EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Its one of the federal law enforcement agencies that Borderland residents likely have the most contact with every day. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is charged with both securing the border and making sure lawful trade, travel and transit of goods can continue. Their mission covers all the international bridges and
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UPDATE (Nov. 2, 2026): Monday, a man from Mexico received a life prison sentence for his role in a deadly conspiracy to smuggle and harbor migrants, according to U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas. Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said 33-year-old Juan Carlos Lara-Quezada, also known as “Ironman,” led a
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), along with other local, state and federal agencies, arrested 4,170 people across Texas during a 10-day statewide law enforcement initiative titled Lone Star Mission, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced Oct. 29. The joint effort targeted criminal noncitizens throughout Texas, according to officials who
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — After discovering 42 migrants in a trailer, federal prosecutors arrested a man in Las Cruces, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 256 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from Oct. 23-30. One of them included the alleged migrant transportation case, which
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Camp East Montana, the immigration detention facility on Fort Bliss, as been operating for more than a year. Tuesday, El Paso City Council unanimously voted to draft a resolution calling for the facility’s closure. The 7-0 vote doesn’t mean the facility will close; the council said it wants to see
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — A migrant from Mexico received a 9-year federal prison sentence for facilitating human smuggling, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Texas. Forty-two-year-old Manuel Alejandro Melendez-Cereceres, also known as “Monstro,” was part of a human smuggling organization, USAO said. He received a 110-month prison sentence for conspiracy to
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Thirteen people face federal charges in El Paso for allegedly transporting stolen vehicles from the U.S. to Mexico, U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons announced Monday. Monday, Simmons hosted a press conference at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in El Paso to announce the charges. Officials from Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI and
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials gathered Friday at the Bridge of the Americas to announce end-of-fiscal-year border security statistics. CBP, Border Patrol and CBP AMO officials highlighted an increase in drug and weapon interdictions alongside a sharp decrease in illegal border crossings across the El Paso Sector. Ray Provencio,
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KVIA) –A U.S. citizen living in Ciudad Juarez received a 15-month prison sentence for selling his birth certificate to someone from Mexico, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Mexico said. In December 2025, U.S. Border Patrol agents at the Alamogordo, New Mexico, checkpoint came across a Mexican citizen who falsely claimed to be
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to allow border wall construction to continue along the Big Bend, according to court records. The appeal filing from the White House came just one day after a federal judge in El Paso filed a blocking of the construction that was ruled on
Continue Reading SAN ANTONIO, Texas (KVIA) — A 39-year-old Guatemalan man has been sentenced on Monday to 30 years in federal prison for his role in a human smuggling case that left 53 migrants dead. Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco pleaded guilty to his involvement in a June 2022 smuggling in San Antonio, which resulted in 53 deaths and
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — El Paso drone operators are being impacted by new drone restrictions issued Friday. The U.S. Department of Transportation, Department of War, and Department of Homeland Security announced restrictions on drone activity up to 400 feet above ground level and 1.15 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The restriction impacts major
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Friday announced the lowest fiscal year migrant border crossings in U.S. history. CBP said fiscal year 2026 data showed a 95% drop in southwest border apprehensions and the lowest annual encounters in U.S. history. Additionally, data showed the
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — A coalition of legal organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Texas Civil Rights Project, filed a motion in federal court demanding urgent changes at Camp East Montana. The groups alleged the immigration detention center on Fort Bliss has severe medical neglect, unsafe living conditions and violence by guards.
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Thursday, some border residents expressed divided opinions regarding a local businessman’s proposal to rename the Bridge of the Americas after President Donald Trump. The El Paso Chamber, along with other local business leaders, held a news conference Wednesday in Downtown El Paso. Leaders called on local, state, and federal government
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The El Paso Chamber, along with other local business leaders, held a news conference Wednesday in Downtown El Paso. Economy Wholesale Grocers President Paul Dipp said the bridge should be named after President Donald Trump. “I also propose, along with many others, that the bridge be renamed the Donald J.
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Rosa Olson, the wife of active-duty soldier Jacob Olson, is facing potential deportation following government allegations that she entered the United States illegally. Her family denies the claim, stating she originally entered the country legally on a student visa. The couple married about one year ago and subsequently began the
Continue Reading The amount is a $500 increase over the incentive offered last year. By Laura Romero A Department of Homeland Security official said Tuesday that unaccompanied migrant children are being offered $3,000 to self-deport. The official told ABC News that minors who are in government custody, are 14 years or older, and have no gang affiliation
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — A new border monitoring platform, “Fila de Puentes,” provides live wait-time estimates at international bridges, compiled from U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, community reports, and other official sources. José Andrés Meza Parra is from Juárez and lived on the border all his life. He started Fila de Puentes nearly
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CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Chihuahua (KVIA) — The Chihuahua State Police Department (Secretaría de Seguridad Pública del Estado de Chihuahua) said this week that no murders were reported in 51 of Chihuahua’s 67 municipalities last month. SSPE’s Assistant Police Chief Luis Ángel Aguirre held a news conference this week and announced that September ended as the least
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Some weeks ago, ABC-7’s Andrew J. Polk spoke with the new national chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, Pete Vasquez in a very unique location: between the two border walls under construction near the Santa Teresa port of entry. In the one-on-one interview only with ABC-7, Vasquez explained why two
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — ABC-7 obtained copies of 911 calls regarding recent incidents at Camp East Montana. Local officials and agencies had to respond following an attack on security staff on Sept. 1 and a riot on Sept. 7. Emergency reports from August through the first week of September show that the following 911
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security approved a $7.5 billion federal funding reimbursement to Texas for border security costs, Governor Greg Abbott announced Friday. The reimbursement was for Operation Lone Star, a border security initiative Gov. Abbott launched in 2021. He said taxpayers “spent billions” during border security efforts. Thousands
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said on Monday, detainees at Camp East Montana damaged the detention facility. ICE said it happened around 1 p.m. The agency said 130 detainees threw items, flipped furniture and disabled security cameras. An ICE spokesperson sent the following statement: “Is there any reasonable expectation
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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
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(KVIA) — Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against New Mexico and three other states, challenging their state laws that provide in-state tuition and financial assistance for undocumented migrants. The DOJ argued that the financial assistance places undocumented migrants over U.S. citizens “in clear defiance of Congress’s commands.” It also said the
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The Texas Department of Transportation unveiled new technology to help prevent high-speed pursuits across the state. In December 2025, some Texas DPS patrol unites implemented the Grappler System to immobilize fleeing vehicles during pursuits. The Grappler system has been used by other law enforcement agencies across the nation to stop
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Editor’s Note: Reporting for this story was supported by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. This story is a collaboration between the Puente News Collaborative, a bilingual, nonprofit newsroom and funder dedicated to high-quality, fact-based news and information from the U.S.-Mexico border, and Public Health Watch, a nonprofit investigative newsroom based in Texas. By Mariana
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Pursuits along Texas highways can become dangerous for everyone involved. In border communities, they are a common sight. Many have resulted in serious crashes and even death. The Texas Department of Public Safety has been using technology known as the Grappler System to help prevent and stop pursuits altogether for
Continue Reading By Catherine Bouvet Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez woke up to a gut-wrenching call at 3:40 a.m. Tuesday: Cristy Maryori Villafranca Trejo, his wife and the mother to their 6-year-old daughter, was aboard a plane about to be deported to Honduras. Turcios told ABC News that he scrambled to stop it. He stayed on
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