their net gaming revenues to support local schools and education programs. Shoshone-Paiute Chairman Brian Mason said in a press release he dreams of a future where tribal members have the resources, education, health care and employment opportunities they need to sustain their families and preserve their culture. 'Today, we have no meaningful economic opportunities and our community is facing some heavy challenges because of it,' Mason said. 'We want to solve our own problems and provide for our people. Tribal gaming will allow us to make these dreams into a reality.' The tribes are partnering with the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, who has successfully run gaming operations in North Idaho for more than 30 years. The Coeur d'Alene Tribe is providing a large upfront investment to help with the permitting and development process, and once it is built, the Tribe will enter into a management contract with the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes to help sustain the casino. Coeur d'Alene Chairman Chief Allan said the tribe is honored to help its 'brothers and sisters' secure the same benefits they have experienced from gaming. 'When I was growing up, many tribal members lived in poverty and could not find jobs,' Allan said in the press release. 'Today, we have a state-of-the-art medical center, ample employment for tribal members and can financially support every tribal member who wants to earn a college degree. None of this would be possible without tribal gaming.' Tribal gaming already contributes more than $1.4 billion of annual economic activity to the state, over $47 million in annual tax revenue and it sustains 12,500 Idaho jobs, according to a press release from the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes. The Duck Valley Indian Reservation spans about 450 square miles in the southwest corner of Idaho, half split into parts of Nevada. The tribes, according to the press release, face high rates of suicide and unemployment, and given its isolated location in the high desert, the Shoshone-Paiute community struggles to provide emergency services to its members. Medical emergencies require lifesaving air transportation to Boise, which takes at least 45 minutes. A typical 911 call can take two hours to be answered because there are no tribal law enforcement officers exclusively dedicated to serving Duck Valley. Education funding is another major issue, and the school cannot attract enough certified teachers because of limited housing and other resources in the area, according to the press release 'The challenges we face daily are not insurmountable. We simply need resources to invest in long-term solutions for our people,' Mason said. 'Gaming will give us the tools we need to strengthen our community, grow our infrastructure and provide more opportunities to our youth for generations to come.' The planned location is where the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes used to live, hunt and care for the natural resources. The planned casino will include gaming machines, luxury hotel rooms, a spa, entertainment center and fine dining options. To build this project on tribal land outside of the reservation, the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes will follow the established process set out by the U.S. Department of the Interior and plan to submit their initial application later this year. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Yahoo
Colorado DA says ICE raids could impact success of some criminal court cases
BRIGHTON, Colo. (KDVR) — Seventeenth Judicial District Attorney Brian Mason said he has growing concerns that enhanced U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations may impact his office's ability to successfully prosecute some cases. Mason said some people have already called his office asking if they have to give some personal information. He said federal laws should be enforced and that criminal undocumented immigrants should be deported. But, Mason said the problem is when you have huge ICE raids, fear grows among the undocumented community and they can be less likely to report crimes. 'My largest concern about these enhanced immigration raids that we are seeing and that we have seen is its impact on my ability to keep this community safe,' Mason said. 'Numerous public threats' prompt ICE raid targeting multiple locations, metro Denver gang members Mason said some witnesses and victims may fear giving important testimony in criminal cases in Broomfield and Adams counties. He said that is because of the recent enhanced ICE raids that unfolded in the Denver metro. 'We have already had victims call us and say, 'Is it safe for me to give you my address? Is it safe for me to come to court today?' And if a victim is afraid about giving their address to the district attorney's office and we can't get in touch with them, then we are not going to have their cooperation on a criminal case,' Mason said. Mason said indiscriminate raids can stir fears, which can make the community less safe. 'If a victim or a witness to a crime is afraid to show up across the street at the Adams County Courthouse and doesn't come to court, I can't prove the case, and if that leads to dismissing cases or sweetheart deals on cases because our evidence has changed, then that impacts the safety of this community,' Mason said. Mason said he fully supports deporting violent undocumented criminal immigrants. During the ICE-led raids across the Denver metro, there were several reports of agents going door to door asking people for their documentation. The Denver Department of Homeland Security Investigations acting special agent in charge said at the time, the raids were a targeted enforcement operation, but at the time, he did not know if there were collateral arrests. What happens to migrants after they are taken into ICE custody? FOX31 also spoke to ICE Denver's retired field office director who said some laws keep ICE agents from going to courthouses. He added there are also different kinds of visas that undocumented witnesses can apply for that would help protect them. 'So, there are these different things that people who are not here in a lawful status can apply for if they are going to be in court that would give them a pass to be here permanently,' retired ICE Denver Field Office Director John Fabbricatore said. Still, Mason is concerned there will be undocumented immigrants who will stay away from the courthouse out of fear. Mason said no cases have been impacted yet because of the raids. He stressed the DA's office has no role in federal immigration enforcement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
