Los Fresnos Fire Chief Gene Daniels said firefighters worked to contain hotspots at a home in Indian Lake a couple living in the mobile home is displaced for the time being Fire crews responded to the fire at around 9 a.m The home suffered smoke damage and the kitchen was destroyed McALLEN — The owners of a South Texas bakery were arrested and charged with harboring undocumented workers a relatively rare incidence of federal agents pursuing business owners for allegedly employing undocumented immigrants Homeland Security Investigations conducted a "worksite enforcement action" at Abby’s Bakery in Los Fresnos on Feb 12 and said they arrested eight undocumented workers Leonardo Baez and Nora Alicia Avila-Guel were charged with "bringing in and harboring aliens and aiding and abetting the harboring of aliens." A criminal complaint filed by a Homeland Security special agent said the owners admitted they knew the employees were undocumented Prosecuting businesses that employ undocumented workers is rare Even during President Donald Trump's first term Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not often exercise that authority In the year between April 2018 and March 2019, ICE filed seven criminal cases against 11 people for employing workers in the country illegally No companies were charged during that period according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse a data-gathering nonprofit at Syracuse University a border town of fewer than 10,000 people in Cameron County Los Fresnos Mayor Alejandro Flores called the situation "frustrating" in a statement posted on Facebook we are unable to speculate at this time," Flores said "I do agree that this doesn't look good and since ICE is not putting out any statements Leonardo Baez and his family during this difficult time." ICE did not respond to questions regarding the arrests Baez and Avila-Guel remain in federal custody Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas Disclosure: Facebook has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here We can’t wait to welcome you to the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival Texas’ breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov Step inside the conversations shaping the future of education Hear from our CEO, Sonal Shah, on TribFest 2025. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase Choose an amount or learn more about membership https://www.facebook.com/harleysbayview/ Los Fresnos – Visions of the Valley usually include sunsets over Laguna Madre But if you’re looking for a true Texas sound while exploring South Texas find your way to Los Fresnos and head to a little hidden honky tonk called Harley’s Sylvia Nolan has lived in the Rio Grande Valley since the mid 70s when she moved down to Texas from Wisconsin with her husband John “Harley” Nolan She’s seen a lot of change over the past half century with the addition of all sorts of buildings Sylvia and her husband opened Harley’s Country Store and Beer Garden back in 2004 Harley wanted to bring a little bit of Luckenbach down to the valley and he wanted a stage to play his music on John passed away in 2014 but Sylvia and her family have kept Harley’s open 7 days a week and it’s their Sunday service that draws a crowd That’s when you’ll find the house band Wildcat Thicket playing song after song after song and you never know who you’ll meet here you might recognize him as Walter White’s son on the hit show Breaking Bad RJ gets this vision John had when it came to Harley’s creating a watering hole community area where people can gather and share their love for down-home music Tom Bullard is another big believer in Harley’s Tom is a fixture at Harley’s despite having moved to Nashville to continue his career He also gets credit for introducing Silvia to her new love having introduced the two when Tom brought Randy down to play some music or just a good conversation is what Harley’s is all about Coming together to celebrate the good times right here in the Lone Star State is also worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List BROWNSVILLE — The owners of a South Texas bakery accused of illegally hiring undocumented immigrants were also housing their employees next to the business a detail that a federal judge ruled was sufficient to charge the couple with harboring the workers Betancourt ruled there was probable cause to believe that Leonardo Baez and Nora Alicia Avila-Guel broke the law by "harboring aliens" following testimony that the couple knew they employed workers who couldn’t legally work in the U.S and sheltered them in an apartment adjacent to their business Agents conducted a "worksite enforcement action" at Abby's Bakery in Los Fresnos and apprehended eight immigrant workers on Feb 12 following a tip the agency received in December according to Special Agent Dillon Duke with Homeland Security Investigations who testified during a preliminary hearing Friday morning Six of the immigrants were in the country on temporary visas that do not grant them permission to work in the U.S but immigration officials have since removed them to Mexico The tipster informed the agency that the business owners were harboring and employing immigrants without pay During the raid of the business — which also includes Dulce’s Cafe — agents also searched an apartment located on the side of the building where several of the employees lived Duke described the apartment as a rectangular room with six beds along the wall who allegedly admitted they knew their employees were not authorized to work in the U.S "They stated that they knew this would happen one day," Duke said The attorneys representing the couple argued that providing shelter to the employees was not evidence that the couple was trying to conceal them from detection and that there was no evidence the employees weren't allowed to leave the apartment "There was no concealment," said Sergio Villarreal who argued that to find probable cause for harboring required a “shady act.” The judge disagreed and set a $100,000 bond with a $15,000 cash deposit for each said the case was unusual and could cause fear among business owners who provide housing for their employees "Their whole life right now is shattered." Baez and Avila-Guel have five children between the ages of 10 and 31 and moved to the Rio Grande Valley from Mexico more than 20 years ago He said the couple were hard-working people and said his sister was living the American dream Crews are working to fix a sinkhole in Los Fresnos the Cameron County Public Works Department confirmed to Channel 5 News The sinkhole caused a closure of Whipple Road in Los Fresnos from east of FM 1775 and Evergreen Street The closure started on Sunday evening and will remain in effect until construction is completed According to the Cameron County Public Works team excess water over the road caused “a small cave in” on Whipple Road crews filled in the sinkhole with concrete There has been a lot of talk concerning funding for schools in light of President Donald Trump's executive order on downsizing the Department of Education The superintendent for Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District said he has some concerns state and federal sources of revenue guidance and policies," Los Fresnos CISD Superintendent Dr "Any of the opportunities that are available to kids now would go away It would be very difficult for us to deliver on our mission if we didn't have those sources of revenue." RELATED COVERAGE: Trump to order a plan to shut down the US Education Department Programs funded with federal money include second language programs and special needs The White House has said critical programs will not be impacted they've been distributed based on need so economically disadvantaged students that we serve determines the funding level we received," Salazar said President Trump has said the order is meant to return education authority to the states and eliminate funding for programs that promote DEI or gender ideology hiding a small plastic figure in roscas and getting it in the oven bakers were hard at work at Abby's Bakery in Los Fresnos the bakery participated in Three Kings Day by working to finish their orders for roscas Abby’s Bakery Owner Leonardo Baez said they started baking 2,000 roscas — the traditional Three Kings Cake — five days ago 300 more roscas than last year’s orders RELATED STORY: Punks distribute toys to children in need for Three Kings Day in Mexico City “During these times we work a lot so that people don't miss out on the rosca,” Baez said Día de los Reyes Magos honors the three wise men who gave gifts to Jesus after his birth roscas are round or in an oval shape and are topped off with dried and candied fruits to symbolize the jewels a crown would have Plastic babies are hidden inside the roscas It's tradition that whoever gets the plastic baby from inside the rosca has to host a party it's a tradition about beliefs and family.  “Traditions are things that teach us something very beautiful,” Baez said.  Watch the video above for the full story.   Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed to Channel 5 News that arrests were made after ICE agents conducted “worksite enforcement action” at a Los Fresnos bakery last week ICE agents were at Abby’s Bakery — located at 417 W The spokesperson said ICE agents were there “in response to information or allegations received by ICE Homeland Security Investigations.” ICE agents target employers who “violate employment laws.” According to the spokesperson anyone found during these actions who are in violation of U.S “Those arrested in Abby’s Bakery workforce enforcement action remain in ICE custody pending removal,” the spokesperson said Channel 5 News asked how many people were arrested during the enforcement action and if the business owner would face any consequences An ICE spokesperson said they would not provide additional information.  UTRGV pitcher Victor Loa was named a member of the National Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List on Friday afternoon The junior has shined this season with the Vaqueros posting a 5-1 record with a 1.94 ERA in nine starts this season Getting to this point for Loa has been far from easy After taking the Los Fresnos Falcons baseball team to the regional finals in 2021 Victor Loa’s college baseball career first took him to Texas State and Blinn College Just days before his team at Blinn College was set to begin the conference tournament Loa felt a snap in his arm during a bullpen session it was so surprising to me and everybody else on the team because I always took care of myself it was definitely a learning experience and a blessing in disguise when it all happened.” A UCL tear had him out for a year and with zero faith he’d be back on the mound “Nobody had heard from me for quite some time “Come over the hump that I was going through and maybe be able to play again.” “I stuck to the plan; I stayed the course like I always told myself the people around me knew how much of a competitor I was trusted me and I trusted God that sooner or later something good was going to happen and now I'm here at UTRGV… My heart told me to come home.” “His competitive pieces are the things I've noticed since he walked on campus,” UTRGV baseball head coach Derek Matlock said of Loa “He just wants to compete; that's his biggest quality for sure 5' 8 kid and look how strong he is and look how good his fast ball is He won that Saturday spot with not a problem.” Loa is not only one of the top pitchers on the staff but he’s helping the Vaqueros fight for a conference title in their first year in the SLC “Week in and week out I'm starting to get a little more feel,” Loa said “I’m starting to adapt more to the situations that I knew I could get through… I always have to remind myself that I'm not the biggest but with my pitch sequences and the way I work throughout the game the intimidating factor starts to carry inning after inning pitch after pitch.” His strong performance has earned him the complete trust of his new head coach “I’m expecting excellence,” Matlock said getting better and being better as the weeks keep coming and hopefully he can stay in that spot and keep winning games on Saturdays for us.” Whether it’s at Los Fresnos High School or UTRGV there’s almost no one that opposing batters are more scared to see on the mound when they come to town than Victor Loa Three athletes signed on to compete at the next level.  Jessie Theresa Brisky signed to Texas Lutheran University to play basketball she suffered an leg injury in her junior season but was named a 2nd team all-district selection and defensive selection in her senior year.  In her junior year she was named triple jump district champion She's a 4-time area qualifier and 3-time regional qualifier.  Falcons football star Zachary Segovia signed to Texas Lutheran University football In his junior year he was named 2nd team All-District His senior year he was a unanimous 1st team All-District All-Star and helped his team win a Bi-District Championship.  By The Associated PressWire Service When Homeland Security Investigations agents showed up at Abby’s Bakery in February and arrested the owners and eight employees Abby’s Bakery doesn’t employ violent criminals and Baez and Avila-Guel are not the people who President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan calls the “worst of the worst” and says are the priority for mass deportations Breaking NewsGet the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond GoogleFacebookBy signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy “I was surprised because I know that they’re not taking advantage of the people,” Esteban Rodriguez said after pulling into the bakery’s parking lot to discover it was closed The town of 8,500 residents is located in a majority Hispanic region dotted with fields of cotton sugarcane and red grapefruit where Republicans made gains in last year’s elections Cameron County voted for a GOP president for the first time since 2004 could lose everything after being accused of concealing and harboring immigrants who were in the U.S It’s a rare case in which business owners face criminal charges rather than just a fine which is 90% Latino and counts the school district as its largest employer is about a half-hour drive from the U.S.-Mexico border retirees and parishioners from the nearby Catholic church come into Abby’s Bakery each day Customers with silver trays and tongs select pastries from glass-door cabinets Six of Abby’s eight employees were in the U.S on visitor visas but none had work permits when Homeland Security Investigations agents came to the business Feb Employees lived in a room with six beds and shared two bathrooms in the same building as the bakery They referred questions to their attorneys who noted the workers were not held against their will and there was no attempt to hide their presence the couple could be deported if they are convicted The bakery closed for several days after their arrest drawing about 20 people to protest on an uncharacteristically chilly evening Cecilia Church often visited before early morning Mass for the campechana crunchy pastry dough layered with caramelized sugar His routine was interrupted when plainclothes immigration agents arrived in unmarked vehicles they’re taking my brother,‘” Briseño said The priest walked over and saw agents use zip ties to bind employees’ hands There is overwhelming bipartisan support to deport people who are in the U.S illegally and have been convicted of a violent crime according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll in January Support softens considerably for deportations of all people in the country illegally Trump and top aides repeatedly emphasize they are deporting criminals others in the country illegally who are there when officers arrest criminals also will be deported a departure from the Biden administration’s practices Trump has avoided the large-scale factory and office raids that characterized his first term and that of Republican President George W Scattered reports of smaller operations included the recent arrests of 37 people at a roofing business in northern Washington state ICE says it made 32,809 arrests in Trump’s first 50 days in office which compared with a daily average of 311 during a 12-month period ending Sept ICE said nearly half (14,111) were convicted criminals and nearly one-third (9,980) had pending criminal charges but did not specify the charges People with deep ties in their communities and no criminal records tend to generate more sympathy Abby’s reopened after the owners were released on bond two sisters in their 60s who retired from the school district and have known the bakery owners for years were among the customers filling trays with pastries Chela Vega said the couple once took a week off from work to drive them to San Luis Potosi in Mexico after their sister died Leonardo Baez cut down their damaged trees without charge shopping at Abby’s is now a political statement “With everything going on right now in our country we need to find ways to protest,” she said said Abby’s is an important business that contributes property and sales tax revenue to the $13 million annual municipal budget An RV is considered a total loss after a fire broke out Friday at an RV park according to Los Fresnos Assistant Fire Chief Mike Meyn Jr The fire broke out Friday afternoon at the Bay Breeze RV Park Meyn said the fire impacted a total of four structures and three RVs and the wind played a factor in the fire spreading and there were no people inside any of the RVs when the fire broke out Bailamos — The Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center is hosting its renowned Conjunto festival on Oct 4-5 at Los Fresnos Memorial Park with flocks of the music genre’s faithful expected to attend the two-day event TX—The Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center (NMCAC) volunteers have announced the line-up for the 31st Annual Conjunto Festival the two-day event is a one-of-a-kind cultural program attracting over 2,500 attendees for a celebration described as the best in live Texas-Mexican Conjunto music This year’s festival includes 15 Conjunto acts from the Rio Grande Valley The 15-band line-up is filled with skilled musicians who continue to keep the Conjunto music tradition alive The line-up includes beginning musicians to older artists who are ready to bring Conjunto music lovers to the dance floor Jesse Perez y Los Compadres Alegres and Los Chachos de Jesse Gomez are making their debut at the festival Joel Guzman and Sara Fox y Conjuntazzo will appear after an almost 15-year absence Fruty Villarreal y Los Mavericks are scheduled to kick off the festival at 5 p.m on Friday followed by Los Chachos De Jesse Gomez at 6 p.m with Linda Escobar y Su Conjunto taking to the stage 8 p.m followed by Joel Guzman/Sarah Fox y Conjuntazzo 10 p.m Santiago Garza y La Naturaleza are capping the night off at 11 p.m Conjunto Halcón (Los Fresnos High School) and Los Fresnos Elementary Conjunto will start Saturday’s performances at 4:30 p.m and Jesse Perez y Los Compadres Alegres taking to the stage at 6 p.m Riley y Los Gilitos are set to perform at 7 p.m y Sus Compadres will come up next at 9 p.m and local favorites Los Cucuys de Rodney Rodriguez are slated to hit the stage at 10 p.m The Conjunto festival is the longest-running festival of its type in the Rio Grande Valley and one of two festivals within the Conjunto music genre in the nation The Narciso Martinez Conjunto Festival is the largest cultural production of the NMCAC known as El Huracan del Valle (the Valley Hurricane) for his lighting fast accordion play having pioneered the music genre with his groundbreaking accordion riffs and style and authentic RGV-driven hospitality,” said NMCAC co-founder Rogelio Nunez and no outside beverages or food is allowed “We look forward to a safe and healthy event,” Nunez added According to the organization’s mission statement and develops the rich cultural heritage of the Mexicano community through programs in the visual arts Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2024/10/04/conjunto-fest-set-for-fri-sat/ Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" 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 A 32,000 square foot performing arts center is halfway through with construction according to the Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District “It has full amenities as far as a full theater is concerned,” district facilities and management director Rolando Borrayo said all of that it built into this project.” The district says it's important to invest in the arts “We have first division type performances in mariachi a jazz band that is first place in TMAA,” Los Fresnos CISD Superintendent Gonzalez Salazar said Construction for the performing arts center is expected to be completed in August 2025 The building is being paid for with funding from a $63 million bond voters approved in 2021 The bond is also being used to fund the creation of a new middle school campus Dear Reader,Unfortunately our comment platform isn\'t available at the moment due to issues with our paywall and authentication vendor A recent immigration enforcement action that resulted in the arrests of employees and owners at a Texas bakery has shocked residents of the town of Los Fresnos Texas — Leonardo Baez and Nora Avila-Guel's bakery in the Texas community of Los Fresnos is a daily stop for many residents to share gossip over coffee and pick up cakes and pastries for birthdays Six of Abby's eight employees were in the U.S they’re taking my brother,’” Briseño said The priest walked over and saw agents use zip ties to bind employees' hands There is overwhelming bipartisan support to deport people who are in the U.S. illegally and have been convicted of a violent crime, with 82% in favor, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll in January Trump and top aides repeatedly emphasize they are deporting criminals. But, as Homan often says, others in the country illegally who are there when officers arrest criminals also will be deported a departure from the Biden administration's practices ICE says it made 32,809 arrests in Trump's first 50 days in office Abby's reopened after the owners were released on bond For Terri Sponsler, 61, shopping at Abby’s is now a political statement Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More When Homeland Security Investigations agents showed up at Abby’s Bakery in February and arrested the owners and eight employees, residents of Los Fresnos were shocked. Abby's Bakery doesn't employ violent criminals and Baez and Avila-Guel are not the people who border czar Tom Homan calls the “worst of the worst” and says are the priority for mass deportations It's a rare case in which business owners face criminal charges rather than just a fine There is overwhelming bipartisan support to deport people who are in the U.S. illegally and have been convicted of a violent crime, with 82% in favor, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll in January Trump and top aides repeatedly emphasize they are deporting criminals. But, as Homan often says, others in the country illegally who are there when officers arrest criminals also will be deported For Terri Sponsler, 61, shopping at Abby’s is now a political statement Displays of baked goods are once again stocked up at Abby's Bakery in Los Fresnos The bakery reopened on Monday after it had been closed for over a week Customers stopped by the bakery to show their support “They're a family business and I believe in buying local,” Los Fresnos resident Mike Miller said Customers included some who live outside of Los Fresnos Abby’s Bakery had been closed since Feb 20 when owners Leonardo Baez and Nora Alicia Avila-Guel were arrested on federal charges of harboring undocumented migrants READ MORE:  Records: Los Fresnos bakery owners arrested after 8 undocumented migrants found in their bakery A criminal complaint obtained by Channel 5 News said the owners hired undocumented immigrants Baez and Avila-Guel are out on bond and were allowed to reopen the bakery if they “do so legally.” said the owners were forced to close the bakery because they didn't have anyone who could manage it “The bakery is open,” Villarreal said “They are allowed to reopen the bakery and we're very thankful for the support that the community has showed them." Villarreal said the owners of Abby's Bakery are expected to be back in court pending a possible grand jury indictment a "Yes we're open" sign is on the front door and customers are going home with pan dulce once again.  Watch the video above for the full story.