Mexico charges 4 soldiers with killings in Nuevo Laredo
Mexican prosecutors formally presented homicide charges against four soldiers implicated in the Feb. 26 shooting deaths of five men in the border city of Nuevo Laredo. The killings in the cartel-dominated city of Nuevo Laredo, across the border from Laredo, Texas, caused outrage.
U.S. canโt quickly expel migrants under pandemic-era health rule, federal judge says
Title 42 was invoked early in the pandemic by the Trump administration and continued under President Joe Biden. Since then, immigration officials have used it more than 2 million times to turn away asylum-seekers at the border.
At cartel extermination site; Mexico nears 100k missing
For the investigators, the human foot -- burned, but with some fabric still attached -- was the tipoff: Until recently, this squat, ruined house was a place where bodies were ripped apart and incinerated, where the remains of some of Mexicoโs missing were obliterated.
Laredoโs only overnight shelter braces for more migrant arrivals
Letโs be prepared.โโSmith said Laredoโs only overnight migrant shelter with just 70 beds expects to receive families still left in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, under what had been Migrant Protection Program under the Donald Trump administration. Holding Institute could see migrants arrive by the end of the month, Smith said. Smith said people are tested before leaving Mexico, and again, when they arrive at Holding Institute. Smith said heโs also seeing more families being released from two detention centers in Webb County, perhaps to make room for more arrivals as early as April. Smith also said the lack of uncertainty over the policies under the new Biden administration have made many cautious about crossing.
FBI seeks publicโs help in finding 3 women who may have been kidnapped in Mexico
Missing women from Laredo the FBI is looking for. Blasa Guadalupe Palomo, Blasa Guadalupe (โLupitaโ) Palomo and Perla Ercia. SAN ANTONIO โ The FBI is seeking information from the public in finding three missing women from Laredo who may have been kidnapped in Mexico. The missing women are Blasa Guadalupe Palomo, a 38-year-old business owner from Laredo. 2014 Toyota Corolla that three missing women from Laredo were riding in.
Migrants in โremain in Mexicoโ program will soon be allowed to enter the United States, federal agency says
Launched by the Trump administration, the Migrant Protection Protocols forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico border towns for their hearings in American courtrooms. Officials in Mexico have said that many migrants have since gone back home or decided to cross illegally instead of waiting. AdThe DHS advised asylum seekers in the program to remain where they are for now while a virtual registration process is rolled out next week. Asylum seekers will be tested for COVID-19 before being allowed to cross the border. โThis latest action is another step in our commitment to reform immigration policies that do not align with our nationโs values,โ said DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Joe Bidenโs newest immigration orders include task force to help hundreds of migrant children find their parents
The administration will also review the Trump administrationโs policies that restricted some legal migration to the country, according to a White House statement. The reunification task force seeks to help more than 600 children be reunited with their parents. โThis task force will work across the U.S. government, with key stakeholders and representatives of impacted families, and with partners across the hemisphere to find parents and children separated by the Trump Administration,โ the Biden statement said. Tuesdayโs expected actions come as at least one of Bidenโs immigration proposals, his 100-day moratorium on deportations, has already hit a roadblock. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration last month to stop the moratorium, claiming it's unconstitutional.
Laredo nonprofit steps up to feed thousands of families in need during COVID-19 pandemic
LAREDO, Texas โ Just like the familiar images of seemingly endless food lines in San Antonio, the twice-weekly distribution at Holding Institute Community Center in Laredo may be smaller, but the demand is still the same. Pastor Mike Smith said before the pandemic, the nonprofit helped under 100 families and now sees 250 to 300 families a week, representing several thousand within those households. Smith said the center has seen the face of poverty dramatically change, with many asking for help for the first-time. Embarrassed and unaware of how to go about it, Smith said he tells them, โIโll take your word for it. Before COVID-19 spread on both sides of the border, Smith said, โIt was fairly easy to get food into Mexico.
Federal travel restrictions impact Laredo economy
LAREDO, Texas โ Federal travel restrictions imposed after the pandemic began in March, on a month-to-month basis, have taken a toll on border economies. Conchas said shoppers who would come to Laredo from throughout Mexico, represented 40% of the cityโs retail sales. Conchas said Laredo, and its sister city Nuevo Laredo, have endured floods, major peso devaluations and drug wars in Mexico. But, Conchas said, never has the local economy been hit with the triple threat of travel restrictions, the dangerous rise of COVID-19 cases on both sides of the border and Mexicoโs own faltering economy amidst the pandemic. These were teams sent to Laredo from the State.โRelated: San Antonio nurse on the front lines in Laredo to help combat COVID-19 surge
FBI seeks 27-year-old believed to have been kidnapped in Mexico
LAREDO, Texas โ The FBI is asking for the publicโs help to find a missing 27-year-old man believed to be a kidnapping victim. Sergio Ricardo Jimenez-Covarrubias, a U.S. citizen, is 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighs 140 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes, according to the FBI San Antonio Division - Laredo Resident Agency Office. Jimenez-Covarrubias was last seen Oct. 10 when he crossed the Port of Entry in Laredo in Nuevo Laredo in a black 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe. His whereabouts are unknown, but itโs believed he may have been kidnapped in Mexico. Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI San Antonio Division at 210-225-6741 or submit a tip online at https://tips.fbi.gov.
Exclusive look: Showtimeโs โBad Hombresโ explores border politics surrounding binational baseball team in Laredo
The Tecolotes play home games both in Laredo and across the border in Nuevo Laredo. Bad Hombres explores the contentious U.S.-Mexico border relations through the lens of the world's only binational baseball team. You donโt realize how fun a baseball game can be until you go down to Mexico and check one out. One of the inescapable visuals is the cartel violence in Nuevo Laredo that threatens both the baseball team and the film crew. Laredo and Nuevo Laredo come united for one team.
'Bad Hombres' film uses baseball to show the game of borders
Members of the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredo, a binational professional baseball team with home stadiums in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and Laredo, Texas, stand for the U.S. National Anthem before a game in 2019 in Laredo, Texas in a scene from "Bad Hombres." The Showtime documentary follows this AAA Mexican League baseball team that plays on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border amid the tension around migration, divisive politics, and environmental concerns. (Showtime via AP)RIO RANCHO, N.M. โ People have always crossed borders to play baseball, and the sport routinely reaches across borders to fans. And that's what members of the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos, a binational professional baseball team with home stadiums in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and Laredo, Texas, have to do. โBad Hombresโ centers around the 2019 season of the Tecolotes as players chase dreams and a championship while avoiding drug cartel members who have lookouts in every city.
Mexico probe: marines abducted 27 in Nuevo Laredo, 12 found dead
MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexican marines allegedly abducted 27 people in the northern border city of Nuevo Laredo in early 2018, 12 of whom were later found dead, according to an investigation by Mexicos governmental human rights commission. The rights commission said Tuesday that marines had violated the victims right to life, but did not say outright they had killed them. The commission also said it found inconsistencies, like changed identification of vehicles, in Navy reports on the incidents. Time after time, witnesses told investigators that their relatives had been picked up while driving or walking on the streets of Nuevo Laredo in early 2018 by marines, or people wearing marine uniforms. The commission said marines tore the motels security cameras out in an apparent attempt to cover up the abductions.
Border travel restrictions, immigration court shutdown extended because of COVID-19
Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas TribuneEL PASO The Trump administration on Tuesday extended travel restrictions between the United States and Mexico as both countries continue to grapple with increasing cases of the new coronavirus. The restrictions exclude commercial trade with Mexico, which provides about 1 million jobs to Texans, according to Gov. The restrictions were set to expire next week but will be extended for at least another 30 days, Reuters reported. Last week the Texas Border Coalition, a group of elected officials and community and business leaders from the Texas-Mexico border, urged Wolf to lift the restrictions as the Texas and Mexican governments have started to reopen their respective economies. The administration also announced Tuesday it is again postponing hearings in the United States for asylum-seekers under the Migrant Protection Protocols program.
Be aware of new strict restrictions when traveling into Mexico
Border Patrol agent Eric Mendoza speaks to the driver of a tractor-trailer passing through the Laredo North vehicle checkpoint in Laredo, Texas, on Friday, Feb. 2, 2018. Smugglers routinely pack people entering the country illegally or drugs into tractor-trailers, counting on the vehicles not being opened at the inspection site. (AP Photo/Nomaan Merchant)SAN ANTONIO โ If you frequently travel into Mexico by car there are some new restrictions you need to know about COVID-19 checkpoints at the border. According to KGNS TV in Laredo, the U.S Consulate in Nuevo Laredo released the details about the new restrictions. According to the U.S. Consulate website, the number of confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19 is still increasing daily in several regions of Mexico.
Video: Rounds of gunfire in Nuevo Laredo heard during deadly shootouts
In a video filmed Wednesday by a person near the shootouts in Nuevo Laredo, which sits across the border from Laredo, rounds of gunfire can be heard in the distance. South Texas sheriff warns about traveling to Nuevo Laredo amid โintensive shootingsโOfficer Emanuel Diaz, Laredo police spokesperson, told KSAT12 that they are continuing to monitor the situation. The Laredo Police Department continues to monitor reports of ongoing violence in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. It appears that... Posted by Laredo Police Department on Friday, January 3, 2020There are four national bridges connecting Laredo and Nuevo Laredo: the Gateway to the Americas, the Juarez-Lincoln International, Colombia Solidarity and the World Trade Bridge. No one in Laredo has been injured due to the Nuevo Laredo shootings.
Cartel blockades, gunfire leave 1 dead in Mexico border city
CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) โ Gangsters unleashed mayhem in the northern border city of Nuevo Laredo, across from Laredo, Texas, blocking major avenues, burning vehicles and engaging soldiers in shootouts that left one suspected gunman dead. U.S. government personnel remain subject to normal movement and curfew restrictions in Nuevo Laredo as described in the current Mexico Travel Advisory. Fridayโs incidents came on the heels of other violence in previous days after federal and state police moved 75 inmates from a Nuevo Laredo prison. The decision to expand the program to Tamaulipas alarmed observers given the lawlessness and cartel dominance in the state. The U.S. State Department has long had Tamaulipas listed for its highest-level travel alert โ the same as for war-torn places like Syria and Afghanistan.
Tour of new, tent immigration facility in Laredo
LAREDO, Texas โ Set up immediately next to International Bridge 1 in Laredo, a new 50,000-square-foot tent facility is part of a controversial immigration program, the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as โRemain in Mexico.โThe temporary facility is filled with benches and portable rooms. Immigrants sit through hearings with judges who can dial in with video conferencing from San Antonio and elsewhere. Though they will attend hearings at the temporary facility, the immigrants, most of whom are seeking asylum, will remain in Mexico while their cases are ongoing. Laredo is one of two tent facilities operating under the MPP. Citizenship and Immigration Services when he and other DHS officials were asked about the danger during a tour of the Laredo facility.