Month: June 2018

A federal judge in Chicago on Thursday ordered the immediate release from detention of a 9-year-old Brazilian boy who was separated from his mother at the U.S.-Mexico border. Judge Manish Shah said Lidia Karine Souza can have custody of her son, Diogo, who has spent four weeks at a government-contracted shelter in Chicago. The mother,

Police arrested a young man accused of brutally beating a family pet. Detectives with the Animal Cruelty Investigative Unit obtained an arrest warrant for 18-year-old Leopoldo Ortega. Investigators said a witness saw Ortega strike a female Belgian Malinois several times with a rake and a chair before lifting the dog and slamming it to the

Children removed from their families and placed in institutional care are at greater risk of being trafficked, the U.S. warned Thursday in an annual report. The State Department report, which ranks governments in their efforts to combat slavery and the flesh trade, left the Trump administration open to accusations of hypocrisy as the administration’s “zero

Three women in southern Texas have been arrested on voter fraud charges. The Brownsville Herald reports Sylvia Arjona was arrested and arraigned Monday on four counts of unlawful assistance of a voter. Sara Ornelas and Marcela Gutierrez were arrested on Tuesday. Ornelas was arraigned on three counts of unlawful assistance, while Gutierrez was arraign on

Melania Trump returned to the border Thursday to meet face-to-face with those dealing with her husband’s immigration policies firsthand. “I’m here to support you and give my help, whatever I can” on “behalf of children and the families,” Mrs. Trump said as she sat down with officials at a U.S. Border Patrol facility in Tucson,

Another triple digit reading in El Paso. We’ll see a few afternoon clouds develop with a slight chance of a brief, isolated shower or storm in the late afternoon and early evening. An increase of Gulf moisture Friday into Saturday will increase rain chances area wide and drop high temperatures. Through Thursday afternoon, there will

A Texas boy is in the hospital after being bitten by a rattlesnake. The ABC affiliate in Abilene is reporting that the snake was hiding in the boy’s toys and bit him while he was playing. Authorities said high temperatures are drawing snakes closer to residential areas. ABC-7 has reported on the threat of snake

A man wanted for murder in El Paso is now on Texas’ most wanted list. The Department of Public Safety is offering a reward of $7,500 for information leading to Keith Boynes, 46. DPS said Boynes has been wanted since August of 2017. A search of the ABC-7 archive showed that El Paso police were

Summertime in El Paso means finding ways to beat the heat and the city of El Paso will soon provide more options for residents to stay cool. A total of five neighborhood water parks are in the works for the city. On Thursday evening, the city will reveal plans for the central El Paso location

As the White House faces court orders to reunite families separated at the border, immigrant children as young as 3 are being ordered into court for their own deportation proceedings, according to attorneys in Texas, California and Washington, D.C. Requiring unaccompanied minors to go through deportation alone is not a new practice. But in the

Several immigration advocate groups are coming together Thursday night to prepare for nationwide rallies this weekend in opposition of separating children from parents who are being prosecuted for crossing into the U.S. illegally. The rally comes as the Trump Administration faces orders to reunite families within a month. According to a release, people will make

The El Paso Chihuahuas tied a team record with their eighth consecutive win Wednesday night. It’s the fourth time in franchise history they have won eight in a row. The Dogs have failed in each of their previous three attempts to win a ninth game in a row. The Chihuahuas overcame an early 3-0 deficit

Amid the contentious debate over the Trump administration’s immigration policies, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials sent a warning about heightened threats to employees. The ABC-7 I-Team obtained an email from Claire M. Grady, Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, sent to all DHS employees. “In recent days, DHS has determined there may be a

The El Paso county sheriff’s office starts its safe streets program today and goes through the next four weeks.The satellite booking office is on the lower level of the county courthouse and is open eight to five Monday through Friday. and i guess you can say it’s a one stop shop handling warrants for felonies

The former athletic director at Baylor University alleges that regents schemed to make black football players scapegoats for a decades-long problem of sexual assault at the nation’s largest Baptist school, and that he resigned rather than be part of a massive cover-up. Ian McCaw said he was “disgusted” by the racism and the “phony” investigation

After spending eight and half years on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list, authorities have arrested the captain of the El Paso/Cuidad Juarez-based Barrio Azteca gang in Mexico. On June 26th, 2018, the Procuraduria General de la Republica de Mexico (PGR) arrested FBI fugitive Eduardo Ravelo, aka “Tablas”, in Uruapan, Michoacan, Mexico. Ravelo’s arrest

Detectives with the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office investigating an alleged rape reported last summer arrested a suspect whose DNA evidence was linked to his identity in a national criminal database. Court records state a woman was hosting a garage sale off Doña Ana Road on June 24, 2017. The woman said two men who

The City of Las Cruces Parks and Recreation Department met with multiple veterans to determine the cost and logistics of fixing the Vietnam Memorial. Joe Martinez had the original idea for the monument and poured countless hours into bringing it to fruition. “My immediate reaction was, as most things would be, anger,” Martinez said. “Who

Border Patrol agents arrested two people, including an alleged Barrio Azteca gang member, accused of trying to smuggle 20 pounds of methamphetamines through the Alamogordo, New Mexico immigration checkpoint Tuesday morning. The drugs were allegedly found in the glove box and the spare tire compartment during a secondary search of the vehicle. It would have

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has formally requested space for up to 12,000 beds at a military base to detain families caught crossing the border illegally, two Trump administration officials said Wednesday. The request asks for 2,000 beds to be up and running in the next 45 days, and the remaining space to be

In an unmarked brick building a few blocks from the Mexican border, immigrant parents clutched folders of birth certificates and asylum paperwork and sat on folding chairs, waiting to use a single, shared land-line phone. They rushed to the phone as their names were called with word that a relative or government worker was on

The government acted unlawfully by requiring unaccompanied immigrant children to remain detained until an agency’s director personally approved their release, a process that delayed their freedom and caused suffering, a judge ruled Wednesday in ordering an end to the practice. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty in Manhattan said in a written ruling that a

Mexico’s legal campaign season wrapped up Wednesday as the candidates made final appeals to voters ahead of Sunday’s elections, with leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador the clear favorite to win the presidency. Lopez Obrador rallied in Chiapas before returning to Mexico City’s Azteca stadium for his final campaign event. Ricardo Anaya planned a rally in

ABC-7 has learned one of the migrant plaintiffs in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU against the Trump Administration is a mother who has been staying at Annunciation House for several months. The Brazilian woman, only identified as Jocelyn, was reunited with her son several weeks ago in El Paso. The mother is seeking asylum

The “Organ Fire” which started Sunday, just east of San Agustin Pass, has more than doubled in size. U.S. Bureau of Land and Management fire information officer Rico Smith said the fire grew in size from 1,200 acres to 2,863 acres. “The winds were expected to be calm, but as the afternoon went on, the

A Texas nurse accused of intentionally injuring patients has been charged with murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The Tyler Morning Telegraph reports that a jury indicted William Davis last week. The nurse was arrested in April as a suspect in the death of 47-year-old Christopher Greenaway, who was recovering from a heart

The death of a 3-year-old boy Tuesday is considered suspicious, according to El Paso police. Police haven’t said what caused the boy’s death. Authorities on the scene told ABC-7 they conducted a welfare check on a home on the 11500 block of Spencer Drive at around 5 p.m. Tuesday. “Upon arrival, we found that fire

FBI leaders and local law enforcement officials are studying shootings in schools to piece together trends and come up with ways to prevent future violence, officials said. The FBI on Wednesday hosted a daylong session at its headquarters to discuss common warning signs of shooters, information sharing among law enforcement and response plans among schools.

An accident on I-10 East at Geronimo is causing major backup. According to El Paso police, the left three lanes are closed and backup is all the way to Raynolds. Clearing time is one hour. No further information has been provided.

A wreck involving two tractor trailers and an SUV shut down I-10 West in Northwest El Paso for nearly two three hours. The wreck was reported at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday on I-10 West in the Vinton area. All westbound lanes are closed at I-10 West and Landfill. Traffic was being forced off the freeway