Texas — Caretakers of a historic cemetery that has roots dating back to the foundation of the state of Texas are worried the end of a century old understanding with the city of Carrizo Springs may jeopardize that rich history
"Everybody out here has a story," said Bert Bell
president of the association that manages the hundreds of historic plots at Mount Hope Cemetery
"I can tell you probably 9/10 of them."
With several generations of Bells buried at the site
he and his ancestors have had a hand in the maintenance of the publicly-owned land
the cemetery has enjoyed free water from the city until very recently when Bell got a call from the city manager
"She calls me one afternoon at 4:30 and informed me they were cutting the water off because it's now against the law for them to give us water
where for the past hundred years it hadn't been," he said
The more than hundred year old agreement dates back to when the city's founder
acknowledged that English didn't read or write
What troubled Bell most about the latest development was what appeared to be a lack of planning behind the decision
'How much water are we using?'" Bell recounted
how much would that be?' 'I don't know.' 'Well
what if -' and every question I asked was
Bell says they're not asking for handouts and are ready to pay their fair share if need be
but they want the city to enforce the rule across the board
"The city manager indicated there were seven different entities she shut the water off," Bell said
We tried to talk to the newly appointed city manager
to see what other entities were impacted and why the city was planning to disconnect water now
Garcia declined to talk on camera but pointed us to a statement provided to the local newspaper
Though Garcia did share the move had nothing to do with a 2019 audit that revealed the city was losing 71 million gallons of water per year - or close to 19 percent of its water production
Recommendations from that audit included an overhaul of the town's piping
the move came as a surprised to Carrizo Springs resident Marilu Martin
"Nobody expected it to disappear overnight
which literally the water did," Martin said
Martin wants to ensure that the grounds have some connection to the utility to protect and preserve the land where she too will someday take her final rest
"We care about our history here," Martin said
(Bell's) father did an amazing job of keeping the history of Dimmit County alive
and Bert is doing the same thing - the legacy that comes with it."
While the water is currently flowing at the cemetery to assess how much water is being used
Bell and Martin say they're willing to go the distance for a solution
"History written or verbal is important because without it
we don't know who we are or where we come from," Bell said
pride and history always repeats itself."
An official website of the United States government
Texas – Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents recently arrested three individuals attempting to enter the country illegally near Carrizo Springs
agents responded to an alert by CBP Air and Marine Operations of three individuals walking on a local ranch
All three of the men had carpet attached to the bottoms of their shoes in an apparent attempt to hide their tracks
“Illegal aliens will go to great lengths to try to conceal their entry into the country,” said Del Rio Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Milton Moreno
“Our agents are trained in sign cutting methods that regularly foil these attempts.”
The group was transported to the Carrizo Springs Border Patrol Station for processing
was found to have been previously deported in 2013
He faces a charge of 8 USC § 1326 – reentry after deportation
To prevent the illicit smuggling of humans
Border Patrol maintains a high level of vigilance along corridors of egress away from our Nation’s borders
contact 911 or Del Rio Sector at (830) 778-7000
Follow the Chief of Del Rio Border Patrol Sector on X at @USBPChiefDRT, Instagram at @USBPChiefDRT, Facebook at USBPDelRioSector; and also U.S. Customs and Border Protection at @CBPSouthTexas for breaking news
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the son of Lorenzo & Josefa (Duran) Puente
Nick passed away unexpectedly at the age of 98
Nick retired from Saint Paul Housing Authority at age 66 where he worked as a housing maintenance worker
Nick was married to Guadalupe (Vega) on April 21
Nick and Guadalupe remained together for 75 years
Ernesto (Berta) Puente and Jorge Puente; 33 grandchildren; 68 great-gradchildren; and one sibling
Dionicio was preceded in death by his sons
Noemi Avila and Nikki Lopshire; and grandsons
Napoleon Fuentes and Jose Puente; and ten siblings
Nick will be missed by his immediate and extended family and many friends
Visitation will be held from 4-7pm on WEDNESDAY
with visitation one hour prior to the service
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(AP) — President Donald Trump’s inauguration-day executive orders and promises of mass deportations of “millions and millions” of people will hinge on securing money for detention centers
The Trump administration has not publicly said how many immigration detention beds it needs to achieve its goals
an estimated 11.7 million people are living in the U.S
and Immigration and Customs Enforcement currently has the budget to detain only about 41,000 people
The government would need additional space to hold people while they are processed and arrangements are made to remove them
The Department of Homeland Security estimates the daily cost for a bed for one adult is about $165
a bill known as the Laken Riley Act that Congress has passed
would require at least $26.9 billion to ramp up capacity at immigrant detention facilities to add 110,000 beds
READ MORE: Preparing for Trump deportations, Mexican border states erect migrant shelters
That bill — named after a Georgia nursing student whose murder by a Venezuelan man last year became a rallying cry for Trump’s White House campaign — expands requirements for immigration authorities to detain anyone in the country illegally who is accused of theft and violent crimes
Trump also is deploying troops to try and stop all illegal entry at the southern U.S
He triggered the Alien Enemies Act to combat cartels
The rarely used 1798 law allows the president to deport anyone who is not a U.S
citizen and is from a country with which there is a “declared war” or a threatened or attempted “invasion or predatory incursion.”
Detention infrastructure also will be stretched by Trump’s ban of a practice known as “catch and release” that allows some migrants to live in the U.S
while awaiting immigration court proceedings
ICE currently detains immigrants at its processing centers and at privately operated detention facilities
along with local prisons and jails under contracts that can involve state and city governments
It has zero facilities geared toward detention of immigrant families
who account for roughly one-third of arrivals on the southern U.S
“There’s a limitation on the number of beds available to ICE,” said John Sandweg
who was acting director of ICE under President Barack Obama
“There are only so many local jails you contract with
And if the administration wants to make a major uptick in detention capacity
that’s going to require the construction of some new facilities.”
Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the U.S
military to shore up mass deportations and provide “appropriate detention space.” The Pentagon also might provide air transportation support to DHS
Private investors are betting on a building boom
driving up stock prices at the top two immigration detention providers — Florida-based GEO Group and Tennessee-based CoreCivic
A fast-track budgeting maneuver in Congress called “reconciliation” could provide more detention funding as soon as April
the Texas state land commissioner has offered the federal government a parcel of rural ranchland along the U.S.-Mexico border for deportation facilities
The American Civil Liberties Union estimates that ICE is considering an expansion of immigrant detention space across at least eight states
to the outskirts of major immigrant populations in New York City and San Francisco
senior staff attorney for the group and its National Prison Project
The ACLU sued for access to correspondence from private detention providers after ICE solicited feedback last year on a potential expansion
Related emails from detention providers suggest the possible redeployment of a tent facility at Carrizo Springs
previously used to detain immigrant children
and the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley
Texas — one of two major immigrant family detention centers that the Biden administration phased out in 2021
Homeland Security will be working to try to detain everyone that it possibly can and also expand its detention capacity footprint well beyond what is currently available in the United States at this point,” Cho said
Cho added that Congress ultimately holds the purse strings for immigrant detention infrastructure — and that the Pentagon’s involvement under Trump’s emergency edict — warrants a debate
“How does this detract from our own military’s readiness?” she said
“Does the military actually have the capacity to provide appropriate facilities for detention of immigrants?”
Advocates for immigrant rights are warning against a hyper-militarized police state that could vastly expand the world’s largest detention system for migrants
Immigrant detention facilities overseen by ICE have struggled broadly to comply with some federal standards for care
a Homeland Security Department inspector general found during 17 unannounced inspections from 2020-2023
he authorized the use of military bases to detain immigrant children — including Army installations at Fort Bliss
Obama temporarily relied on military bases to detain immigrant children while ramping up privately operated family detention centers to hold many of the tens of thousands of Central American families caught crossing the border illegally
military bases have been used repeatedly since the 1970s to accommodate the resettlement of waves of immigrants fleeing Vietnam
Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana in Washington contributed
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Texas—Bill Martin's family has been ranching in Carrizo Springs for generations
but his morning routine around the ranch is very different from that of his ancestors
Martin still checks on the cattle and completes the usual ranch tasks
but he also picks up trash left behind by migrants
He ensures no structures have been broken into
As he drives his truck around the property
he checks gates and fences for holes left by people trying to sneak across the land
They're constantly having to evolve their security measures to do it
RELATED | Over $346K in cocaine seized in drug bust on southern U.S. border
This is the template or the blueprint everybody's gonna follow," Martin said
showing us a grey gate with orange spike mechanisms meant to take out a radiator if a vehicle tries to push it open
"It looks like something out of a Mad Max movie," Martin joked
"I refer to this as like a chess game
and this is just the last move on our side
There will be a countermove on the other side."
"How long has that chess match been going?" reporter Jordan Elder asked
"Probably about 20 years," Martin said
RELATED | Cracking down on egg smugglers: U.S. Customs shells out warnings at the border
He says he still needs to upgrade four gates on his property to this latest model
which could cost up to $15,000 out of his pocket
Martin has had to replace four to five gates per year in recent years
depending on how many vehicles drive through them or hit them in a bailout situation
because if he isn't notified that a gate or fence has been broken
Some of the encounters on his ranch have been more confrontational
Martin described one situation where a hunter was driving a Jeep when migrants came out of the brush and demanded the car
The hunter was able to speed up and report the incident
some of Martin's ranch hands were working on pens near an empty home on the property
A man ran out of the house toward the employees
Martin says he was covered in tattoos and feared he was a cartel or gang member
RELATED | Trump administration's immigration crackdown leads to historic low border apprehensions
a group of drug mules crossed Martin's property
The person at the end of the line had an AK-47
A group of eight people with backpacks walked in between them
The leader spotted a hunter on the property and pointed a gun at him
He was able to duck down and hide and the group continued on
He says several neighbors have had vehicles and valuables stolen from their homes
I felt safe no matter what time of day or night it was
I start feeling a little anxious if I'm still in here when it's getting dark," Martin said
After several incidents where migrants broke into houses on the property
Martin installed metal armoring on all sides of one home
The structure had been broken into through the walls
"It's sad that that's what it's coming to," Martin said
"You've got to take care of what's yours
I've gotta protect what's mine."
Martin took us around the ranch to show us other safety measures too
Border Patrol installed a tall camera on the property
and we watched as it spun around 360 degrees making sure everything was clear
Martin said he was seeing migrant activity on a daily basis
he says it's been weeks since he's seen any signs of people on his property
"It's slowing down now," Martin said
About 45 minutes West of Martin's ranch
Vice President JD Vance touted those low crossing numbers on a border visit
"This particular site has gone from over 1,500 crossings per day to 30 crossings per day," Vance said in Eagle Pass
Vance also highlighted new surveillance technology to help stop people trying to enter illegally—technology that could eventually help ranchers like Martin
"We're using artificial intelligence to make us better at the job of border enforcement
but we've gotta make sure that technology is deployed across the entire American Southern border," Vance said
it doesn't mean they'll stay that way
Martin says he has to make sure his ranch is ready
This is my last move and there'll be another one coming," he said
Gates and cameras are a more accessible way for area ranchers to secure their properties.
Martin says he has a neighbor who is in the process of building a moat around his property to prevent some of the bailout situations ranchers have seen in recent years. He says not everyone has the resources to take a measure like that, but it shows the lengths people are willing to go to to protect their property.
"How long until this becomes a thing of the past?" Elder asked, gesturing at the spiked gate.
"Until they find another way of getting around it," Martin responded.
For now, Martin is focusing on the gate upgrades and preparing for whatever may come next.
President Donald Trump delivers Investing in America remarks from the White House.
WATCHTractor-trailer accident leaves one man dead
two others hospitalizedby SBG San Antonio | Sonia DeHaro
Texas - A tractor-trailer rollover has left one man dead and two hospitalized with severe injuries
Dimmit County Fire Rescue was called to a crash scene along Highway 277
Two other individuals were airlifted to a San Antonio hospital for evaluation
First responders evaluated the tractor-trailer driver
Dimmit County Fire Rescue says EMS evaluated the tractor-trailer driver
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers arrived at the scene to conduct the investigation
CARRIZO SPRINGS, Texas - The National Transportation Safety Board released new preliminary information Tuesday from a crash that killed seven people last month
a 2021 Chrysler 300 was traveling West on Farm to Market Road 1433 in Dimmit County
when investigators believe it crossed the center line and collided with a 1998 Dodge Ram pickup truck that was traveling in the opposite direction
Investigators believe that the car was traveling at a high rate of speed through a curve in the road when the collision occurred
The posted speed limit on the road was 60 miles per hour
with an advisory speed limit of 30 miles per hour through the curve
the 17-year-old driver of the Chrysler 300
as well as the 20-year-old front seat passenger
and the 17-year-old and 13-year-old rear passenger
as well as the 64-year-old front seat passenger
who were in the rear seat of the pickup truck
as the root cause of the crash has yet to be determined
Texas — A traffic stop turned up six migrants
including two locked inside a toolbox in the back of the pickup truck
"Good job by our agents for their vigilance," officials said
"Smuggling attempts such as these are incredibly dangerous and show a callous disregard for life and safety."
No other information was available at this time
MIRC spokesperson Christine Sauve told WDET the group has to make severe cuts in key areas in response to the Trump administration’s stop-work orders
Tens of thousands of immigrant children — including hundreds in Michigan — came to the U.S
human trafficking or trying to re-unite with family members
Nonprofit groups supplied attorneys to help keep the children here
some so young they need a teddy bear to calm them when they testify in immigration court
But the Trump administration is halting federal funding for the effort
That’s hitting the nonprofit Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC) hard
manager of policy and communication for MIRC
told WDET the group has to make severe cuts in key areas
Listen: Michigan Immigrant Rights group shares repercussions of federal funding cuts
The following interview has been edited for clarity and length
Michigan Immigrant Rights Center: We did lose federal funding for two of our programs
We had previously received a stop-work order on that program
There was a court order for us to return to services and then just last week
the federal government terminated the contract completely
The other program is our unaccompanied children’s program
We provide legal representation and “Know your rights” information to all immigrant children in Michigan in court proceedings
that program had received a stop-work order
But the contract was terminated at the end of March
There was litigation filed in that case as well
the Trump administration has not followed the court’s orders
Payment has not been made for those services
and due to the financial pressure from the loss of both of those contracts
we’ve had to lay off 72 staff in our five offices across the state
We will still have our small help desk team
five individuals operating outside of the Detroit immigration court
We have 49 staff remaining distributed in our five offices across the state
WDET News: In terms of what the administration is supposed to do according to the courts
have they ordered them to fund you guys and they are simply not
CS: In the unaccompanied children’s case
But after the last judge’s order to return to services
the government has not complied with those orders
There has been no payment and no communication with the contractor
no intention shown to provide payment for the services
So without the federal funding coming in we were left with very difficult pressures to continue our services as best we can
What we do know is that under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act
a bipartisan act passed by Congress decades ago
it acknowledged the unique vulnerability of children and actually codified the federal government’s obligation and responsibilities to ensure that unaccompanied children have legal representation so they’re not facing that risk of deportation without due process
without a chance for a fair hearing in court
“Most unaccompanied children are eligible for permanent status and other forms of relief under current U.S
But they can’t access that relief without an attorney to help make their case in court
It’s so heartbreaking because children just cannot meaningfully navigate immigration court alone
We don’t expect children to do that in any other court process in America.”
There was a recognition that it could not be a fair hearing if the child did not have an attorney or representation
Most unaccompanied children are eligible for permanent status and other forms of relief under current U.S
We don’t expect children to do that in any other court process in America
QK: At times some unaccompanied kids try to get a sponsor in the U.S.
There’s concerns from some sponsors now about doing that going forward
because some of their own personal information could be revealed that didn’t used to have to be
CS: The Trump administration had authorized information-sharing between agencies
There’s something known as the “foundational rule” for the unaccompanied children’s program
It previously stated that information about sponsors’ immigration status could not be shared with other federal agencies
This administration has changed course to permit sharing of sponsor immigration status with law enforcement
specifically for the purposes of achieving their goals of mass deportation
it affects some of the most vulnerable of our community members
the children who are placed in those homes
They’ve been placed with family or relatives that they know and trust
Removing the sponsor would affect the health and outcomes for the child as well
while you still watch what’s going on with the litigation that’s underway
Is it going to affect your mission tremendously as you go forward
CS: The capacity will be lowered but we will not stop representing the children that we currently have in our caseload
We currently have 800 cases that are still proceeding
We’ll have a small team focusing on those cases for the next nine months to complete as many of them as we can
we won’t be able to accept any new children’s cases for the foreseeable future
But there’s a reason that public funded services exist and it is because often other entities are unable to provide that level of funding
We have been very busy over the past couple of months reaching out to as many foundations and private donors as possible to raise the funds to have this small team continue over the next nine months
I don’t think with the current funding we have available at the moment we could continue that beyond nine months
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today
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SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore legal aid to tens of thousands of migrant children who are in the United States without a parent or guardian
The Republican administration on March 21 terminated a contract with the Acacia Center for Justice
which provides legal services for unaccompanied migrant children under 18 through a network of legal aid groups that subcontract with the center
saying that 26,000 children were at risk of losing their attorneys; Acacia is not a plaintiff
Those groups argued that the government has an obligation under a 2008 anti-trafficking law to provide vulnerable children with legal counsel
District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of San Francisco granted a temporary restraining order late Tuesday
She wrote that advocates raised legitimate questions about whether the administration violated the 2008 law
warranting a return to the status quo while the case continues
The order will take effect Wednesday and runs through April 16
"The Court additionally finds that the continued funding of legal representation for unaccompanied children promotes efficiency and fairness within the immigration system," she wrote
It is the third legal setback in less than a week for the Trump administration's immigration crackdown
though all may prove temporary as the lawsuits advance
a federal judge in Boston said people with final deportation orders must have a " meaningful opportunity " to argue against being sent to a country other than their own
another federal judge in San Francisco put on hold plans to end protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans
including 350,000 whose legal status was scheduled to expire April 7
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008
which created special protections for migrant children who cannot navigate a complex immigration system on their own
Plaintiffs said some of their clients are too young to speak and others are too traumatized and do not know English
The law requires the government to ensure "to the greatest extent practicable" that all children entering the country alone have legal counsel to represent them in proceedings and to "protect them from mistreatment
which include the Department of Health and Human Services and its Office of Refugee Resettlement
said that taxpayers have no obligation to pay the cost of direct legal aid to migrant children at a time when the government is trying to save money
They also said district courts have no jurisdiction over a contract termination that would have expired at the end of March
Acacia is under a new contract with the government to provide legal orientations
But plaintiffs said they are not asking for the contract to be restored; rather
which is spending $5 billion that Congress appropriated so children have representation
said Karen Tumlin with the Justice Action Center at a court hearing Tuesday
She said the administration cannot simply zero out funding without providing direction on who will help these children
"They need to make sure to the greatest extent practicable that there is a plan," she said
Department of Justice said the government is still funding legally required activities
and that legal clinics can offer their services without charge
"They're still free to provide those services on a pro bono basis," he said
Judge Martínez-Olguín is a Biden appointee
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Texas — Welcome to week three of the KRIS 6 News Friday Night Fever coverage of Texas high school football
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