The El Paso Processing Center, located near the airport, is where El Paso asylum seekers are processed by the immigration service. Many of the asylum seekers present themselves at the Paso del Norte bridge and declare that they are asylum seekers. This is the process recognized by both U.S. immigration law and international human-rights laws. […]
Posted inPolitics
Florida Covid-19 Reopening Order Exposes Another Economic Hurdle
Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, lifted all Covid-19 restrictions on Friday. All businesses, including bars and restaurants no longer have state mandated restrictions. DeSantis allowed local governments to impose some restrictions, if the restaurant isn’t faced with a restriction limiting their seating capacity to more than 50%. Yesterday, while talking to the manager of an Orlando […]
Posted inDemand Safe Schools
Reopening Schools Safely for the Community
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE El Paso, TX – On Wednesday, September 30, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. local educators, school staff, unions and community organizations will lead a caravan and teach-in to advocate for an adequate COVID-19 safety plan at the EPISD Administrative Offices, located at 6531 Boeing. The local action is in unity and solidarity with […]
Posted inPolitics
I Am An Immigrant. I Pay My Taxes.
I am an immigrant from México. Since I immigrated, I have paid my taxes. I am not even a U.S. citizen, but I pay my taxes. Donald Trump apparently hasn’t paid federal income taxes in years. The two times he made a payment in the last fifteen years he paid $750 a year, for two […]
Posted inCultural Whitewashing
Border Patrol Targeted Bowie High School Students & Staff
Bowie High School, the high school adjacent to the border that serves low-income El Paso students was targeted by Border Patrol agents in 1992. It had been going on for years, but few complained out of fear. The Border Patrol has been in the news recently as its tactical units have been used to quell […]
Posted inImmigration
The Culture of Racism At El Paso Based Border Patrol & BORTAC
There are growing protests across America demanding that police departments be defunded. Other protestors are demanding that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) be abolished. Protestors in Portland protested outside the ICE building recently. ICE has drawn attention in recent years as the Trump Administration has intensified efforts to close the borders to immigrants. U.S. […]
Posted inEl Paso Public Library
We need your help…
As the numbers of COVID cases in El Paso continue to decline more and more, activities are beginning to be allowed with various restrictions for safety. Our churches have resumed services, some schools are having in person classes, football games are being played, and restaurants have certainly started to see more customers. Libraries across Texas and the […]
Posted inArt
Collecting Uteruses—the American Way
By Donna Snyder, Artwork Courtesy of Alfonso Valenzuela The claims by ICE detainees of trauma by hysterectomies[i] without informed consent is horrifying but sadly not shocking. Throughout much of the 19th and 20th centuries, unethical physicians and governmental agencies have conditioned health care or other benefits on acceptance of sterilization, have performed these surgeries during […]
Posted inImmigration
U.S. Diplomat Describes What I Felt Crossing The U.S.-Mexico Border In El Paso For Years
It showed up on my Apple news feed innocently enough and I almost skipped the article. I almost skipped it because it was from The Kansas City Star, a newspaper I wasn’t familiar with and I was afraid it was just clickbait. But the headline, As a Black US diplomat in Mexico, I was constantly […]