EL PASO, Texas — U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas placed the blame for the current influx of migrants on the southern border at the feet of the prior administration. “Why is it especially challenging and difficult now, because the entire system under United States law that has been in place throughout administrations of
Continue Reading
EL PASO, Texas — Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso on Friday with a group of bipartisan senators. Typically on such a trip, a cabinet secretary and lawmakers would be accompanied by reporters or a member of the White House press pool to feed notes back
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and a bipartisan group of U.S. senators visited the Mexican border in El Paso on Friday amid growing controversy over how the Biden administration is dealing with a surge in migrants, especially unaccompanied children. Mayorkas made his second trip as secretary to El
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was visiting El Paso on Friday for a tour of the U.S.-Mexico border and migrant processing facilities, officials confirmed to ABC-7. U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-Michigan) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate’s Homeland Security Committee are touring with Mayorkas, sources
Continue Reading
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas — In the pitch-black night, the teens’ eyes blink in confusion as the bright beam of a constable’s flashlight shines in their direction. They are in Texas, less than a mile north of the US-Mexico border, trying to find their way. It’s a scene that’s playing out more and more here
Continue Reading
DEL RIO, Texas — ABC-7 has learned two El Pasoans were injured and hospitalized when their pickup truck was struck by another pickup loaded with migrants, killing eight of them, near the south Texas border town of Del Rio earlier this week. Family friends said Jachin Ford, a youth leader at St. Mark’s United Methodist
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Border Patrol has encountered 32 large groups of migrants along the southern border since October, amid a new wave of children arriving alone at the border, agency-provided data shows. The number of large groups, consisting of 100 or more people, is up from 10 groups in fiscal year 2020 when
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. House has voted to open a gateway to citizenship for young Dreamers and other immigrants who have fled war or natural disasters abroad. Thursday’s vote gives Democrats a win in the year’s first vote on immigration. The issue faces a steep uphill climb in the Senate because Republicans are demanding
Continue Reading
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (KVIA) — Shairi Lopez loves animals. It’s her dream to be a veterinarian some day. She’s one of many Juárez children who have gone more than a year without being in a classroom. Her family doesn’t own a laptop and they have very spotty internet access. Virtual classes are virtually impossible. “We’re
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — Former U.S. Marshal Robert Almonte of El Paso tells ABC-7 that Mexican drug cartels are taking advantage of the recent influx of migrants, using it as an opportunity to “make money.” Almonte said cartel activity in human smuggling has increased over the last several years, adding that’s it’s more cost effective
Continue Reading
WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. is planning to send a combined 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to Mexico and Canada in its first export of shots. White House officials confirmed Thursday that the Biden administration planned to send 2.5 million doses to Mexico and 1.5 million to Canada as a “loan.” The
Continue Reading
WASHINGTON, DC – Travel restrictions across the U.S.-Mexico border have now been extended through at least April 21, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday. The border crossing limitations, which have been in place throughout the pandemic to help slow the spread of Covid-19, were set to expire on March 21 – but have
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security pushed back Wednesday against Republican criticism of the Biden administration’s border policies, refusing to say that the surge of migrant children entering the United States is a “crisis.” As GOP members of Congress argued that President Joe Biden had wrongly rolled back immigration
Continue Reading DALLAS, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott spoke on Wednesday about the influx of unaccompanied children crossing into the state across the U.S.-Mexico border. Abbott made his remarks at a news conference in Dallas, one of two Texas cities the Biden administration has recently identified to host temporary shelters for thousands of migrant children. The Washington Post reported the locations
Continue Reading
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a statement on Tuesday outlining the Biden administration’s plans to try to deal with the influx of migrants at the border with Mexico. Mayorkas used the statement to blame the Trump administration for some of the Biden administration’s current immigration challenges. And Mayorkas made a notable projection, saying that
Continue Reading Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told lawmakers Wednesday that the US-Mexico border is secure and repeated that it is “not open,” as the administration faces an ongoing influx of migrants. His appearance before the House Homeland Security Committee comes as the Biden administration struggles to accommodate the growing number of children crossing the US-Mexico border
Continue Reading
WASHINGTON, DC — President Joe Biden said in an exclusive interview with ABC News on Tuesday that his message to migrants is “Don’t come over.” Amid a surge of migrants and unaccompanied minors on the U.S. southern border, Stephanopoulos asked the president, “Do you have to say quite clearly, ‘Don’t come’?” “Yes, I can say
Continue Reading
EL PASO, Texas — El Paso Democratic Congresswoman Veronica Escobar on Monday sparred with Republican U.S. House leaders in dueling news conferences after the GOP toured the Texas-Mexico border in El Paso and labeled the current immigration situation “a crisis.” U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy led the 13-member congressional delegation’s visit. Those Republicans claim
Continue Reading
EL PASO, Texas — On March 13, 2020, the first confirmed Covid-19 case in El Paso was reported. Two days later, the first case was found in Ciudad Juárez. On March 21, 2020, the United States and Mexico agreed to close the border to all but essential traffic, disrupting life in the Paso del Norte
Continue Reading ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — The snowstorm that broke records and brought parts of the Rockies to a standstill had something else that was quite literally buried in the snow: a layer of brownish snow that fell in New Mexico and Colorado with dust that had traveled all the way from Mexico. It was a tweet
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — El Paso’s Democratic Congresswoman Veronica Escobar on Sunday pushed back on claims that the Biden administration is responsible for an influx of migrants at U.S-Mexico border. President Biden announced over the weekend that he is sending the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to help manage and care for the growing
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to aid and support efforts “to safely receive, shelter, and transfer unaccompanied children” crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a Saturday statement. The announcement comes on the tail of a week that saw the number of unaccompanied migrant children in
Continue Reading Children detained in an overcrowded government-run tent facility at the US-Mexico border say they haven’t been able to shower for days or contact their parents, according to lawyers who interviewed them this week. Lawyers from the National Center for Youth Law spoke with about a dozen children in Donna, Texas, this week, according to Leecia
Continue Reading HIDALGO, Texas — On the banks of the Rio Grande near the south Texas city of Hildalgo, dozens of undocumented migrants — mostly women and young children — descended a hill on the Mexican side of the border in an orderly procession. The sun set Thursday over an all-too-familiar portrait of desperation in the the
Continue Reading
DONNA, Texas — Children detained in an overcrowded government-run tent facility at the U.S.-Mexico border say they haven’t been able to shower for days or contact their parents, according to lawyers who interviewed them this week. Lawyers from the National Center for Youth Law spoke with about a dozen children in Donna, Texas, this week,
Continue Reading
WASHINGTON, DC — Immigration and Customs Enforcement asked for volunteers from the agency to support the federal government’s efforts along the U.S.-Mexico border as the Biden administration continues to grapple with an influx of migrants at the southwest border. Volunteers were requested to help Customs and Border Protection with security for migrant families and unaccompanied
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — Last weekend, a prominent Republican senator, Ted Cruz of Texas, and the second-ranking Democratic senator, Dick Durbin of Illinois, had an argument on the Senate floor about whether undocumented immigrants are eligible to receive checks from the pandemic relief bill President Joe Biden signed on Thursday, the American Rescue Plan Act. Cruz
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — The Biden administration announced Friday it is terminating a Trump-era agreement that it said discouraged sponsors of unaccompanied migrant children, like parents or relatives, to come forward due to fear their information would be shared with immigration enforcement agencies. The move comes amid a surge of unaccompanied children arriving at the border,
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — The number of unaccompanied migrant children in Border Patrol custody continues to climb, reaching more than 3,700, many of them in jail-like facilities along the U.S.-Mexico border, CNN has learned. On Wednesday, U.S. Border Patrol apprehended nearly 800 unaccompanied migrant children, as of the latest count, according to a Homeland Security official
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas — As he ended Texas’ coronavirus restrictions over the objections of public health officials, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has tried shifting concern about the virus’ spread to migrants with Covid-19 crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, though without evidence they are a significant factor. The focus by Abbott and other Republicans on migrant families has
Continue Reading