Government-politics Archives

Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa discusses border security, affordability and data centers in ABC-7 interview

October 28, 2026 7:57 PM Mauricio Casillas

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — With less than a week before the midterm election, Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa visited the KVIA studios for a one-on-one interview with ABC-7 anchor Mauricio Casillas. The conversation covered several key issues facing Texas voters, including immigration, the economy and the future of data center development across the

City of El Paso to consider new travel transparency policy after ABC-7 investigation into County expenses

October 23, 2026 5:53 PM Andrew J. Polk

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Recent ABC-7 reports on the travel expenses of El Paso county leaders is now creating impact in other parts of local government. The City of El Paso is set to discuss a new policy to increase transparency on how much city council and the mayor spend on official travel. A couple of

History made: El Paso shows up for early voting

October 22, 2026 11:54 AM Mia Tricarico

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — El Paso voters are turning the tide this election season by turning out in record-breaking numbers. El Paso County broke its 2018 record for midterm early voting. Monday night, El Paso set the scene with more than 17,500 ballots cast — 264 more voters than the 17,236 votes logged on

Your Voice, Your Vote: Texas’ 16th Congressional District Candidates sit down with ABC-7

October 21, 2026 7:58 PM Mauricio Casillas

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The race for Texas’ 16th Congressional District, which includes the vast majority of El Paso County, features incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Veronica Escobar and Republican nominee Adam Bauman. Rep. Escobar has represented the district since she was sworn in to office in 2019. Bauman is a Navy veteran and former Border

Your Voice, Your Vote: Texas’ 23rd Congressional District Candidates sit down with ABC-7

October 20, 2026 3:09 PM Mauricio Casillas

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — ABC-7 spoke to the Republican and Democratic candidates for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District ahead of the midterm elections. This is the congressional seat that was left vacant after former Republican U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales resigned. Katy Padilla Stout is the Democratic nominee. She’s a former elementary school teacher and family

How to check your voter registration, sample ballot for Nov. 3 elections in El Paso

October 5, 2026 2:35 PM Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Monday marks the deadline to register to vote in Texas during the Nov. 3 election. Oct. 5 is also the last day to change your name or address for the midterm election. As of Monday, the El Paso County Elections Department said 537,655 people registered to vote. Checking your voter

ABC-7 Xtra Sunday – One-on-one with Mike Morath, Texas Commissioner of Education

October 2, 2026 7:13 PM Andrew J. Polk

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The Texas Commissioner of Education was in the Borderland this week, and ABC-7 got the chance to speak with him about the priorities and challenges facing public education in the state. Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath gave the keynote address at the CREEED Education summit on Thursday, and ABC-7

From Austin to Hawaii, El Paso County commissioners’ travel tab nears a quarter-million dollars

September 17, 2026 11:45 AM Lesley Engle, Andrew J. Polk

Editor’s note: For transparency, ABC-7 added full interviews with El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego and Precinct 2 Commissioner David Stout. You can watch them by scrolling through the videos above. You can also watch Samaniego’s full interview here, and the full interview with Stout here. To clarify, the public records reviewed cover travel planned

El Paso County Commissioners consider new travel policies following ABC-7 report on expenses

October 2, 2026 4:53 PM Andrew J. Polk

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — County leaders are looking at increasing accountability and transparency on where elected officials travel and how much they spend. This follows an ABC-7 Xtra investigation into the nearly quarter of a million dollars of taxpayer funds spent on travel expenses by members of commissioners court over the last several years.

Federal court rules in favor of El Paso County, other local governments on FEMA election requirements for funding

September 29, 2026 4:34 PM Andrew J. Polk

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — A federal judge has struck down new FEMA funding rules that tied public safety grants to election policy requirements for local governments. As ABC-7 previously reported, El Paso County joined the lawsuit against the requirement change last month, challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to withhold 20% of funding

Escobar, over 100 members of Congress demand medical care for man shot by ICE

September 22, 2026 6:35 PM Joseph Montero

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — U.S. Congresswoman Veronica Escobar and more than 100 members of Congress are demanding medical care and not deportation for a man allegedly shot by ICE in Austin. On Sept. 20, an ICE agent allegedly shot 28-year-old Garces Perez in the back. They sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security

El Paso County Sheriff’s Office faces projected $5.9 million deficit

September 21, 2026 11:56 AM Nina Gallegos

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is scheduled to present its 2026 budget update on Monday, which includes a projected deficit of more than $5.9 million by the end of the fiscal year.

Trump says US has struck security agreement with Denmark over Greenland

September 18, 2026 6:29 PM ABC News

By Michelle Stoddart President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. has struck an agreement with Denmark that gives the U.S. “permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many U.S. concerns.” “At my direction, we worked with representatives of Denmark and Greenland to guarantee that the United

ABC-7 Xtra Sunday – 25 years of El Paso’s no smoking public ordinance

September 18, 2026 5:09 PM Andrew J. Polk

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The air was very different a quarter of a century ago when it came to the issue of smoking in the Borderland. In 2001, the City of El Paso passed the first public no smoking ordinance in the state of Texas. As a result, gone were the questions of “smoking

Members of Congress demand info on VA Advisory Committee on Women Veterans

September 17, 2026 2:46 PM Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Lawmakers demanded answers from the Department of Veterans Affairs about its support for women veterans. Thursday, U.S. Congresswoman Veronica Escobar and 11 other Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to VA Secretary Doug Collins. The letter noted the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans (ACWV) hasn’t met since 2024, and

ABC-7 Xtra Investigation – El Paso County Commissioners spent almost a quarter-million dollars on travel in recent years

September 16, 2026 6:07 PM Andrew J. Polk

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — How much have El Paso County commissioners traveled — and spent– on the taxpayers’ tab? An ABC-7 investigation found that the four commissioners and the county judge spent nearly $234,000 on flights and trips over the last several years. One commissioner spent more than all others combined. ABC-7 obtained about

Federal Reserve raises interest rates for the 1st time since 2023

September 16, 2026 12:19 PM ABC News

By Max Zahn The Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday in an effort to battle back a months-long surge of inflation set off by the Iran war. The move marks the central bank’s first rate increase since July 2023. The central bank hiked its benchmark rate a quarter of a percentage point, putting interest

Rep. Escobar says ICE blamed Venezuelans for confrontations at Camp East Montana

September 10, 2026 11:39 AM Heriberto Perez Lara

UPDATE: Congresswoman Veronica Escobar toured Camp East Montana Thursday morning to find out about the reported confrontations between detainees and facility staff. Escobar said ICE blamed a group of Venezuelans for starting those exchanges that led to the assault of staff and what ICE is describing as a riot. Escobar said several people were taken

Trump administration files urgent appeal with Supreme Court over USPS mail-in ballot rules

September 3, 2026 3:26 PM ABC News

By Devin Dwyer The Trump administration on Thursday filed an urgent appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking permission to immediately implement new U.S. Postal Service rules for mail ballots that critics say impede on states’ authority to run elections. A temporary restraining order against the USPS rules, which were prompted by President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed

ABC-7’s Marcel Clarke sits down one on one with Democratic gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa

August 31, 2026 9:27 PM Marcel Clarke

ABC-7’s Marcel Clarke sat down one on one with State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for Texas governor. Hinojosa is challenging Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in the November election. During the interview, Hinojosa was asked about some of the biggest issues facing Texas and the Borderland, including data centers, property taxes and border security.

US authorities crack down on birth tourism to protect taxpayers

August 31, 2026 11:39 AM Heriberto Perez Lara

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The U.S. Department of State established a specialized task force to target birth tourism schemes. It revoked more than 900 visas within its first few weeks of operation. Federal authorities are reviewing issued visas and travel records to identify noncitizens who lie to consular officials about their travel plans to

ABC-7 Xtra Sunday – Recall petition effort faces legal challenges

August 28, 2026 6:13 PM Andrew J. Polk

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — A petition effort is underway to remove a member of El Paso’s city council. It follows in the aftermath of recent votes on city policy on data centers. Back in June, a marathon twelve-plus hour city council meeting resulted in a 5-3 vote in opposition to an item to renegotiate

Rep. Trejo recall petition organizers file suit against the City of El Paso

August 25, 2026 12:32 PM Nina Gallegos

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) – Monday, recall petition organizers have filed suit against the City of El Paso after being told they don’t have enough signatures against District 4 City Rep. Cynthia Boyar Trejo, said petition organizer Joshua Dagda. Last week, the city clerk determined the organizers had submitted 897 valid signatures out of the

El Paso City Council adopts fiscal year 2027 budget

August 18, 2026 11:51 AM Nina Gallegos

UPDATE (4:30 p.m.) — City council voted to reduce the proposed budget by $6,495,971 to adopt it. City Council said it approved the fiscal year 2027 budget and adopted a property tax rate of $0.798000 per $100 of taxable value, which is 1.1 cents below the introduced rate. By adopting the lower rate, the city

El Paso County closes Coliseum bids to ensure fair proposal evaluation

August 17, 2026 2:19 PM Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The El Paso County Commissioners Court voted on Monday to close bids for the management and operation of the county-owned coliseum. The court voted to close bids so the county can issue a revised solicitation with clearer information, according to a news release. It also includes sports tourism promotion program

Supreme Court rejects final Trump appeal of $5 million E. Jean Carroll verdict

August 17, 2026 11:34 AM ABC News

By Devin Dwyer The Supreme Court on Monday declined a request from President Donald Trump to reconsider its rejection of his appeal in the 2023 E. Jean Carroll case. The decision means it’s the end of the line for Trump’s bid to overturn a $5 million jury award to Carroll, which the writer’s representatives said was paid in July. The Court did not explain its decision

Legal Limbo: Venezuelan migrant legally in the US fears deportation, failing to achieve his dream

August 13, 2026 10:34 AM Heriberto Perez Lara

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Joel Vargas is from Venezuela. He left his country back in 2022 and arrived in Ciudad Juárez in spring 2023. He’s currently navigating the federal asylum process while working in construction in Colorado Springs. After securing an entry appointment through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One app in

Meta to comply with Gov. Abbott’s Texas data center standards

August 10, 2026 7:51 PM Nina Gallegos

UPDATE: The City of El Paso provided a statement regarding the Governor’s announcement, it says: “The Governor’s announcement and Meta’s public commitment reinforce many of the protections the City has advocated for through its recent data center policy work and participation in state utility proceedings, including protecting ratepayers, conserving water, increasing transparency, minimizing impacts on

Trump calls Texas’ data center opposition a “mistake”

August 7, 2026 12:28 PM Texas Tribune

by Taylor Goldenstein, The Texas TribuneAugust 7, 2026 President Donald Trump this week criticized Texas for being anti-data centers, just days after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott paused industry-wide approvals until the companies provide the state with more information on things like power and water use. “I saw Texas the other day sort of is against

Estrella del Paso to receive about $765,000 from the Trump Administration

July 30, 2026 11:09 AM Heriberto Perez Lara

UPDATE (Aug. 7, 2026): A California judge ordered the Trump Administration to release $65 million in funds it withheld in payments to organizations that help unaccompanied migrant children. Estrella del Paso will receive some of that money. Estrella del Paso will get about $765,000 from the administration for legal services that ran out last Friday.

Email:
Select all that apply: Morning News Headlines Daily Weather Forecast Breaking News Alert Afternoon Headlines Contests and Promotions