GEAR JRNL

US-Immigration-Detaining-Children

The government has been holdinghundreds of children and their parentsat the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, about 75 miles south of San Antonio. Some have been detained for months.

The Department of Homeland Security has strongly defended the quality of care and conditions there.

Here are key findings from an Associated Press report on how the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement is shaping life inside the facility.

Detention of children has been rising

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement booked more than 3,800 children into detention during the first nine months of the new Trump administration, according to an AP analysis of data from the University of California, Berkeley's Deportation Data Project.

On an average day, more than 220 children were being held, with most of those detained longer than 24 hours sent to Dilley. More than half of Dilley detainees during the early part of the Trump administration were children, the AP analysis found.

Sincebeing reopened last spring, the number of people detained at Dilley has risen sharply and reached more than 1,300 in late January, according to researchers. Nearly two-thirds of children detained by ICE in the early months of the Trump administration were eventually deported.

ICE holds many children longer than 20-day limit

The government is holding many childrenat Dilley well beyond the 20-day limitset by a longstanding court order.

Advertisement

"We've started to use 100 days as a benchmark because so many children are exceeding 20 days," said Leecia Welch, the chief legal director at Children's Rights, who visits Dilley regularly to ensure compliance. In a visit this month, Welch said she counted more than 30 children who had been held for over 100 days.

Many settled families among those currently detained

When the Obama administration opened Dilley in 2014, nearly all the families detained there had recently crossed the border from Mexico.

But many of those now sent to the facility have lived in the U.S. several years, according to lawyers and other observers, meaning children are being uprooted from the familiarity of schools, neighborhoods and many of the people who care for them.

Parents Allege Deficient Care

Parents and children recounted stressful conditions inside Dilley, including experiences that raise questions about the quality of care being provided.

A 13-year-old girl cut herself with a plastic knife after staff withheld prescribed antidepressants and denied her request to join her mother down the hall, the mother told the AP.

Another mother said when her 1-year-old daughter developed a high fever and vomited, medical staff repeatedly offered only acetaminophen and ibuprofen before she was eventually admitted to hospitals with bronchitis, pneumonia and stomach viruses. ICE disputed her account, saying the baby "immediately received proper care."

Other families described more routine problems, like the difficulty of getting children to sleep in quarters where lights are kept on all night and of stomach aches caused by foul drinking water.

Both adults and children described the often overwhelming stress of being detained that has caused many to despair.

ICE, DHS defend Dilley

DHS did not respond to detailed questions about Dilley submitted by the AP. But both DHS and ICE sharply refuted allegations of poor care and conditions in statements issued this week."The Dilley facility is a family residential center designed specifically to house family units in a safe, structured and appropriate environment," ICE Director Todd M. Lyons said in a statement.Dilley provides medical screenings and infant care packages as well as classrooms and recreational spaces, ICE said.Once in full operation, Dilley is expected to generate about $180 million in annual revenue for CoreCivic, the for-profit prison company that operates it under contract with ICE, according to the company's recent filing with securities regulators.In response to questions from the AP, a CoreCivic spokesman said no child at Dilley "has been denied medical treatment or experienced a delayed medical assessment." The company said detainees receive comprehensive care from medical and mental health professionals.Questions about oversightThe increased detention of families comes as the Trump administration has gutted an office responsible for oversight of conditions inside Dilley and other facilities.In years past,investigators found problems at Dilley, including consistently inadequate staffing and disregard for the trauma caused by the detention.A special committee recommended that family detention be discontinued except in rare cases, and the Biden administration began phasing it out in 2021. Dilley was closed in 2024. But in reopening it, the Trump administration has completely reversed course.

DHS did not respond to detailed questions about Dilley submitted by the AP. But both DHS and ICE sharply refuted allegations of poor care and conditions in statements issued this week.

"The Dilley facility is a family residential center designed specifically to house family units in a safe, structured and appropriate environment," ICE Director Todd M. Lyons said in a statement.

Dilley provides medical screenings and infant care packages as well as classrooms and recreational spaces, ICE said.

Once in full operation, Dilley is expected to generate about $180 million in annual revenue for CoreCivic, the for-profit prison company that operates it under contract with ICE, according to the company's recent filing with securities regulators.

In response to questions from the AP, a CoreCivic spokesman said no child at Dilley "has been denied medical treatment or experienced a delayed medical assessment." The company said detainees receive comprehensive care from medical and mental health professionals.

Questions about oversight

The increased detention of families comes as the Trump administration has gutted an office responsible for oversight of conditions inside Dilley and other facilities.

In years past,investigators found problems at Dilley, including consistently inadequate staffing and disregard for the trauma caused by the detention.

A special committee recommended that family detention be discontinued except in rare cases, and the Biden administration began phasing it out in 2021. Dilley was closed in 2024. But in reopening it, the Trump administration has completely reversed course.

Bad Bunny, Springsteen and the wait for a defining protest song

A few weeks later,U2unveiled "American Obituary," one of five songs on surprise album "Days of Ash" the band recorded to "confront these maddening times."

In February,Bad Bunnyused his Super Bowl headlining movement to highlight Puerto Rico'sgentrification and economic strugglesin front of128.2 million viewers. He ended his performance holding a football inscribed with the message "Together, We Are America".

Many of music's biggest stars are politically vocal online and in interviews. Yet the majority of new music doesn't feel tied to a defining protest moment. The songs arrive, circulate and fade out quickly. They don't seem to have the same unifying power of '60s era songs like "People Get Ready," "Give Peace a Chance" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'" that spoke to the Civil Rights Movement, anti-Vietnam War protests and mid-century counterculture.

Today, the music is out there, protest is alive, and yet it feels like something is missing.

Why, in an era when artists seem more outspoken than ever, does it feel like we're still waiting for a defining political soundtrack?

Protest music is 'romanticized,' but it's not always overt

Songs as overt asNina Simone's "Mississippi Goddam"are transcendent emblems of the 1960s. "Mississippi" was explosive and controversial to the point where Simone faced intense blowback and eventually took a break from music altogether. But not every protest song was a hit, with esteem for some coming years later.

Dr. Tammy L. Kernodle, Miami University Department of Music professor, says for many Black artists navigating crossover radio, protest music often traveled through metaphor and spirit.

"Most of Black popular music up until that point had really stayed away from any type of overt protest narrative," she says of music during the Civil Rights Movement. "Notice why I say 'overt,' because we're always saying something, even when we're not saying anything."

Much of the music during the Civil Rights Movement didn't "stick" in the way we assume, Kernodle says. The soundtrack to resistance thrived in specific settings; they were sung in the streets and in organizing spaces.Yet for Black music in particular, the hits of the time – fromAretha Franklin "Respect"toMarvin Gaye's "What's Going On"– used indirect messaging to make a point.

"It can be argued that most of Black music before our contemporary times is some form of protest music," she says. "Black music has always had a strain of resistance in it. So whether we were expressing joy or we were actually documenting what were experiences of oppression or systems of oppression, we've always been singing."

The reason we remember the '60s era so fondly, she says, is it had a clearly identifiable soundtrack that was threaded throughout the promotion of political movements. She calls it "systematic" how the music of Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez – cornerstones of popular culture – became part of the consciousness of a larger moment.

That includes the era's other causes. Anti-war campaigns saw Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young outcry the Kent State shootings in "Ohio" and Creedence Clearwater Revival slam the military draft in "Fortunate Son." The pro-feminism movement saw Lesley Gore declare "You Don't Own Me" and Aretha Franklin reclaim "Respect." And an anti-establishment youth rebellion overtook music with help from Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'" and The Beatles' "Revolution."

The era felt unified in its divergent movements, moving in tandem as the music demanded a more peaceful, equitable world.

"There is a soundtrack to this movement that we can't identify with any other time. We can talk about the blues in the 1920s, but it is not associated with the type of mass mobilization and radical social change that is embodied, like what we see in the 1960s," Kernodle says. "Those young people amped that thing up. And they did it with music because they understood that music was a way of really spreading ideology. It was also a way of disarming people's ears."

Why does it feel like political music doesn't stick today?

Engaging in protest music may be harder now. Leading up to the streaming era, protest music surged in waves. The late 1980s and '90s saw N.W.A.'s "F--- tha Police" and Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" take on police brutality. In the aughts, Green Day critiqued post-9/11 American culture with "American Idiot" and Willie Nelson returned to the charts with his cover of the satirical "gay cowboy song," "Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other," cheekily affirming his longtime friend and tour manager coming out.

But musicians now have the added issue of a fragmented music culture. Unique algorithms put people on different sides of the internet and feed them songs similar to what they're already listening to. And unlimited access to music via streaming makes it harder for smaller artists to break through.

"People are still playing music. They're still doing shows, they're still saying what they wanna say. They're still finding an audience in that way. But there's just so much more of it," saysDr. Dave Powell, who teaches the course "Protest Music and Social Change in the American Experience" at at Gettysburg College. "There's also a lot of art being made by people who are just responding to things on a day-to-day basis and that could be harder to find if you don't know where to look for it."

U2 surprise drops'Days of Ash' EP to 'confront these maddening times'

Music is also much less communal, and protest anthems require participation.

Advertisement

"We're no longer a singing nation. We don't sing collectively, cooperatively, and publicly," said Kernodle. "We sang in church. We sang in school. You sang with your friends. You sang with the radio, video. And that disappeared."

It's also easier to identify protest music when there is a surge in resistance, whether that's reflecting Vietnam anti-war sentiments in Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind," Bush Era grievances in Green Day's "American Idiot" or standing against Black Lives Matter-era racial injustice in Kendrick Lamar's "Alright."

When there is less of a sustained national uprising, you often see less of a musical response. So now, with a political resurgence in the streets and on campuses in support of Palestine or against ICE, a YouTube-famed folk singer like Jesse Welles can emerge as the protest song's newfound champion. The "War Isn't Murder" singer's reactionary style of making music – which sees him release songs several times a month – may not be topping charts, but he has found a captive audience excited about what his presence means for the contemporary political anthem.

Today's protest music carries new risks

For the artists without global stardom or creative control over their music, there is also the added layer of risk. Labels favor broad marketability and commercial viability, and potentially controversial records don't usually fit the criteria. Today's political songs are rarely promoted, and in kind, don't impact the cultural zeitgeist as they did before.

"There's always some manipulation. There's always some censoring. There's always a desire to promote artists in a particular way, especially because of that shadow of crossover being so important, particularly if you're singing in what are seen as marginalized genres," said Kernodle, referring to rap, country and R&B. "I think labels don't want to promote that now because they don't think that people have a desire for that kind of music."

Established artists are able to take more risks, saysJoseph Terry, senior lecturer in communications at the University of New Hampshire.Beyoncérarely made openly political music until two decades into her career. When it did happen, marked by the Grammy-winning singer and her dancers appearing on the Super Bowl halftime stage wearing outfits similar to those made famous by the Black Panther Party, it led Rush Limbaugh and other conservative commentators to lash out and prompted the "Saturday Night Live" skit "The Day Beyoncé Turned Black."

"Not everyone can be Bad Bunny, and be seen as a mainstream figure, but also be so political," Terry says, pointing out that the Puerto Rican rapper and singer's music, while fun to dance to, addresses colonization, gentrification and corruption in his homeland. Non-Spanish speakers may not be fully attuned, but it's an affirming act of resistance for fans.

There is also a tendency for contemporary artists to make their political anthems less brazen – Bad Bunny rapping about not wanting Latin families to move away from their homes is a subtle referendum on economic insecurity in "DtMF," and Lady Gaga singingabout loving yourselfin "Born This Way" was an affirmation to queer communities.

"It doesn't matter whether a lot of people might not recognize that a song is political because as long as some people do, the point is coming across," Terry says. Yet, "these simple acts of protest, I think, are seen as more controversial today, which is a larger issue than music."

What Bad Bunny's halftime showmeans for Puerto Rico

Music has never been neutral

At February'sGrammy Awards, multiple artists including Bad Bunny,Billie EilishandKehlanispoke out about ICE, garnering praise in the room but riling up some viewers on social media. Controversial comedian Ricky Gervais took toXafter the ceremony to resurface comments he made during his 2020 Golden Globes monologue, in which he told the onlooking actors: "If you do win an award tonight, don't use it as a political platform to make a political speech. You're in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world."

"Instead of what they said to LeBron, 'Shut up and dribble,' (they're) saying, 'Shut up and sing a song,' which is so absurd," says Terry. "It's a complete ignorance of so much of music of the 20th century."

Some fans want artists with opposing views to stay silent. It's a familiar refrain, likely to get louder if protest music make a mainstream resurgence.

There is also debate over whether music does anything to actually change hearts and minds. Organizing has persisted despite the lack of universal anthems. So why do we need them now? Well, art provides a mirror to what is happening and confirmation that more than one person sees something is not right. Protest music can make the difference between giving up or continuing to fight.

"Art doesn't create movements, it reflects those movements and it can be used to sustain them and support them," says Powell. "There's a famous line attributed to Pete Seeger, that 'A good song reminds us what we're fighting for.'"

Bruce Springsteen blasts'King Trump,' slams Alex Pretti shooting in new song

In the comments of one of Jesse Welles' most recent songs, "Good vs Ice," dozens of users thanked the singer for being a breath of fresh air in a time of such political volatility. One person wrote, "You are necessary bro. You are one of the only things the rest of us have any hope for, actually getting through the haze," adding that despite feeling helpless, "You help us all feel a little less so."

While Powell has spoken to musicians who feel that songs don't change anything, he pushes back, saying that while it may be true that music merely reinforces views people already have, it still has a valuable purpose in political movements.

"If it sustains people, if it changes their views on a particular issue, if it gives them a sense of hope when they're lacking one or forces a conversation that they otherwise wouldn't have had," he adds. "Woody Guthrie certainly had an impact on people. Pete Seeger certainly had an impact on people through his music. People like Nina Simone, Josh White, I mean these are great, great artists who change people's ways of seeing the world because of music that they made, so to me that sure seems to make a difference."

Protest music, like many things in contemporary American culture, is now immediate and reactive. And like the fights they're inspired by, the music is still unfolding.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Bad Bunny, Bruce Springsteen and a search for the new political anthem

A guitar virtuoso who co-founded the band with his drumming brother and singer David Lee Roth,Eddie Van Halendied of cancer in 2020. Alex Van Halen first droppedsome unreleased music created with his brotherwiththe audiobook versionofhis memoir "Brothers,"released in October 2024.

More recently, Alex Van Halen has said there's enough unreleased material recorded while his brother was alive to create a final Van Halen album. Currently, he is working withSteve Lukather, co-founder of the band Toto and a friend of Eddie Van Halen, on helping finishing the album. Also a music producer and arranger,Lukather has saidhe is not playing on the tracks.

Katy Perry

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

These musicians who have never won a Grammy will surprise you

Protest music:Bad Bunny, Springsteen and the wait for a defining protest song

Eddie's son,Wolfgang Van Halen, supplied bass guitar,Alex Van Halen told American Songwriter recently. "The drums are already recorded. The drums, the guitar and the bass are already in there."

In arecent interviewwith the Brazilian YouTube channel and podcast Kazagastão, Alex Van Halen told host Gastão Moreira he had hoped to recruit as a vocalistPaul Rodgers, who previously served as the lead singer for several bands including Free and Bad Company, and Queen, when the band toured after Freddie Mercury's death. "But he can't do it any more," Van Halen said.

Advertisement

Hagar 'would love to write a song with Eddie again'

Sammy Hagar, who had two stints as Van Halen's lead vocalist – from 1985-1996 after Roth's departure, and again in 2004 – hasn't been contacted about the project, he told USA TODAY. "(Alex Van Halen) has the right to do anything he wants with his brother's stuff, but it's really a shame," he said. "I would love to write a song with Eddie again."

Hagar went so far as to say having him and Roth split the vocals – and have bassist Michael Anthony provide backing vocals – "would be a dream come true for Van Halen fans."

In his memoir, Alex Van Halen didn't cover the "Van Hagar" years of the band, after Roth left in 1985. "For me, the spirit of the band ended in 1984. We did good work after that, but the primary spiritual aspect, the magic, the potential, the looking to the future together, all of that stuff, our mutually strange backgrounds – that's what made Van Halen,"he told USA TODAY in 2024.

"I understand he's got some problems with me," Hagar says. "But whatever, you know, I'm busy. But if I got the call, I would drop just about everything, except for my live shows, to do the right thing for that. It would just be so exciting to work with Eddie again in any way."

Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him atmikegsnider&@mikegsnider.bsky.social&@mikesnider& msnider@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Sammy Hagar would work on new Van Halen tracks 'if I got the call'

The Fulton County Medical Examiner's confirmed that Smith's cause of death was "drowning in the setting of psilocybin use,"PeopleandE! Newsreported, citing an autopsy report.

The autopsy also stated that Smith's blood had tested positive for "a pharmacologically active hallucinogenic compound of psilocybin — hallucinogenic mushrooms," according to E! News and People.

USA TODAY has reached out to the Fulton County Medical Examiner.

Smith, who went by the stage name DJ Young Slade, was found dead after running out of his home without his phone on Feb. 3 around 6 a.m, according toa missing persons report. The Milton Police Department in Milton, Georgia, said at the time that he "may be disoriented and in need of assistance."

After police confirmed his death on Feb. 6,Lil Jon shared a statementsaying he and Smith's mother, Nicole Smith, were "extremely heartbroken" and "devastated."

"Nathan was the kindest human being you would ever meet. He was immensely caring, thoughtful, polite, passionate, and warmhearted."

"He loved his family and the friends in his life to the fullest. He was an amazingly talented young man; a music producer, an artist and engineer, and graduate of NYU," the statement continued. "We loved Nathan with all of our hearts and are incredibly proud of him. He was loved and appreciated, and in our last times together we're comforted in knowing that we expressed that very sentiment to him."

Advertisement

Lil Jon and Nicole Smith married in 2004 and later separated in 2022. The rapper is also a father to daughter Nahara, whom he shares with girlfriend Jamila Sozahdah.

DJ Young Slade attends the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena on Sept. 11, 2024, in Elmont, New York.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Lil Jon's son found dead at 27. Revisit his career as DJ Young Slade.

DJ Young Slade attends the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena on Sept. 11, 2024, in Elmont, New York.

Who was DJ Young Slade?

Nathan Smith was a DJ and musician, just like his father, Lil Jon.

"Lade released this when he graduated from college. He was so happy to express his art n do it himself. I was so proud of him for doing it all on his own," Lil Jon wrote on Instagram promotinga song called "Move Thru Fire."

Under the stage name DJ Young Slade, Smith aimed to follow in his father's footsteps while also paving his own lane. In March 2025, he dropped anew single titled "Feels"that premiered on MTV.

"It's dope to appreciate my dad, show respect, and just look at all the things he's done, and it's nice to get the torch passed down and do my own thing," Smith toldThe Quintessential Gentlemanfollowing the release of the track in March. "Because it's like it comes from him, but also I'm definitely taking it and making it my own."

Lil Jon previously said his son started DJing at age 11 and graduated from the Scratch DJ Academy in Los Angeles at age 12, according toPeople. As a teenager, he DJed at various LA clubs before making his own music.

"It's literally in your kid's genes to do what you do," he said, per People. "It is in their genes. It is in their DNA. We pass everything we get and we learn down to our children. So he was destined to be in the music business and do music."

Contributing: Anika Reed and Anna Kaufman

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Lil Jon's son Nathan Smith's cause of death confirmed

While the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the sole power to declare war, a power last officially exercised in 1942 for World War Two, presidents often act under theWar Powers Actof 1973 or their authority as Commander in Chief to engage in military actions without formal Congressional approval.

Every president since Gerald Fordhas used the resolution to initiate or justify military actions in conflicts including Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Libya, Iraq and drone strikes in the Middle East.

More:Iran hit by 'massive' US attack; supreme leader targeted: Updates

The U.S. and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on Feb. 28. President Trump confirmed the operation in a televised address to the nation.

Pictured above, a plume of smoke rises following a reported explosion in Tehran on February 28, 2026. Two loud blasts were heard in Tehran on February 28 morning by AFP journalists, and two plumes of thick smoke were seen over the centre and east of the Iranian capital.

Israel's defence ministry announced it had launched a "preemptive strike" on Iran as sirens sounded in Jerusalem and people across the country received phone alerts about an "extremely serious" threat.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Smoke rises following an explosion after the U.S. and Israel reportedly launched an attack against Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026, in this screen grab taken from video.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> U.S. President Donald Trump pumps his fist after disembarking Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., February 27, 2026. Hours later, Trump made live comments about the military strikes he launched against Iran.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Military strikes underway by US and Israel against Iran. See photos

The U.S. and Israellaunched military strikes against Iranon Feb. 28. President Trump confirmed the operation in a televised address to the nation.Pictured above, a plume of smoke rises following a reported explosion in Tehran on February 28, 2026. Two loud blasts were heard in Tehran on February 28 morning by AFP journalists, and two plumes of thick smoke were seen over the centre and east of the Iranian capital.Israel's defence ministry announced it had launched a "preemptive strike" on Iran as sirens sounded in Jerusalem and people across the country received phone alerts about an "extremely serious" threat.

Did the U.S. formally declare war?

Even though the U.S. carried out major military strikes against Iran on Saturday alongside Israel, the United States has not formally declared war.

In the U.S., only Congress can declare war. Lawmakers have not voted on a declaration or passed a new authorization related to Iran. Instead, the president ordered the strikes under his powers as commander in chief, calling them "major combat operations" aimed at stopping what he described as immediate threats.

The Pentagon named the action Operation Epic Fury, a term typically used for military campaigns that fall short of a declared war. Fighting is underway, and Iran has retaliated but under U.S. law, the country is not officially at war unless Congress says so.

How is Congress is reacting to Operation Epic Fury?

As expected, Congress is sharply divided between the Republicans and Democrats.

Advertisement

Republican leaders and national security hawkslargely praised the strikes, saying Iran posed an urgent threat and diplomacy had failed.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House SpeakerMike Johnsonbacked Trump's decision and said senior lawmakers had been briefed in advance.

Senators Lindsey Graham and Tom Cotton called the operation necessary and long overdue, with Graham openly endorsing regime change in Iran.

Democratic criticism and war‑powers concerns

Many Democrats, and a few Republicans, condemned the strikes as unauthorized, warning the president bypassed Congress.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, said he would join again withRep. Ro Khanna, D-California, to force a vote on the War Powers Act.

"I am opposed to this War,"Massie said on social media. "This is not 'America First.'"

Briefings but no vote

Administration officials notified members of the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" before the strikes, but Congress did not vote on a declaration of war or a new authorization. That gap is now fueling calls for lawmakers to return to Washington and formally weigh in.

USA TODAY's Kim Hjelmgaard, Francesca Chambers, Bart Jansen, Will Carless and Sarah D. Wire contributed to the reporting of this story

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Are the US and Israel at war with Iran if Congress hasn't declared it?