EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Few know the acts of desperation undocumented immigrants have to resort to in order to get to the United States. It’s a dangerous — often times grueling trek — across unforgiving terrain. Migrants become easy targets for smugglers. “I’ve been in the Border Patrol for 20 years now,” agent Mario
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CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico – A famed television and communications pioneer in Juarez has died of natural causes. Arnoldo Cabada de la O was age 86 and the father of Juarez Mayor Armando Cabada. Regional media reported that Cabada had been in and out of hospitals in Juarez and in El Paso for the past few
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WASHINGTON, DC — The Biden administration plans to announce on Thursday that it will increase the number of refugees who can come to the United States, a move toward building up refugee admissions after years of historic low arrivals under former President Donald Trump, according to two sources familiar with the plans. President Joe Biden,
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — U.S. officials told the Washington Post that the Mexican government is no longer taking back Central American families expelled at the U.S.-Mexico border, the newspaper reported Wednesday night. The move by Mexico seemingly undoes a deal it had made with the Trump administration at the start of the pandemic. The reason
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WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to postpone oral arguments in significant cases regarding former President Donald Trump’s border wall and a controversial asylum policy. Earlier this week, President Joe Biden’s Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to delay the arguments. The Justice Department said Biden has directed a “pause in construction”
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EL PASO, Texas – Motorists who commute across the international border to Juarez now have a new direct route. A new connector ramp linking U.S. 54 to Juarez at the Spaghetti Bowl has opened. The ramp carries traffic from southbound U.S. 54 over Interstate 10 and directly to the Bridge of the Americas. The old
Continue Reading CARRIZO SPRINGS, Texas — The Biden administration is opening an overflow facility for unaccompanied migrant children apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border, the federal agency tasked with the children’s care said in a statement. The Health and Human Services Department will reopen a facility in Carrizo Springs that can accommodate about 700 children and can be
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WASHINGTON, DC — President Joe Biden signed three executive orders Tuesday afternoon that take aim at his predecessor’s hard-line immigration policies and try to rectify the consequences of those policies, including by establishing a task force designed to reunite families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border — a policy which Biden called a “moral and national
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Senate confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday as President Joe Biden’s homeland security secretary, the first Latino to fill a post that will have a central role in the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, a sweeping Russia-linked cyber hack and domestic extremism. Mayorkas was confirmed by a 56-43 vote, the narrowest margin yet
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HUDSPETH COUNTY, Texas – Five Mexican nationals were charged in federal court Monday in connection with a smuggling incident that attempted to bring dozens of undocumented migrants and millions of dollars of drugs into the country through Hudspeth County. Four Mexican nationals were charged with one count of conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants. Those charged
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — Undocumented immigrants should get coronavirus vaccines, the Biden administration said Monday, adding that federal authorities won’t conduct immigration enforcement operations at vaccine distribution sites or clinics. “It is a moral and public health imperative to ensure that all individuals residing in the United States have access to the vaccine. DHS encourages all
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WASHINGTON, DC — President Joe Biden’s administration has deported hundreds of immigrants in its early days despite his campaign pledge to stop removing most people in the U.S. illegally at the beginning of his term. A federal judge last week ordered the Biden administration not to enforce a 100-day moratorium on deportations, but the ruling
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WASHINGTON, DC — President Joe Biden’s Justice Department asked the Supreme Court on Monday to postpone oral arguments in significant cases regarding former President Donald Trump’s border wall and a controversial asylum policy. The Justice Department said Biden has directed a “pause in construction” so that the administration can undertake an assessment “of the legality
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CIUDAD ACUNA, Mexico — Mexican soldiers and immigration agents rescued a 2-year-old girl from Chile after she apparently fell into the Rio Grande and the adults who were with her left her and crossed the river into the United States, officials said. The National Immigration Institute said the incident occurred over the weekend as a group of
Continue Reading For years we’ve been telling the stories of thousands of migrant families that the US government separated. Moms like Beata Mejia, who sued to reunite with her son after the Trump administration’s zero tolerance policy tore them apart. Children like Alejandro, who struggled to readjust to life after suffering trauma he never expected. And the
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CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — A large blaze burned at a Juarez plastic recycling plant on Sunday, producing smoke and flames that could be seen for miles. ABC-7’s news partner Canal 44 said it took firefighters several hours to put out the fire at the plant, located at the intersection of Eje Vial Juan Gabriel Road
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CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — Mexico has reached 158,074 confirmed deaths from Covid-19 to end January, which now makes it the country with the world’s third-highest pandemic fatality total. However, Mexico has an extremely low rate of testing, and estimates of excess deaths suggest the real toll to date is well over 195,000. As of Sunday,
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MEXICO CITY, Mexico — Nearly 7,000 Mexicans were formally reported as disappeared in 2020, though that was a 22% decrease from a year earlier, the country’s top human rights official says. Assistant Secretary for Human Rights Alejandro Encinas said the number of clandestine graves found dropped by third last year and the number of bodies
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EL PASO, Texas — A legal aid clinic operated by the El Paso Catholic Diocese said a woman who survived the Aug. 3, 2019 Cielo Vista Walmart mass shooting was deported to Juarez by federal authorities on Friday after being pulled over in a car for traffic violations. The shooting victim, identified by Diocesan Migrant
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A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the federal government can quickly return unaccompanied migrant children apprehended at the US-Mexico border under a public health order put in place under former President Donald Trump. The order from the DC Circuit Court means that the government can again begin to expel children who arrived at the
Continue Reading HOUSTON, Texas — A federal judge in Texas said Friday that he’ll likely extend his hold on the Biden administration’s deportation moratorium until February 23. Earlier this week, Judge Drew Tipton of the Southern District of Texas, a Trump appointee, blocked the administration’s 100-day pause on deportations, delivering a blow to one of President Joe
Continue Reading TORONTO, Canada — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced stricter restrictions on travelers in response to new, likely more contagious variants of the novel coronavirus — including making it mandatory for travelers to quarantine in a hotel at their own expense when they arrive in Canada and suspending airline service to Mexico and all
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EL PASO, Texas – A Colorado fugitive sought in the shootings of two people, including a 3-year-old girl who was critically wounded, was caught by federal authorities as he tried to cross into El Paso from Mexico. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers said they made the capture of 19-year-old Guadalupe Jose Villanueva earlier this
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — The Biden administration’s planned task force aimed at reuniting children who were separated from their parents at the border under the Trump-era enforcement policies will include input from first lady Jill Biden, according to three sources familiar with the planning. Biden is tasking her East Wing with taking an active role in
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has placed all alcohol-based hand sanitizers coming from Mexico on a countrywide “import alert” until it is able to review the products’ safety, the agency said. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers from Mexico will now be subject to heightened scrutiny, and FDA staff may detain shipments, according to
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Justice Department has formally rescinded the Trump administration’s controversial “zero tolerance” policy that called for the criminal prosecution of adults crossing the border and led to the separation of thousands of families, according to a memo obtained by CNN. The policy was ended by former President Donald Trump in June
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has rescinded a Trump-era memo that established a “zero tolerance” enforcement policy for migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, which resulted in thousands of family separations. Acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson issued the new memo to federal prosecutors across the nation, saying the department would return to its longstanding
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HOUSTON, Texas — A federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s pause on deportations Tuesday, delivering a blow to one of the administration’s first immigration actions. The court order stems from a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton challenging the 100-day pause on deportations, which took effect Friday. The complaint cited
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EL PASO, Texas – An El Paso man wanted on a federal warrant for migrant smuggling was arrested after a car chase involving Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and the U.S. Border Patrol, officials said Monday. About 5 p.m. Saturday, a Texas trooper attempted to make a traffic stop on a known fugitive. According
Continue Reading VICTORIA, Texas — A federal judge in Texas on Monday asked the Biden administration to clarify its 100-day pause on deportations as he considers a lawsuit to block the moratorium. Over the weekend, Texas, which is suing the Biden administration, submitted a Fox News report to the court that cited an internal email instructing Immigration
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