Inside Valley Politics: Flores announces district switch, Operation Pick-Off arrests

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — In this week’s episode of Inside Valley Politics, hosts Frank McCaffrey and Brian Svendsen discuss key political developments in the Rio Grande Valley — from election announcements to the controversy surrounding Ivermectin. 

Former U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores has officially announced she will switch her 2026 congressional bid from Texas’ 28th District to the 34th District. District 34 includes Cameron and Willacy counties and is currently represented by Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, whom Flores has previously challenged. 

Flores said she was motivated to return to District 34 after congressional maps were redrawn. “It gives us a fair shot, a fair chance, unlike the previous map,” she told Inside Valley Politics. “I just felt it was God redirecting me back home.” 

Meanwhile, Texas lawmakers have approved a bill allowing pharmacists to dispense the antiparasitic drug Ivermectin without a prescription. The drug, which drew national attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, was used by some as a treatment despite large-scale clinical trials showing no effectiveness against the virus in humans. 

Also on the program, U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei announced the arrest of 78 individuals following the launch of “Operation Pick-Off,” a coordinated effort by several federal law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol, the FBI, and others. The initiative aims to target individuals suspected of criminal activity and immigration violations in the Southern District of Texas. 

“If there’s a criminal offense and somebody is here illegally, we are going to look at them as part of this investigation," Ganjei said at a news conference.

Ganjei said more than 275 agents from seven different agencies have been working in teams to carry out arrests as part of the operation. 

Later in the episode, McCaffrey sits down with Cameron County Democratic Party Chair Jared Hockema about the political dynamics of immigration enforcement during President Donald Trump’s administration. Hockema criticized the framing of Operation Pick-Off.

“I think that President Trump ran on the promise of removing criminals from the United States,” Hockema said. “What we’ve seen is the majority of people being arrested are actually working people.” 

For these stories and many more, catch Inside Valley Politics on Sundays at 6:30 a.m. on NBC 23 and 10:30 p.m. on CBS 4. 

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