EL PASO, Texas — Officers observing suspicious activity led to the discovery of a migrant stash house in northeast El Paso. The latest stash house bust happened Wednesday along Blue Wing Drive.According to El Paso police, officers in the area saw suspicious activity involving a large group of men in a home. The officers suspected
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ENCINO, Texas — Eleven people were dead and roughly 20 others injured when an overloaded van carrying migrants crashed and flipped over in the Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. DPS Sgt. Nathan Brandley told ABC affiliate KRGV that the Ford van crashed into a metal utility
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EL PASO, Texas — Mayor Oscar Leeser and County Judge Ricardo Samaniego held a joint press conference at City Hall on Wednesday morning to announce that El Paso will host what they described as a “multi-state tourism industry event” later this year. The Binational Tourism Connection convention will take place December 1st through 3rd, drawing
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WASHINGTON, DC — The Biden administration is taking the first steps toward requiring nearly all foreign visitors to the U.S. to be vaccinated for the coronavirus, a White House official says. The requirement would come as part of the administration’s phased approach to easing travel restrictions for foreign citizens to the country. No timeline has
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MEXICO CITY, Mexico — The Mexican government is filing a civil lawsuit in the U.S. against major gun manufacturers, alleging that negligent business practices contribute to the illegal flow of weapons over the border, The Washington Post and Reuters reported Wednesday. The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensation for damages from Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc.; Barrett
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UPDATE, Aug. 3: A federal judge in El Paso on Tuesday granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting Texas Gov. Greg Abbott from carrying out plans to have state troopers stop vehicles suspected of carrying migrants. In siding with the federal government, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Cardone found Abbott’s order posed “irreparable harm” and went against
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SUNLAND PARK, New Mexico — A security camera captured the sound of a U.S. Border Patrol agent from the El Paso sector shooting and killing a dog. Officials say it was in self defense. The shooting itself was not captured on the video, just the sound. You can see the clip in the video player
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CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — What was supposed to be a celebration ended in tragedy in Juarez as an SUV driver struck 11 people, killing two of them at a quinceanera party rehearsal. ABC-7’s news partners at Canal 44 report that a man lost control of his vehicle, veered off the road and ran over those
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WASHINGTON, DC — The number of children traveling alone who were picked up at the Mexican border by U.S. immigration authorities likely hit an all-time high in July, and the number of people who came in families likely reached its second-highest total on record, a U.S. official said Monday, citing preliminary government figures. The sharp increases
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — The Biden administration will extend a Trump-era border policy that allows for the swift expulsion of migrants encountered at the US-Mexico border indefinitely, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday, as tens of thousands of migrants continue to cross into the United States monthly. The public health authority, known as
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LAS VEGAS, New Mexico — Miles Robinson headed home an extra-time winner as the United States beat Mexico in the 2021 Gold Cup final on Sunday night at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Matt Turner made a stellar save just after 10 minutes — his 20th of the tournament — from a goalbound Rogelio Funes
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TOKYO, Japan — The Mexican Olympic Committee expressed disappointment that its softball team appeared to have left the Olympic Games this past week with bedding from the Olympic Village rather than with the players’ official uniforms and apparel, which were reportedly found in the trash. “It’s regrettable that they left behind the uniforms in such an inappropriate
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EL PASO, Texas — El Paso’s U.S. Border Patrol sector chief says the region continues to be plagued by human smuggling. As ABC-7 has previously reported, there has been an unprecedented number of stash houses discovered around the Borderland. Border Patrol Chief Gloria Chavez said the latest stash house raid happened Friday when agents found
Continue Reading SUNLAND PARK, New Mexico — Law enforcement officials tell ABC-7 that a new trend is emerging by smugglers to transport undocumented migrants around the Borderland, and it involves ordering the use of ride-sharing services. Sunland Park Police Chief Javier Guerra said his department, along with the U.S. Border Patrol, have noticed that ride-share drivers are
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BROWNSVILLE, Texas — The Biden administration has resumed fast-track deportation flights of undocumented immigrants, Department of Homeland Security officials confirmed to The Washington Post. On Friday, two deportation flights left Texas’ Rio Grande Valley for Central America with 73 immigrants onboard. The planes were originally supposed to carry 147 adult and child deportees, but many were unable
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC. — U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland threatened legal action against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order targeting migrants in a Thursday letter, calling it “both dangerous and unlawful” and urging the governor to immediately rescind it. On Wednesday, Abbott issued an executive order restricting ground transportation of migrants “who pose a risk of
Continue Reading MEXICO CITY, Mexico — Hours after authorities raised the Covid-19 alert level in the face of surging infections, especially among young people, residents packed a Mexico City plaza on a pleasant evening in the charming Coyoacan borough. Among them was Mario Estrada Flores, a lanky 21-year-old college student, who along with nine friends — all
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DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said this week that it’s likely Iowa taxpayers will pay the cost of sending 28 Iowa Department of Public Safety officers to assist Texas officials at the U.S./Mexico border from July 10 through 20. Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens estimated the total cost at around $300,000 but said $100,000 of that
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UPDATE, July 29: El Paso police on Thursday identified the man struck and killed by a train earlier this week near the Union Pacific Railroad Yard. The victim was 42-year-old Alejandro Dimas of Amarillo, Texas. Police, however, didn’t provide any further details surrounding his death – or indicate why the Amarillo man was in the
Continue Reading FORT BLISS, Texas — Two more whistleblowers have come forward alleging that migrant children who stayed at the Fort Bliss facility in El Paso received poor care, according to a complaint obtained by CNN. The issues include mismanagement by private contractors, shortage of underwear and other clothing, and anxiety among children unsure of what to
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AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas National Guard deployment along the U.S.-Mexico border will start helping troopers make arrests, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday, as the state begins filling a formerly empty prison with migrants accused of trespassing. Abbott said the Guard would “assist” troopers with arresting migrants on state charges but offered no details
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UPDATE, July 27: A New Mexico resident and a Mexican national have been charged in the death of a migrant who was discovered in the back of a U-Haul truck cargo bed last week. The discovery was made on U.S. 54 in southern New Mexico between the Otero/Lincoln county line and the town of Carrizozo.
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CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — A ceiling collapsed at a Juarez bank on Tuesday, injuring four people inside. It happened at Banco Santander, located just east of downtown Juarez. When the roof caved in, it sent customers inside the bank scrambling for safety. The director of civil protection for Juarez reported that four people were hurt
Continue Reading By Nicole Chavez, CNN When Luis Grijalva crossed the finish line at the NCAA track and field championships last month, he knew he could reach his Olympic dream. But first, immigration officials would have to agree to let the 22-year-old runner travel outside the United States and come back to the country he calls home.
Continue Reading By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN The Biden administration is planning to speed up deportations for some migrant families who cross the US-Mexico border, the Department of Homeland Security said Monday. Certain families will now be subject to the fast-track deportation procedure known as “expedited removal,” which allows immigration authorities to remove an individual without a hearing
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EL PASO, Texas — The county of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez are now in a race against the clock when it comes to the Covid-19 vaccine supply. El Paso will be forced to throw away between 4,000 to 10,000 vaccines if they cannot find anyone to get the vaccine within days. “It’s a lot
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EL PASO, Texas — A man’s body was pulled by firefighters from the Rio Grande along the U.S.-Mexico border in the Lower Valley on Monday afternoon. El Paso Fire Department divers retrieved the body about 2 p.m. after it was spotted floating by the U.S. Border Patrol and Mexico National Guard on the northern river
Continue Reading By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN US Customs and Border Protection is terminating two border wall contracts in the Laredo sector that cover approximately 31 miles, the Department of Homeland Security announced Friday. In one of his first actions in office, President Joe Biden ordered a pause on wall construction and called for a review of projects
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(Editor’s note: This story was produced as part of the Puente News Collaborative, a bi-national partnership of news organizations in Ciudad Juárez and El Paso.) By Gabriela Minjares/La Verdad CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico – María, after making a trip of about 3,000 kilometers to get to this border to cross over to the United States, found her journey
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EL PASO, Texas — After several Borderland stash house raids that turned up 134 hidden migrants and nearly $600,000 worth of methamphetamine last week, the U.S. Border Patrol said Thursday it had has raided yet another stash house in southern New Mexico. Border Patrol’s El Paso sector chief released video of this latest stash house
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