Laredo leaders Saenz, Cuellar discuss border violence with Mexican officials

12/03/19 – Laredo Morning Times

By Julia Wallace

During their visit to Mexico City this week, Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz and Rep. Henry Cuellar bent the ears of several Mexican senators about this recent period of violence in Nuevo Laredo and offered assistance from the U.S.

However, it does not look like Mexico is willing to take it, even as Nuevo Laredo has suffered close to 40 deaths since August, and the Mexican military appeared ineffective after capturing then promptly freeing the son of cartel leader “El Chapo” Guzman, fearing deadly retributions.

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Arizona-Mexico trade relationship continues to boost border economies

12/02/19 – Chamber Business News

By Graham Bosch

Mexico is Arizona’s top trading partner, accounting for about 30 percent of the state’s exports to foreign markets, according to an extensive ongoing study by the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona.

With that in mind, it’s no wonder that business leaders, trade experts and economists agree the cross-border relationship is of the utmost importance to Arizona when it comes to trade, manufacturing, education, safety, tourism and more.

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Mexicans sue Walmart over Texas shooting that left victims on both sides of border

Via Flikr – elmada

11/20/19 – Reuters

By Julia Love

Ten Mexican citizens have sued Walmart over the shooting at a store in the U.S. border town of El Paso, Texas, that killed eight Mexicans and left eight more injured, saying that Walmart did not do enough to protect its customers, Mexico said on Wednesday.

The suspected gunman told police he was targeting “Mexicans” in the August shooting, which killed 22 people in total.

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Officials worried for possible economic impact of violence in Nuevo Laredo

11/18/19 – KGNS

This weekend’s violence in Nuevo Laredo hit an all-time high with members of drug cartels fighting with Mexican military. Photos of the aftermath immediately began circulating on social media with the Mexican consulate and the City of Laredo issuing travel advisories to its citizens.

This is not the kind of publicity a U.S. border city wants to see, especially those that rely on its neighbors to the south to help boost their economy.

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Migrants stuck in lawless limbo within sight of America

11/17/19 – AP News

By Maria Verza

The gangsters trawling Nuevo Laredo know just what they’re looking for: men and women missing their shoelaces.

Those are migrants who made it to the United States to ask for asylum, only to be taken into custody and stripped of their laces — to keep them from hurting themselves. And then they were thrust into danger, sent back to the lawless border state of Tamaulipas.

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Tents, stench, smoke: Health risks are gripping migrant camp

11/14/19 – AP News

By Nomaan Merchant

A smoke-filled stench fills a refugee camp just a short walk from the U.S.-Mexico border, rising from ever-burning fires and piles of human waste. Parents and children live in a sea of tents and tarps, some patched together with garbage bags. Others sleep outside in temperatures that recently dropped to freezing.

Justina, an asylum seeker who fled political persecution in Nicaragua, is struggling to keep her 8-month-old daughter healthy inside the damaged tent they share. The baby, Samantha, was diagnosed with pneumonia and recently released from a hospital with a dwindling supply of antibiotics.

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Supreme Court weighs whether Mexican family can sue in US

11/13/19 – AP News

By Colleen Long

The Supreme Court’s left-leaning justices on Tuesday appeared willing to allow a lawsuit filed by the parents of a Mexican teenager shot over the border by an American agent, but the case will depend on whether they can persuade a conservative colleague to join them.

The high court heard arguments in a 2010 case where Border Patrol Agent Jesus Mesa Jr. fired into Mexico, striking and killing Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca. The case centered on whether the family could sue the agent in an American court for violating their son’s rights.

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