Arizona resident had just celebrated his first anniversary with the sheriff's office four days before his death on the evening of July 24 After jumping into Patagonia Lake to rescue his older sister’s 23-year-old friend from drowning Torres was lost to the waters of the southern Arizona state park reservoir His body was recovered the following morning "He was very young with many dreams he did not accomplish," said his mother in a Thursday evening interview with The Arizona Republic Torres had shared with his mom his plans to apply in December to be a Pima County Sheriff’s deputy with the eventual goal of becoming a detective at the agency The middle child of Rodriguez’s five children Torres would make an hour-long drive to work the night shift at the Pima County Jail in Tucson Rodriguez would wait up every morning for him to walk through the door with his regular McDonald’s meal: the McGriddles sandwich and a Coca-Cola Rodriguez last saw her son as he got dressed to head to the lake on the day he drowned Rodriguez’s 23-year-old daughter who was with Torres could not call for help from the lake due to bad cell phone reception The daughter came home and told Rodriguez that Torres had saved her friend before yelling he could no longer swim Torres then sank below the water’s surface and disappeared "I did not accept his death on Wednesday (July 24) because I said The family waited hours for the rescue divers to arrive Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Gerardo Castillo told The Republic on Friday that when deputies arrived at the scene they realized it was a recovery operation rather than a rescue mission He explained that they had to wait for other agencies equipped with divers Pima County Sheriff’s deputies, who Torres had aspired to join the ranks of, were the team that recovered his remains Rodriguez was expecting to receive her son’s ashes late Thursday after his funeral on Wednesday or devotional prayer within nine days of his passing Rodriguez said a Mass would be held a month after his untimely demise she will likely hold a memorial honoring his heroism A trip through Davis Monthan Air Force Base is like a visit to a museum of names – streets monuments - named for Air Force heroes or noteworthy individuals who served at the base The choice to name the resilience center after Major George W who displayed remarkable resilience his entire life His father set a high bar – as one of the famed Buffalo Soldiers overcame extraordinary racial discrimination to reach the rank of Master Sergeant in the U.S Rosario Biggs-Dickinson says her father did not like to be called a hero and would not have enjoyed all the fuss proud Arizona family and we are extremely honored and grateful that he would be recognized in this role." He said Biggs achieved he called the Double V: the victory of the the Nazis and Axis powers in WWII and the victory over racial discrimination and segregation Carr says he can only imagine the prejudice and bigotry Biggs faced in the early 40's Carr says 30 years later when he himself was looking to enter officer's training " I come along in 1971 and asked my commander to recommend him for OTS – I have to read what he said because I dumped this from my mind," he says I can't endorse a negro to be an officer because all negros are lazy and slow." Major Biggs really had two military careers when he was working in the laundry at Fort Huachuca but the day after his 18th birthday he registered for the draft At the time he did not yet know how to drive a car much less have any experience with aircraft He trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama during World War II and finished his enlistment as a Master Sgt Biggs reenlisted as a non-commissioned officer in the newly created U.S He flew combat missions over North Korea and North Vietnam - and before retiring from the Air Force he was the first African American officer assigned to Davis Monthan After such a storied career in the military retirement might have loomed as a logical next step for Major Biggs but after he retired from the Air Force in 1970 He joined the United States Customs Service in 1974 working another 20 years before retiring for good in 1994 Carr said Biggs career took him all over the world and that was rightly reflected in his memorial when he died 2 years ago we said goodbye in many languages," he said But he says Davis Monthan choosing to name its resilience center after Major George W my benevolent predecessor Andi Berlin wrote at least three articles about the Sonoran side of the border but she never talked about the Arizona side You can try local renditions of the Sonoran food we enjoy in Tucson at cozy neighborhood favorites like El Zerape or Rancho Grande a local mail carrier (and a colleague of my uncle’s who runs the route between Amado and Arivaca) You can also try a local spin on Italian ice (our version here would be Eegee’s) at Finitos which my colleagues and Nogales hometown heroes We’re throwing in a few ideas of activities to flesh out the day trip possibilities Finitos' Italian ice comes in over a dozen refreshing flavors Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device I will not forget the feeling of deep inadequacy I had a few weeks after my daughter’s birth last fall a deeply committed husband and a supportive (albeit Covid-distanced) community I had a distinct sense that I was not up to the task I realized and continue to realize every day that even when I have my daughter’s best interests at heart I make imperfect choices because of my own limitations and circumstances beyond my control That realization grounds and frames my understanding of the current moment at the U.S.-Mexico border, especially the realities of children and families arriving here. As the executive director of the Kino Border Initiative I have fielded many calls about the situation on the ground It is tempting to paint the most sympathetic portrait possible of the parents and families migrating north They are neither heroic martyrs nor conniving opportunists They are ordinary parents in extraordinary circumstances Last week I sat with my daughter on my lap in the Kino Border Initiative migrant outreach center in Nogales listening to a mother speak of migrating to earn money to send back to Guatemala for her daughter’s treatments for lupus She spoke with great love for all three of her children yet had only brought her young son along with her “I just didn’t have the heart to leave him,” she finally replied I spoke to another father a few weeks ago who had traveled north alone, leaving his 7-year-old son behind. Previously middle-class, he lost his job due to the pandemic closures in Honduras, then had to rely on his family business for income—until it was destroyed in the devastation of last fall’s hurricanes “I can’t stand looking at my son go hungry,” he said explaining why he left Honduras in search of work Yet his heart was also heavy with the separation from his only child They were now shouldering thousands of dollars of debt from the journey which further inhibited their ability to support their families back home are important steps for other parents in the United States to have some of the support I have relied on as a mother That mentality ought to guide our approach to the border as well Our political leaders must take steps to improve, at least slightly, the imperfect choices that migrants face. The Biden administration should announce an actual plan for respecting the right to asylum and the rule of law at the border, including ending the Title 42 authority that uses the pandemic as a pretext to send migrants back to Mexico with no due process That transparency would allow parents to make decisions based on clear facts and not haphazard practice we at the Kino Border Initiative have been asking Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N Mayorkas to meet with migrants at the border to listen to them and explain his plan The administration should also immediately begin processing asylum seekers at official ports of entry along the border so that they can access the U.S Opening the border to asylum claims would lessen the pressure migrants feel to instead pay smugglers to cross the desert And Congress must provide the necessary resources for migrant reception in U.S Many of these communities want to rise to the challenge of the moment but are not sure if they can handle another scramble to assist people that the Border Patrol has suddenly released in a remote Arizona town Just as important, the Biden administration should work tirelessly to improve economic and public-safety conditions in Central America and Mexico thus strengthening the right to thrive without having to migrate I have not given up loving my daughter well even when I do not have clear answers to the challenges she faces Parents here at the border and in Central America have not given up loving their children when they choose between two or three imperfect options none of which guarantee that they will survive or thrive And border communities have not given up loving their neighbors The least that our political leaders and the U.S community can do is not give up on people at the border We are capable of welcoming our brothers and sisters even if we do so imperfectly and even when such welcome requires sacrifice Joanna Williams is the executive director of the Kino Border Initiative a binational Jesuit and Catholic ministry in Nogales Password reset instructions will be sent to your registered email address As a frequent reader of our website, you know how important America’s voice is in the conversation about the church and the world. 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Please contact us at members@americamedia.org with any questions Overhead view of a subnanometer resolution reconstruction showing the microtubule-binding region of the Ndc80 complex (blue) attached to a microtubule(green) The part of the Ndc80 complex away from the microtubule is flexible and appears as scattered density in the reconstruction (red) Unless you are in a field of study related to cell biology Yet this protein complex is essential to mitosis the process by which a living cell separates its chromosomes and distributes them equally between its two daughter cells through a combination of cryo-electron microscopy and three-dimensional image reconstruction a team of researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have produced a subnanometer resolution model of human Ndc80 that reveals how this unsung hero carries out its essential tasks “Our model suggests that Ndc80 oligomerizes on the surface of the microtubule via a segment of the protein that is regulated so that correct attachments are maintained and incorrect attachments are discarded,” says biophysicist Eva Nogales who led this study “What we propose is that this oligomerization is an important part of the mechanism by which Ndc80 is able to utilize the energy of microtubule disassembly to move chromosomes towards the spindle poles during mitosis This oligomerization will only happen for correctly attached microtubules” Nogales holds joint appointments with Berkeley Lab’s Life Sciences Divisions UC Berkeley’s Molecular and Cell Biology Department An expert on electron microscopy and image analysis and an authority on the structure and dynamics of microtubules she is the corresponding author of a paper published in the journal Nature titled “The Ndc80 kinetochore complex forms oligomeric arrays along microtubules.” Co-authoring the paper with Nogales were Gregory Alushin Gregory Alushin and Eva Nogales created a subnanometer resolution image of Ndc80 a protein complex that plays a vital role in mitosis Biological cells have a cytoskeleton that gives shape to membrane walls and other cellular structures and also controls the transportation of substances in and out of the cell This cytoskeleton is spun from tiny fibers of tubulin protein called microtubles microtubules disassemble and reform into spindles across which duplicate sets of chromosomes line up and migrate to opposite poles the microtubules disassemble and reform back into skeletal systems for the two new daughter cells Mistakes in the distribution of chromosomes from a parent cell to its daughter cells can lead to birth defects To ensure that each daughter cell receives a single copy of each chromosome microtubule spindles dock with each chromosome’s centromere – the central region where its two chromatids connect The microtubule spindles connect with the centromere through a network of proteins called the kinetochore Ndc80 is a key member of the kinetochore network and serves as a sort of “landing pad” for the microtubule-centromere connection Although Ndc80’s genetics and biochemistry have been extensively characterized the mechanisms behind its activities have until now remained a mystery “Our first ever subnanometer model of Ndc80 shows that the protein complex binds the microtubule with a tubulin monomer repeat that is sensitive to tubulin conformation,” Nogales says Ndc80 complexes self-associate along microtubule protofilaments via interactions that are mediated by the amino-terminal tail of the Ndc80 protein which is the site of phospho-regulation by the Aurora B kinase.” A kinetochore is the multi-protein structure in which microtubule spindle fibers engage chromosomes to align and separate them equally between daughter cells during cell division.(Image courtesy of Nogales group) The Aurora B kinase is an enzyme that ensures the correction of any improper microtubule-kinetochore attachments – faulty attachments will result in unequal segregation of the genetic material such as both chromatides going to the same daughter cell Nogales and her co-authors contend that Ndc80’s mode of interaction with the microtubule and its oligomerization provide a means by which the Aurora B kinase can regulate the stability of the load-bearing Ndc80-microtubule attachments “The Aurora B kinase corrects wrong microtubule-kinetochore attachments by phosphorylating proteins in the kinetochore,” Nogales says “Ndc80 is a major substrate of this regulation Our work shows that if phosphorylated by Aurora B attachments are not robust because there is no oligomerization of Ndc80s.” This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences Berkeley Lab is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory located in Berkeley, California.  It conducts unclassified scientific research for DOE’s Office of Science and is managed by the University of California. Visit our Website at www.lbl.gov/ For more information about Eva Nogales and her research group see http://cryoem.berkeley.edu/ heard the announcement that Pope Francis had formally recognized the heroic virtues of sainthood candidate Jesuit Father Eusebio Kino “He was a man who led a virtuous life of love who is president of the Kino Heritage Society a Tucson-based society working to promote the missionary priest’s cause in the United States Noting that Padre Kino is considered the “patron saint of the borderlands,” Garcia referred to him as “the voice of the underprivileged.” introduced Christianity to Arizona when he established the San Jose de Tumacacori Mission in January 1691 On the recommendation of the Vatican Congregation for Saints’ Causes Pope Francis formally recognized the heroic virtues of Servant of God Father Eusebio Kino July 10 officially elevating him to “Venerable” status This step recognizes that a candidate heroically lived the theological virtues of faith hope and charity and the cardinal virtues of prudence and that he is worthy of public veneration and emulation The Archdiocese of Hermosillo in the Mexican state of Sonora and Padre Kino’s native Archdiocese of Trent “The history of the Catholic Church in Arizona is synonymous with the growth and history of the state of Arizona and Padre Kino is one of the foundational figures in that great history,” said Phoenix Bishop Thomas J “He remains a wonderful example of the mission of the Church lived in solidarity with the poor and marginalized.” Padre Kino’s legacy in Arizona runs deep A statue of the missionary represents Arizona in the U.S Capitol’s National Statuary Hall; he is one of four Catholic priests represented in the hall Junipero Serra representing California; St representing Hawaii; and Jesuit Father Jacques Marquette Statues and memorials of Padre Kino dot Arizona outside the Arizona History Museum in Tucson and in Wesley Bolin Plaza across from the Capitol in Phoenix Jesuit Father Pete Neeley said the announcement is an affirmation of the work he does at the Kino Border Initiative a Jesuit-run program named for Padre Kino whose mission is to promote immigration policies along the U.S.-Mexico border that affirm the dignity of the human person The initiative has locations in both sides of the border in Nogales “He wasn’t forcing cultures together with the sword He tried to reconcile,” said Father Neeley associate director of education for at the Kino Border Initiative “He was concerned about people who didn’t know the Gospel.” but was instead given the choice to serve in Spain or in the Spanish colonies Father Neeley recalled that in his research of Padre Kino he learned that he had to come to the Western Hemisphere with falsified documents because there was already a quota on non-Spanish missionaries to board the ships “There is no record on any of the ships of anybody who came over here from Spain named Kino,” Father Neeley said “He got papers made out for a Eusebio Chavez He came over here using false documents to do a greater good Known as “the padre on horseback,” Father Chini who Hispanicized his surname to “Kino” is believed to have traveled roughly 50,000 miles and he became the first to map Pimeria Alta — an area that now includes southern Arizona and Sonora in northern Mexico He led the Atondo Expedition to Baja California until a drought in 1685 forced them to abandon the effort he was assigned to Pimeria Alta in 1687 to work with the Tohono O’odham people The Jesuits couldn’t visit any Native village without an invitation when Padre Kino celebrated the first Mass in present-day Arizona at what is now the Tumacacori National Park in January 1691 From there he went on to establish the San Xavier del Bac Mission Because of his defense of the Native people he made enemies out of many Spanish settlers who would mistreat the Natives and force them to work in mines “Kino was able to break laws in order to protect the indigenous people from the Spanish settlers who wanted to use them for slave labor,” Father Neeley said you can’t do that.’ People didn’t like it.” After a Pima uprising that killed fellow missionary Father Francisco Xavier Saeta in 1695 He wrote a biography of the protomartyr and delivered it to his superiors in Mexico City “It was more than a biography; it was a defense of the Native people,” said Mark O’Hare a founding board member of the Kino Heritage Society and a parishioner at Sts “He did not pull any punches in saying it was the Spanish who were responsible for the uprising.” Padre Kino established 21 missions in what is now Arizona and Sonora and helped the Jesuits return to California in 1697 O’Hare said that it was Padre Kino who laid the foundation that allowed St Junipero Serra to continue north through California almost a century later is known for spreading the Gospel in the New World during the 18th century then made his way on foot up the coast of Mexico and to California where he established a chain of missions that are now the names of well-known cities such as San Diego Padre Kino “had great love and charity He had such hope and such a relationship with God that it didn’t matter if he got killed the next day,” said O’Hare “He believed he needed to build the kingdom here on earth so people could get to the kingdom in heaven.” Copyright © 2020 Catholic News Service/U.S  Print Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media Catholic Media Assocation Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association The Associated Church Press the city of Nogales is allocating the remainder of their American Rescue Plan Act funding for city functions Councilwoman Liza Montiel asked city officials to table the vote during the meeting “I would like again a survey to go out to the community and have their input,” she said “We still have a lot of time to use these funds.” the mayor and council members chose to continue without input Council members Hector Bojorquez and Montiel were the only members that voted against the funding stating that a community survey is needed to better understand what residents want This issue of community engagement was previously brought forward councilman Saulo Bonilla shared his disapproval of Montiel’s request “This email is very condescending,” Bonilla said in regards to an email Montiel sent to city manager Edward Dickie Bonilla went on to detail the email Montiel sent saying that she requested a community survey that should be “simple yet inclusive to allow the residents to share their opinions in a transparent and unbiased way.” Nogales mayor Arturo Garino reiterated to councilman Hector Bojorquez his view on the matter “It’s the people’s money and the people elected you to make decisions,” Garino said The remaining ARPA funds total to $3,357,002 The original order presented did not have funding for fire and planning and zoning business incentives but they were later added during the special meeting NOGALES — John Adrian Sarango Sanchez waited to board his bus A yellow manila envelope and a nearly empty Coke bottle The white coach bus idling on North Terrace Avenue in Nogales was only the latest in a string of buses that Sarango Sanchez He fled his home because of the dangerous conditions and death threats he received he boarded bus after bus until he got to Sonoyta Sarango Sanchez crossed the border and presented himself to Border Patrol he stood in line on a recent morning with about a dozen other asylum seekers more than 100 miles from where he had first entered the country The group waited to board their bus heading to Phoenix as a dozen other asylum seekers waited for a similar bus that would take them to Tucson down the road The day’s heat had not yet set in as dawn had only broken about an hour before in the border community A crowd of young students gathered across the street from Sarango Sanchez waiting for their own bus to take them to school The Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry was only about a block south of the buses even as asylum seekers were being released onto its streets Initial reporting: Customs and Border Protection releasing migrants onto Cochise County streets The Border Patrol began releasing asylum seekers into southern Arizona communities on Sept 13 as they reached overcapacity in their facilities Nonprofits and county and city governments have since stepped in to prevent asylum seekers from being released into communities without any transportation or shelter resources Six of Arizona’s 15 counties are in some way involved in responding to the releases Up to 22 buses run through the state daily according to Cochise County Emergency Management resources are being spread thin as governments and nonprofits attempt to respond to the sustained increase in asylum-seeker arrivals in Arizona Officials underscored the federal government’s absence in responding to the issue as communities bear the brunt of the work The street releases come after the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector set a 15-year high in migrant encounters in July, becoming the busiest sector along the Southwest border. The sector documented an average of nearly 1,900 migrant encounters each day from Sept. 8-14, according to John Modlin the Tucson sector documented 48,754 migrant encounters representing a 24% increase from the month prior The Border Patrol recorded 181,059 encounters between ports of entry along the Southwest border in August The Border Patrol can only hold migrants for a certain amount of time in its facilities it resorts to releasing asylum seekers under parole directly into border communities that are often unequipped to help them Asylum seekers are medically and criminally vetted by Customs and Border Protection before they’re released State busing program: State now busing asylum seekers to Phoenix with shelters in southern Arizona full Coordinated Border Patrol releases have been happening since May with Pima County and Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs buses transporting asylum seekers from rural border communities to larger cities twice a day the Border Patrol stopped waiting for state- and county-funded buses before releasing asylum seekers at designated drop-off points The change resulted in handfuls of asylum seekers being erratically released every couple of hours with little information about where they were or what to do next Nogales and Casa Grande from sunrise to sunset Many county and city officials were given short to no notice about the repeated releases The border communities lack the needed transportation and shelter infrastructure to care for released asylum seekers The communities are often hundreds of miles away from the nearest airport or centralized bus terminal Border Patrol’s policy shift of irregularly releasing people into communities while offering little to no information has made it more difficult for nonprofits to prepare for the number of people they may have to receive “We're kind of wandering around in the dark with a lighter instead of what we used to have is a relatively lit room,” said Diego Piña López “What's been challenging for us is this change of temperament on top of the volume.” which provides shelter and transportation to asylum seekers in southern Arizona is receiving more than 1,000 people per day on average The Casa Alitas Welcome Center was at capacity “many times” from Sept according to a Pima County situational border report Casa Alitas’ received a daily average of 788 arrivals and 5,513 total arrivals for the week There were an estimated 1,300-1,400 people in shelter circulation daily The numbers strained the shelter’s capacity and staffing I have no idea what's happening to me in two to three hours,” Piña López said Pima County is “the closest it's ever been” to unsheltered street releases The county is not seeing a decrease in the number of people being released heroic efforts have prevented those from day to day,” Evans said and we're pretty taxed and we're hoping for some relief.” Evans underscored that the releases are a federal problem and urged for more assistance from the federal and state government Releases prevented: AZ busing program prevents street releases of nearly 5K migrants in border communities “There's no reason local governments should have to do this as a defense against having thousands of people unsheltered on their streets,” Evans said 15 sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas raising concerns over the lack of federal coordination and cooperation in responding to the releases to this expedited process by way of street releases in parts of rural Arizona without the necessary resources puts intense strain on our communities and is cruel.” Grijalva wrote in the letter Grijalva urged the Biden administration to work with local governments and nonprofits while also surging funding to their response efforts “No migrant family or individual should be forced with the task of navigating a new country without help many of which are struggling with language barriers It is inhumane and against our values,” Grijalva wrote in the letter Santa Cruz County response runs smoothly with limited resourcesJosé Arriola rifled through dozens of slips of laminated paper collected on a metal binder clip Each slip had a basic informational script to inform arriving asylum seekers about where they were and what comes next a language spoken extensively in the west African countries of Senegal deputy director of Santa Cruz County Health and Human Services watched the couple dozen asylum seekers board the pair of coach buses in Nogales on a recent morning Arriola then received a call and the buses were delayed for about an hour longer — the Border Patrol was dropping more people off A Border Patrol bus soon dropped off another couple dozen asylum seekers across the street from the coach buses Arriola separated them into smaller groups and ushered them across the street to board the Phoenix and Tucson-bound buses Their CBP-issued bracelets and documents were then checked before they boarded The entire drop-off and pick-up process runs smoothly three times a day Arriola has been a key figure in coordinating the county’s response to the releases Officials must work within the funding and resources available to Arizona’s smallest county it’s working; There’s better ways to do it but The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors released a request for volunteers on Sept 20 to help with greeting and preparing asylum seekers for transportation to Phoenix and Tucson The volunteers would help board the buses while providing information Arriola estimates that an average of 250 people are dropped off in the city daily The largest numbers usually come in the morning when the Border Patrol releases people who they’ve processed overnight Asylum seekers oftentimes don’t even know where they are when they’re dropped off asylum seekers have been arriving from Senegal “They’re coming from a situation that’s very stressful for them,” Arriola said it’s that they go where they want to be in the quickest and safest way they can.”  Port officers with Customs and Border Protection's Office of Field Operations were pulled from their duties at Arizona’s ports of entry beginning on Sept 16 to help Border Patrol process asylum seekers in their Tucson and Yuma sectors The temporary efforts will focus primarily on families and unaccompanied children who arrive in between ports of entry The redistribution of officers could result in longer wait times for pedestrians and vehicles at ports of entry The directive has reduced the number of vehicle lanes available at Nogales ports of entry in half according to Nogales Mayor Jorge Maldonado The Mariposa Port of Entry went from eight lanes to four while the DeConcini port went from four lanes to two and not including the Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI) lane “That's been a back-breaker,” Maldonado said “I hope that CBP really looks at the harm that it's doing to the city with the effect of taking the number of agents and sending them to Border Patrol.”  Katie Hobbs announced Friday a $10 million grant to the Nogales Police Department to help them following CBP’s decision to reassign port officers The money will go toward communications technology “Time and again I’ve asked the Biden administration for assistance at the border but instead they have chosen to redirect resources to speed the release of migrants without the support and coordination our local communities deserve,” Hobbs said in a written statement and we can’t afford to lose manpower at our ports of entry.”  The reassignment efforts will continue on an as needed basis Border Patrol agents cannot release people after sundown and before sunset There haven’t been any official overnight stays in Nogales Officials check the city for any migrants staying overnight unsheltered If asylum seekers are released after the last bus leaves the city at 3 p.m. they typically arrange their own travel by paying for one of the many shuttle and taxi services available nearby Asylum seekers are not required to board the Pima County-funded buses Officials cannot force people to board but they give asylum seekers information and the choice to take the bus Most people board the buses bound for Tucson or Phoenix Others may catch a shuttle or taxi to take them to where they need to go while some may wait in the city for family or sponsors to pick them up Arizona is often only a stop along people’s journey with many having family or sponsors in the interior of the country Casa Grande tapers offIn the span of one week there were 519 uncoordinated and unsheltered releases in Cochise County according to Cochise County Emergency Management data Up to seven DEMA and Pima County-funded buses are running in Cochise County daily 17 as buses began picking asylum seekers up directly at the Border Patrol station The city established a temporary migrant shelter and has volunteers ready to step up if needed Asylum seekers previously were dropped off in a Safeway parking lot in Bisbee Casa Grande was only really impacted by the street releases on Sept according to Casa Grande Police Chief Mark McCrory City officials encountered a total of 52 asylum seekers who Border Patrol dropped off at a convenience store in the southeast portion of the city The Border Patrol notified city officials before the releases happened Officials then helped transport them to Phoenix and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Only four asylum seekers of the 52 were unable to arrange transportation Officials subsequently arranged for taxis to take the four people from Casa Grande to the airport including the International Rescue Committee helped respond to the releases in the city The IRC has been working directly with Border Patrol since Sept “We had a group of people that worked closely together to try to make sure that asylum seekers weren't stranded “We've been fortunate that things have gone smoothly for Casa Grande and our community and we are prepared if there's an increase in those numbers.” While there may have been releases after the initial city response there’s been nothing that’s had an impact on city resources Officials have plans ready to put in action if the number of releases rises again Shelters in the Phoenix area are seeing a large spike in the arrival of asylum seekers But officials say they are willing to accept more to prevent federal authorities from releasing migrants on the streets At the Monte Vista Baptist Church in Phoenix arrivals of asylum seekers have more than tripled the church has received as many as 150 asylum seekers compared to about 32 daily in the middle of the summer The spike in arrivals has strained the resources of the church which mostly serves working-class Latino families Campos rushed to Costco to buy as many roasted chickens as possible after a bus carrying 68 asylum seekers arrived at the church at the last minute The church has the capacity to comfortably receive 75 to 100 asylum seekers daily But because of the sudden influx of asylum seekers arriving at the southern border the church is willing to increase capacity to prevent migrants from being released on the streets “We are fearing that these people will (wind up on) the streets,” Campos said “All we want is to be able to help these people.”  Busing program announced: Gov. Katie Hobbs announces expanded migrant bus routes ahead of Title 42's end the church was only receiving asylum seekers apprehended by the Border Patrol in the Yuma area and then released by U.S Since the number of asylum seekers crossing the border in the Tucson sector skyrocketed over the past several months the church has been receiving asylum seekers transported to Phoenix on private buses after being released by the Border Patrol in southeastern Arizona Campos believes the Border Patrol has been forced to release asylum seekers on the streets in Cochise County because there haven’t been enough buses to transport asylum seekers to shelters in Phoenix Most asylum seekers who arrive at the church leave the same day The church helps them make arrangements to travel at their own expense to reunite with sponsors the congregation has offered to receive additional asylum seekers on Tuesdays to prevent the Border Patrol from releasing them on the street The church currently only receives asylum seekers on Thursdays “I told them (federal authorities) you can bring me 60 on Tuesdays and 60 on Thursdays.” Ramirez said “But it turns out they only send 32 on Thursdays from the ICE office in Phoenix.” the average number of asylum seekers arriving daily has soared from 70 in June to 111 daily in July the center was receiving on average 192 asylum seekers daily the number has increased to about 250 asylum seekers daily The center has the capacity to receive a maximum of 300 asylum seekers daily "Street releases are not in the best interests of vulnerable asylum seekers nor local communities,” communications coordinator Nisha Datt said in a written statement “All partners must coordinate to ensure asylum seekers are received in a safe “The IRC is in close contact with federal agencies and nonprofit partners to determine the best way to address the situation." The center provides humanitarian reception for asylum seekers The majority leave within 48 hours and travel to reunite with family members and sponsors across the nation the pastor at Iglesia Cristiana El Buen Pastor To volunteer with Santa Cruz County’s response efforts you must be at least 18 years of age Training will be provided and duties may include: Greeting released migrants distributing water and snacks to migrants and assisting staff with boarding migrants on buses Volunteer shifts will be available from 7 a.m please contact Frances Paredes at 520-375-7736 Have a news tip or story idea about the border and its communities Contact the reporter at josecastaneda@arizonarepublic.com or connect with him on X Daniel Gonzalez covers race, equity and opportunity. Reach the reporter at daniel.gonzalez@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8312 One of the 25 businesses that closed last year in Nogales Bracker's had been the anchor store for Morley Avenue the business owners along Morley Avenue collectively shuddered Bracker's had been one of the big draws for Mexican shoppers crossing the border But the Bracker's building now has new owners and a new name: Melrose Family Fashions family-owned retail chain now has 100 stores around the country It does have a small retail shop on Morley Avenue but the new building will house a full-scale department store featuring items for the entire family as well as some housewares the marketing director for the Texas-based company said the store will hire dozens of employees back to the main commercial district in Nogales Bracker's was known for attracting shoppers from Mexico and Valdes said the same clientele will be important to Melrose "That's because the company did start in McAllen we're all very attuned to what the Latino community loves."      Valdes said the building is undergoing a major facelift and should be ready to open its doors by April Dozens of new employees are expected to be hired In the 2023 film "The Long Walk of Carlos Guerrero," an undocumented New York City chef travels to Mexico to visit his ailing mother focuses on the character's harrowing return journey through the Arizona desert where he meets and takes under his wing a young girl from El Salvador A film that chronicles the “hero’s journey” of an undocumented New York City chef on a harrowing trip through the Southern Arizona desert aims to celebrate the contributions of undocumented immigrants to American society and to humanize migrants too often treated as political props “The Long Walk of Carlos Guerrero” is a fictionalized account rooted in true migrant stories from the Arizona borderlands featuring appearances by real humanitarian-aid workers from Tucson and Green Valley says New York-based Indian filmmaker Joseph Mathew-Varghese "I feel that migrants are heroes who have never been acknowledged,” said Mathew-Varghese who is in Tucson for two upcoming screenings of the 2023 film “The Long Walk of Carlos Guerrero” will be screened at the Arizona International Film Festival in Tucson on Friday It’s also the feature presentation of a Saturday, April 20 fundraising event in Green Valley to benefit humanitarian-aid nonprofit Salvavision in collaboration with the Green Valley-Sahuarita Samaritans "The Long Walk of Carlos Guerrero" will be screened locally multiple times: — Saturday, April 20 at 4 p.m., at Desert Sky 6 Cinema (70 Duval Mine Road) in Green Valley, to benefit the nonprofit Salvavision — Friday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Mercado Annex, 267 S. Avenida del Convento in Tucson, for the Arizona International Film Festival at the University of Arizona's Health Sciences Innovation Building to benefit Humane Borders and Tucson Samaritans the protagonist Carlos Guerrero has taken the risk to leave the U.S and the only option for his return is to make the trek through the borderlands he takes under his wing a young Salvadoran migrant who has lost her mother as they both fight for their lives in the desert said the film’s depiction of the Salvadoran girl reminds her of own near-death experience in the Southern Arizona desert in 1980 founder of migrant-aid nonprofit Salvavision is pictured with filmmaker Joseph Mathew-Varghese outside of the Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson this week Rodriguez was part of a group of 26 who were fleeing the civil war in El Salvador and were abandoned by their guide in the July heat before Border Patrol agents found the survivors Rodriguez has made it her life’s work to help migrants like herself despite increased awareness and the efforts of aid groups like Humane Borders Nearly 4,200 migrants are known to have died in the Southern Arizona borderlands since 1990 “It’s hard for me to accept the fact that we are still in the same situation and that people are still going through that journey,” Rodriguez said people still suffering just to find safety and the lies and the betrayals of the smugglers continue.” Proceeds from the Green Valley screening/fundraiser will support Salvavision’s efforts to create a healing summer camp experience for dozens of children who last year fled the Mexican border town of Sásabe, Sonora to escape extreme cartel violence as well as children who migrated from other countries and are settling in Tucson which will include art-therapy activities and field trips to the zoo The program aims to “help them to have a space to leave their traumas behind for a little bit to talk about what their experience was — how much they miss home represents an “homage” to the filmmaker’s late friend Carlos García García was a celebrated chef in New York City who had worked his way up from a dishwasher and unable to visit his family in Mexico for more than 15 years Mathew-Varghese was struck by how his friend’s immigration status “trapped” him “The story revealed part of the undocumented experience that I had never thought about,” he said Mathew-Varghese says the reliance on undocumented labor in major U.S politicians continue to dehumanize immigrants and fail to create legal pathways for them “If the undocumented people in this country leave so many major industries that we rely on every day are just going to shut down,” he said “It’s just like the reality that everybody knows a humanitarian rights activist and member of the Tohono O'odham Nation is pictured in a still shot from the film "The Long Walk of Carlos Guerrero," a 2023 film by Joseph Mathew-Varghese which will be screened at the Arizona International Film Festival on April 26 That reality became obvious during the pandemic More than 5 million undocumented immigrants were deemed “essential workers” under U.S Department of Homeland Security guidelines as they worked on the front lines of the pandemic response according to the Center for American Progress a human rights activist and member of the Tohono O’odham Nation is one of a number of Tucson-based humanitarians with a role in the film Wilson said he began putting out water on Tohono O’odham land around 2002, when he was a Presbyterian lay pastor at the Presbyterian church in Sells. He noticed the Humane Borders’ migrant-death map contained so many red icons on reservation land marking the location where bodies were found “I thought it was my moral obligation and duty to put out water,” Wilson said “They were dying within miles of our communities Wilson met Mathew-Varghese in 2004 when the filmmaker was scouting a documentary in Arizona after learning about the rising number of migrant deaths here and the way U.S border-enforcement policy channels migrants to the most dangerous parts of the desert On his first morning in the field with Wilson who had been lost for days and was almost out of water to earn money to pay for surgery his wife needed and told him to find Border Patrol agents to turn himself in “It hit me in a very visceral way,” he said If I can find this on the first day I’m out here was released in 2006 and many of the true stories the filmmaker gathered during filming are incorporated into his new film Rodriguez of Salvavision says she sometimes struggles to stay hopeful in the face of so much anti-immigrant sentiment and the decades-long failure of Congress to tackle immigration reform in a realistic way But projects such as “The Long Walk of Carlos Guerrero” inspire her to continue her work — not for herself you get the beautiful victory of a good story to lift you up Tucson artist Álvaro Enciso wants to make a largely invisible tragedy unfolding in the Southern Arizona desert more visible to the world For the past decade Enciso and his team of friends and volunteers from the Tucson Samaritans have spent every Tuesday placing his hand-made crosses at the site of migrants' deaths Contact reporter Emily Bregel at ebregel@tucson.com Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community For Star subscribers: Searchers are trying to help more families learn what happened to missing loved ones But laws restrict their access to … "Home Is Somewhere Else," tells the stories of three families of mixed immigration statuses facing fa… Under Tohono O'odham Nation pressure to address environmental and humanitarian concerns installs a large heated tent to shelter asyl… As much as he wants to honor those who lost their lives in the desert Álvaro Enciso also wants to confront Americans with a harsh reality "one of Mexico's most important playwrights," explains why he wrote the new play "2 Nogales," which opens Saturday in Tucson Three ongoing Tucson art exhibits invite viewers to reflect on the constancy of immigration throughout history This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page sparking widespread debate over their feasibility In charge of executing Trump's border security plans, his returning border czar, Thomas Homan, recently told Fox News that the Trump administration intends to designate cartel members as terrorists which would enable the expanded use of federal resources to deal with them Trump himself hinted on wanting to address border cartel violence with a "military operation." To assess the potential outcomes of U.S. military intervention in Mexico, the Latin Times spoke with Dr. Jeremi Suri an award-winning global affairs lecturer and author Suri believes Trump's plans could ultimately backfire and unintentionally strengthen the criminal organizations he aims to dismantle could ultimately boost cartels' recruitment efforts drive Mexican authorities to collaborate with these criminal organizations and position cartel members as 'heroes' in the public eye by undermining Mexico's perceived sovereignty already embedded in many Mexican communities as de facto providers of jobs and resources intervention to present themselves as defenders of Mexican sovereignty Suri also delves into why Trump's strategy could disrupt U.S.-Mexico relations and relations with other Latin American countries to the point that it could benefit China This interview has been edited for length and clarity I mean there is a question of course of Mexican sovereignty And the Mexican government has always jealously guarded its sovereignty as any country would and so any deployment of American forces against the cartels would require Mexican permission Any violation of that would lead to potential conflict between American forces and Mexican police or military forces And so you could have a very strange situation where the cartels and the Mexican police are cooperating against the U.S The United States should not be sending any force into Mexico without clear Mexican consent We also rely of course on Mexican policing and military force on that side of the border It could have the effect—I don't want to predict this but it could be possible—that American military bullying of Mexico could actually have the opposite effect of making the border less secure JS: By discouraging Mexican cooperation and trust with the United States So much of what happens at the border is about informal cooperation and formal cooperation between U.S when coordinated with the Mexican government can be incredibly helpful because the United States can provide equipment the United States can provide surveillance technologies So the United States can be very helpful particularly in terms of resources But it can backfire because if a greater United States military presence in the region occurs that can actually lead local actors to resist the U.S And so you can be in a situation where the narcos actually become more popular as a response to what is seen as American incursions they become the defenders of Mexico and they're seen as more popular by Mexican citizens." this has happened repeatedly in places like Colombia and Panama where heavy-handed American activity or heavy-handed American behavior has turned someone like a Noriega into a local nationalist hero The best way to build up local support south of the border from people who are suffering—the best way to get them to like you is somehow to say you're resisting Yankee imperialism the narcos are actually the local government in a sense providing people with wages and sometimes with food aid And so they already build a community of support And then if they're seen as resisting the United States and I felt this—I was in Mérida about a month and a half ago to talk to a group of leaders of Maquiladoras—you know what I felt was that Mexico will always look for a friendly relationship with the United States But the big takeaway for me is that this pressure from the U.S is encouraging Mexican business people and Mexican political leaders to look at alternatives to the U.S. It doesn't mean that [Mexicans] will not partner with the U.S. So it's very rational to be more open to China and other partners I think throughout Central and particularly in Latin America Lula has been very careful to maintain friendly relations with the U.S. So these countries are going to balance more against the U.S And Mexico will be a model for some of them JS: I think it will completely undermine any order in these towns and communities because you'll have this influx of people coming in that don't want to be there The first wave of people sent over the border will be people with criminal records And so it will completely undermine order in those areas which will create more pressure for more immigration again So it's like becoming a hamster on a hamster wheel it's an immediate humanitarian problem because you have large numbers of people in locations where there are very few resources Who ends up with authority in those environments It is much more hygienic and actually much more orderly to manage asylum seekers on the U.S So we're actually helping the cartels to recruit because we're giving them people who are desperate who will therefore do things for the cartels and develop loyalty to the cartels because it's the only option they have It's the same thing that happens in prisons we're creating a fertile seedbed for recruitment by cartels Print Most people wouldn’t hike five miles in Laguna Beach’s Willow Canyon with a couple of gallons of water strapped to their back But Vicki Wadman wanted to make sure the 23 youngsters she was leading on the hike this month wouldn’t go thirsty She also brought granola bars and oranges to share with the group from an after-school program provided by Save Our Youth in Costa Mesa T-shirts and hats — leftovers from the seven marathons she’s run “You never know what each hike is going to bring,” said Wadman Nearly every month for the past year and a half Wadman has volunteered to load up supplies and take a group of 12- to 18-year-olds on hikes in places ranging from Crystal Cove to the Bridge to Nowhere trail in the San Gabriel Mountains “[It’s] something different than I would usually do on the weekend.” Wadman spends a couple of hours each month researching trails that would be appropriate and fun for die-hard hikers and newbies alike she blazes the trails alone to familiarize herself “We couldn’t even do half the hikes if it wasn’t for Vicki,” said Eduardo “Eddie” Iniestra studied education at the University of Arizona regularly took them on camping and backpacking trips I’m never hiking,’” Wadman remembered with a laugh the two hiked the Grand Canyon from rim to rim — 21 miles in less than 12 hours Though she is signed up for two marathons next spring Wadman is thinking about training the SOY kids for a hike up California’s Mount Whitney the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states “There’s never been a hike where someone didn’t make it ‘I can’t.’ So I just think that’s such a great .. said she has been on all but three hiking trips since she started going to SOY last year She likes talking with her friends and pointing out the shapes of rocks along the way — even when the hikes get tough But after that I know I’ll be fine because I keep telling myself When Wadman took over the hiking trips in 2017 the monthly group had dwindled to about a half-dozen members who became a SOY board member in the spring recruits her friends to join the hikes too Wadman’s sister will fly from Arizona in the new year to accompany a SOY hike you’re socializing … it’s a sense of accomplishment,” Wadman said “I just think there are so many positive things going on when you’re outdoors hiking.” regularly donates her time to SOY by visiting colleges with high school students and recruiting her friends to help edit students’ college application essays About 400 local youths visit SOY every year for fitness “The population that we work with is underserved and underprivileged “It’s really impactful because it gives them other avenues of expression.” The hikes are just some of SOY’s regular fitness offerings The 25-year-old organization also provides dance as well as free gym time in its fitness area The hiking trips are important because they get teenagers outside and off their phones to appreciate nature fundraising chairwoman of SOY’s board of directors especially in the neighborhoods that we’re working with that our students don’t have a lot of opportunity outside of school to really be engaged in a lot of physical activities or have the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful outdoors that are so close,” Cappellini said kids took off running as soon as the trail reached the beach One said he hadn’t been to a beach in five years Wadman said she loves sharing her passion for hiking with her young neighbors She hopes getting them outdoors can alleviate their stress and teach them about caring for the environment “I feel like I’m just planting a little seed,” she said Editor’s note: This is an installment of Unsung Heroes an annual feature that highlights otherwise overlooked members of the community faith.pinho@latimes.com Twitter: @faithepinho Faith E. Pinho is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, covering national and political news, including the 2024 election. News Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map An illegal immigrant who rescued a 9-year-old after the boy's mother died in a car accident in the southern Arizona desert was honored Tuesday.. — An illegal immigrant who rescued a 9-year-old after the boy’s mother died in a car accident in the southern Arizona desert was honored Tuesday by U.S and Mexican officials at a border crossing stood by shyly with his mother and stepfather as officials talked about his efforts to save Christopher Buchleitner “The desert has a way of rearranging priorities the priority was standing right in front of [him] that day,” said Beatriz Lopez Gargallo did what men of honor do in all nations and in all cultures.” Authorities said that if it hadn’t been for Cordova Cordova was two days into his journey to Arizona from Mexico when he saw the boy and he was wearing shorts despite the desert cold His mother had just been killed when their van went over a cliff The boy crawled out and went looking for help fed him chocolate and cookies and built a bonfire “The only thing I was thinking about was keeping the boy warm,” Cordova said Tuesday Cordova and Christopher were discovered the next day by some hunters Christopher was flown to a hospital and reunited with relatives Border Patrol and agreed to return to his home in the Mexican state of Sonora where officials from both countries held the ceremony in a U.S Customs and Border Protection building at the Nogales port of entry said Cordova deserved the opportunity to come to the United States to work and the congressman planned to introduce legislation that will let him get a special visa Stay secure and make sure you have the best reading experience possible by upgrading your browser Among a number of holy men and women declared venerable by Pope Francis on July 10 was a Jesuit scholar and founder of more than 20 missions during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Eusebio Francesco Chini, S.J. In Mexico and the southwestern United States, he is best known as Padre Kino an adaptation of his surname that he personally introduced The pope’s decree puts Padre Kino on the path toward beatification and then Though his story is not well known outside of Arizona, “there are a lot of ways” to look at the legacy of Father Kino, according to Peter Neeley, S.J., of the Kino Border Initiative a Jesuit ministry of education and advocacy on border issues based in Nogales that takes its institutional inspiration from Padre Kino Kino was a “voracious writer,” who left behind “tons of material,” a scientist “He was a classic example of the 17th-century philosopher-scientist He is remembered as a defender of the Indigenous people of what would become the United States of America and Mexico and the first European to demonstrate that Baja California was not an island He presided over a number of first encounters with the region’s Indigenous people and baptized thousands He founded the San Xavier del Bac mission on the Santa Cruz River as part of a network of missions connecting Sonora Father Neeley said this padre on horseback is remembered as a peacemaker among Indigenous communities and between Indigenous people and Spanish colonizers and the military who served them Kino was ”a classic example of the 17th-century philosopher-scientist where faith meets science,” remembered as a defender of the Indigenous people of what would become the United States of America and Mexico Eusebio Chini studied with the Jesuits in Trent and in Hall studied in various universities in southern Germany and was ordained a priest in 1677 then considered the northernmost outpost of Christianity For 24 years it served as the center from which he carried out his work of evangelization and scientific study and exploration covering more than 19,000 miles on horseback or mule or on foot conducting surveys that enabled him to draw up 32 maps of the region that became widely used Father Kino was the first to bring the Gospel to this region and quickly became convinced of the need to improve the living conditions of the Indigenous people agricultural methods and iron work and promoted the economic development of the Pima people in the state of Sonora in northern Mexico he promoted the dignity of the Indigenous people and he opposed the compulsory labor in the silver mines—carried out under almost impossible conditions—that the Spanish monarchy imposed on the ‘Indians,’” according to the biography welcomed the news that Padre Kino’s cause was moving forward “The history of the Catholic Church in Arizona is synonymous with the growth and history of the State of Arizona and Padre Kino is one of the foundational figures in that great history,” Bishop Olmsted said “As a faithful member of the Society of Jesus and a missionary priest Padre Kino was a tireless advocate for the native peoples of the Southwest He devoted tremendous energy to meeting their spiritual and temporal needs founding 21 missions and numerous native-run rancheros and willingly sharing in the poverty and hardships of those he served “He remains a wonderful example of the mission of the Church lived in solidarity with the poor and marginalized,” the bishop said “His unique combination of missionary zeal scientific knowledge and practical wisdom is a beautiful illustration of the fruitful union of faith and reason.” RELATED STORIES Review: Why Americans should brush up on their Catholic history Patrick Gilger, S.J. Discovering God on the U.S.-Mexico borderSean Carroll, S.J. Statues of Padre Kino in the region recall the exploits of this “padre on horseback,” and one in the rotunda of the Capitol in Washington honors his role in Arizona history they are going to tear down statues,” Father Neeley said noting such acts are often the expression of a simplistic view of a history that can be complicated Padre Kino helped the Indigenous communities prepare for the arrival of Spanish colonists by teaching them Spanish and organizing them into mission communities that could defend themselves against exploitation “His missiology was to try to isolate and protect the people from the contamination of the Europeans,” Father Neeley said “Serra had the opposite situation; Serra had to fight off the army.” likely familiar with the story of this fellow Jesuit Father Neeley suggests the timing of the decree of Kino’s heroic virtue may have something to do with the pope’s desire to shine some light on the U.S.-Mexico border and the problems experienced by Central American and Mexican immigrants and Indigenous communities today Kevin Clarke is America’s chief correspondent and the author of Oscar Romero: Love Must Win Out (Liturgical Press) By signing up to our newsletters you agree to the Just the News Terms of Service and Privacy Policy Just the News and Real America's Voice are partnering with The American Border Story to host the first annual American Border Heroes Awards a two-day extravaganza that will honor the men and women on the front lines of border security and the families who lost loved ones to illegal migrant crime.  The event will honors several awards winners including White House Border Czar Tom Homan as well as current and former law enforcement officers for a live discussion on the border crisis and how it has been reversed under President Donald Trump.  The American Border Heroes Awards will also bring together 21 members of angel families including the families of Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray and unveil new scholarships honoring those lost to crimes during the border crisis