Month: December 2018

Antelope Wells, the remote port of entry in New Mexico where 7-year-old Jakelin Caal crossed, has had more than 2,000 migrants cross in the past three months, according to a USA Today report. USA Today cited a conference call with Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan Tuesday. McAleenan toured the Antelope Wells and Lordsburg

Secretly recorded phone calls played Wednesday at the U.S. trial of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman make him sound as if he was enjoying his life as a narco-outlaw. “Amigo!” a cheerful voice identified as Guzman’s says at the start of a 2008 call made by an American drug distributor who has

President Donald Trump is pulling all 2,000 U.S. troops out of Syria, officials announced Wednesday as the president suddenly declared victory over the Islamic State, contradicting his own experts’ assessments and sparking surprise and outrage from his party’s lawmakers who called his action rash and dangerous. The U.S. began airstrikes in Syria in 2014, and

Decades after the U.S. stopped institutionalizing kids because large and crowded orphanages were causing lasting trauma, it is happening again. The federal government has placed most of the 14,300 migrant toddlers, children and teens in its care in detention centers and residential facilities packed with hundreds, or thousands, of children. As the year draws to

An infant who was shot in the face at a New Mexico motel earlier this month is in an induced coma and will likely have severe health complications including hearing and vision loss as a result of her injuries, police said Wednesday. Gallup Police Officer Darius Johnson told The Associated Press in an interview that

Three people were detained in the killing of two young Honduran migrants in Tijuana, authorities said Wednesday, and Mexican media reported the victims had come to the border city across from San Diego as part of the caravan of more than 6,000 people that arrived last month. Baja California state prosecutors said in a statement

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked Trump administration policies that prevented immigrants who suffered gang violence or domestic abuse in their home countries from seeking asylum. U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan declared that some of the guidance that then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued this year cannot be used to determine whether an immigrant has

The number of children being held in immigrant shelters has soared over the past few years, bringing with it a number of issues, especially in Arizona, where several workers in charge of caring for them have been charged with sexually-based crimes. In Arizona, where over 800 immigrant kids are being held, the state’s largest provider

The El Paso Hispanic Chambers of Commerce announced Tuesday that it received a $400,000 grant to launch a new National Assistance Center. The center will be called the Minority Women’s Enterprise Diversity Center, funded by a grant through the U.S. Minority Development Agency. The CEO of El Paso Chamber of Commerce, Cindy Ramos-Davidson, told ABC-7,

UPDATE: The horses that were seen running along I-10 were spotted by Sheriffs deputies and successfully corralled. A spokesperson for the sheriffs department told our ABC-7 crews that the horses were accounted for and taken care of by deputies on the scene, the area should now be clear. Viewers have called into our news room

The talented back and one time UTEP star was tripped up and tackled early in the Packers Bears game and sprained his MCL. You can see him in the top right of your screen taking himself out of the game. This season Jones put up 728 yards, which ranks 22nd at the moment in the

The start of 2019 could bring some major changes to the retirement plans of more than a million U.S. military service members. USAA, a financial planning service and insurance company, is urging the 1.6 million eligible military members to evaluate their retirement plans and the new Blended Retirement System, or BRS. Those who are eligible

After draft employment contracts for the city manager and attorney were leaked, the El Paso City Council discussed municipal ethics code violations during its scheduled meeting Tuesday. The documents, which ABC-7 reviewed, stated City Manager Tommy Gonzalez request list included a salary of more than $330,000 and a medical stipend of $2,500 for healthcare in

Lawmakers visiting the Border Patrol station where a 7-year-old Guatemalan girl was taken hours before her death demanded an independent investigation Tuesday into the response by federal agents. “There are things that we need to learn,” said U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz, a California Democrat who was part of the delegation visiting the Border Patrol station

The Trump administration is changing the way it reviews sponsors who want to care for migrant children in government custody – backing off a requirement that all people in the house are fingerprinted. The fingerprint requirement began in June amid the zero-tolerance policy at the border that led to the separation of some 2,400 children

The Trump administration is changing the way the government reviews potential sponsors who want to care for migrant children, a move that could lead to the release of thousands of migrant children in federal custody, Texas Monthly reports. According to the article written by El Paso journalist Robert Moore, the government will no longer require

A West Texas man has pleaded guilty in the death of his 18-year-old stepdaughter who authorities say was repeatedly subjected to sexual abuse before she was fatally stabbed and her uterus was cut from her body. Forty-two-year-old James Holland was sentenced Tuesday in a Lubbock courtroom to life in prison after pleading guilty to capital

Four days after the death of a migrant girl in federal custody, multiple members of Congress called the conditions at immigration holding facilities across the country unacceptable. “There’s a lack of training, lack of equipment, and all of that adds up to bad priorities,” said U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas has filed a lawsuit against the state’s attorney general and others over a law requiring contractors to certify they do not boycott Israel. The federal suit filed Tuesday argues the law forces people to choose between their First Amendment rights and their livelihoods. State Attorney General Ken Paxton,

A former U.S. prosecutor hired by the University of Texas says a state senator accused of sending sexually explicit text messages to a graduate student blamed them on someone else and didn’t fully cooperate with investigators. The report released Tuesday concluded that Republican state Sen. Charles Schwertner didn’t violate university policies based on “available evidence.”

Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones will miss the final two games of the season after being placed on injured reserve. The team’s leading rusher left the 24-17 loss to Chicago on Sunday in the first quarter with a knee injury. The defeat helped eliminate the Packers from playoff contention. Jones, a former star

President Donald Trump and Democratic lawmakers are in a standoff over funding the government, and the main sticking point is Trump’s demand for $5 billion to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump said during the campaign he was going to make Mexico pay for the barrier – but now he’s asking U.S. taxpayers

Penny Marshall, who starred in “Laverne & Shirley” before becoming one of the top-grossing female directors in Hollywood, has died. She was 75. Mashall’s publicist, Michelle Bega, said Marshall passed away in her Hollywood Hills, Calif., home on Monday due to complications from diabetes. Marshall starred alongside Cindy Williams in the hit ABC comedy “Laverne

The top elected official in a South Texas county says two officials should resign for failing to protect the county from an electronic payment scam that totaled more than $525,000. An outside review determined that no individual Galveston County employee was to blame for the loss of money. But Galveston County Judge Mark Henry said

The United States has pledged $5.8 billion in aid for strengthening government and economic development in Central America, and another $4.8 billion in development aid for southern Mexico. The U.S aid aims to promote better security conditions and job opportunities as part of a regional plan to allow Central Americans to remain in their countries

A federal judge abruptly postponed the sentencing hearing Tuesday for Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, after a stunning hearing in which the judge accused Flynn of selling out his country. The delay allows Flynn to continue cooperating with the special counsel’s Russia probe and get credit for it in his punishment.

Officials say New Mexico’s debt to the film industry could hit $250 million by summer and reach $700 million in four years. The Albuquerque Journal reports Jon Clark, chief economist for the Legislative Finance Committee, told state lawmakers Monday that New Mexico is on track to reach a “breaking point” eventually under the current system,

Police arrested a registered sex offender featured on last week’s top 10 most wanted fugitives list. Robert Garza, 59, is charged with indecent exposure. On November 1, 2018, a woman reported being confronted in a lewd manner by a man as she was walking to her residence. The man, later identified as Garza, allegedly exposed

Mexico’s new government is increasing minimum wages across the country by 16 percent and doubling the minimum wage in a narrow stretch of territory along the border with the United States, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Tuesday. Lopez Obrador, who took office on Dec. 1, said the minimum wage had lost 70 percent of

The deaths of five people killed in a large apartment fire near Texas State University have been ruled homicides. The fire broke out on July 20 at an apartment complex in San Marcos. The fire has been ruled an arson, though no arrests have been made and few details have been released about how the