Month: August 2026

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Wednesday, deputy constables arrested a 37-year-old man for allegedly violating his parole and having fentanyl on hand, according to the El Paso County Constable’s Office for Precinct Six.

According to the constable’s office, it helped agents with the Texas Office of the Inspector General trying to find Milton Smith, who was wanted with a felony parole warrant.

Authorities found and arrested him at his work on Magoffin Avenue near Bowie High School, according to the constable’s office.

Smith allegedly told deputy constables he had fentanyl pills in one of his pockets, the constable’s office said.

Deputy constables found the pills in his pocket and tested them for fentanyl. The constable’s office said the pills tested positive.

The deputy constables then presented a complaint affidavit to the Jail Magistrates Office and secured an arrest warrant for Smith.

Smith booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility for parole violation and possession of a controlled substance without a bond.

El Paso, TX (KVIA-TV)-After distributing more than 1,500 pet food aid bags last year, the Schumacher Grant has set a goal of 3,000 bags for 2026 and is asking the community to help with pet food donations and volunteer time.

The Schumacher Grant is partnering with Casa de Peregrinos for this year’s drive. Donations can be made through the Schumacher Grant’s Amazon Wish List, and volunteers are needed to sort donations, assemble aid bags and help distribute them.

How to Help

Donate: Purchase pet food and supplies through the Schumacher Grant’s Amazon Wish List.

Volunteer: Tuesdays and Thursdays, Aug. 11 through Oct. 1, from 12:30 to 3 p.m.

Location: Casa de Peregrinos, 999 W. Amador Ave., Las Cruces

Volunteer opportunities: Sort donations, assemble pet-food aid bags, and help distribute them.

Sign up to volunteer here.

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Joel Vargas is from Venezuela. He left his country back in 2022 and arrived in Ciudad Juárez spring 2023. He’s currently navigating the federal asylum process while working in construction in Colorado Springs.

After securing an entry appointment through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One app in Juárez, he entered the U.S. legally and has been attending required immigration court hearings.

Joel left Venezuela due to severe economic hardship, traveling through Central America and Mexico before reaching the U.S. border. He waited six months in Juárez to secure his appointment through the app, choosing not to cross unlawfully due to concerns over detention facilities.

He sends most of his earnings to support his wife and daughter, who stayed in Venezuela.

After crossing legally into El Paso, Texas, Joel stayed in the city for two weeks before moving to Colorado Springs. In Venezuela, he worked as a civil engineer and university professor, but he now works in construction in Colorado, as mentioned.

The CBP One app was rebranded as the CBP Home app under the Trump administration, shifting its function from scheduling asylum appointments to assisting with voluntary self-deportation.

Joel told ABC-7 he received a notification on his phone offering $2,600 and a free plane ticket to self-deport and. He said the message warned migrants who did not voluntarily deport could face fines of nearly $1,000 per day.

Although he had entered the U.S. legally, Joel decided not to self-deport so he could continue working toward buying a home for his family. During an immigration court hearing last summer, an immigration judge granted Joel another opportunity to submit an asylum application.

The judge required him to provide all documentation translated into English, show proof of progress toward an online bachelor’s degree and demonstrate plans to pursue a master’s degree in the United States.

Despite following legal procedures, Joel feels an ongoing fear of deportation after seeing ICE officers arresting other individuals following court appearances in Colorado. Joel also expressed some concerns about returning to Venezuela, stating that former or current political tensions and Venezuelan government policies could lead to the imprisonment of returnees from the United States.

The U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in early January, creating political uncertainty in the country, but Joel has expressed hope for future progress in Venezuela and stated that he plans to consider returning home with his family later this year.

ABC-7 reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and CBP for comment and to learn more about how many migrants have used the CBP Home App for self-deportation.

A spokesperson with DHS recently sent us the following statement:

“Since January 2025, more than 2.2 million illegal aliens have voluntarily self-deported and illegal aliens continue to leave in record numbers. DHS has been consistently clear that those who have used the CBP Home app and utilized Project Homecoming are but a fraction of those who have voluntarily left the country because illegal aliens know President Trump is enforcing our immigration laws.

The current cost of a single enforced deportation is $18,245. Even with the new offer of a $2,600 stipend, the estimated cost of a single self-deportation via the CBP Home App is just $5,100, saving the American taxpayer over $13,000 per illegal alien.

Being in detention is a choice. We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App. The United States is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.”

Back in June, another DHS spokesperson also sent to us the following statement:

“Since Day One, DHS law enforcement has been delivering on President Trump’s promise to the American people to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists. Nearly 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S. More than 3 million illegal aliens are out of the country. We will continue to deliver on the President’s promise to make America safe again.

ICE enforces U.S. immigration law in every state, throughout this great nation, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In President Trump’s first year back in office, more than 3 million illegal aliens have left the U.S. because of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration including an estimated 2.2 million self-deportations. As of May 17, we have now deported nearly 900,000 illegal aliens and arrested over 900,000 illegal aliens.”

You can watch the full special report, “Legal Limbo,” Thursday on ABC-7 at 6.

by Claudia Lorena Silva

The Ysleta Independent School District is asking voters to allow it to raise its tax rate beyond what is allowed by the state to save it from a dire financial status – a proposition which if approved would have little to no impact on the vast majority of homeowners’ tax bills.

The YISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously Wednesday to call for a voter-approval tax ratification election, or VATRE, in November that would generate up to $5.5 million a year by shifting some of its property tax revenue — currently earmarked for repaying debt — toward daily operations.

YISD Superintendent Xavier De La Torre said, if approved, the proposal could help the district address a multi-million-dollar deficit that nearly depleted the district’s savings and potentially help rebuild it.

“Balancing a budget will not solve our problem. We actually have to have a surplus. We have to have extra money at the end of the year,” De La Torre told El Paso Matters before Wednesday’s board meeting.

Trustees voted unanimously to approve a tax rate of $1.19 per $100 property valuation — higher than the $1.15 voter-approval rate it could have adopted without going to voters. That triggered the call for the VATRE election, which if rejected, would force the board to adopt the lower rate.

The proposal would shift 3 cents from its debt rate to its operations rate, also known as a “penny swap.”

The no-new-revenue rate, which would generate the same amount of revenue as the previous year on the same properties, is $1.25 per $100 valuation.

Most of the voters eligible to decide on the proposal wouldn’t be impacted by the outcome because they pay no school property taxes, an El Paso Matters analysis of data from the El Paso Central Appraisal District shows.

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However, businesses and other commercial properties –  including Meta, which is developing a $10 billion data center in Northeast El Paso and is expected to become one of the largest taxpayers in the county – would see taxes go up if voters approve the proposed rate.

According to the CAD, more than  26,000 YISD homeowners — two-thirds of all owner-occupied homes in the district — will pay no school tax whether the issue passes or fails because the value of their exemptions exceeds the taxable value of their homes, or they are 100% disabled veterans, who are exempt from all property taxes in Texas.

All homes with homestead exemptions in Texas have a $140,000 exemption, and people over 65 have an additional $60,000 exemption. YISD adds a 20% homestead exemption, the only district in El Paso County to do so.

As a result, any home valued at $175,000 or less in the district won’t owe school property taxes this year regardless of the outcome of the election, and any home owned by someone over age 65 or disabled valued at $250,000 or less is exempt from school taxes. Such homeowners still pay taxes to the city, county, hospital district and community college.

The average market value of a home in YISD this year is $211,000, according to the Central Appraisal District.

The YISD tax bill on an average-value home, which has a taxable value of just over $14,000 after exemptions, would be about $170 if the VATRE is approved. 

If it is rejected, the homeowner of that hypothetical home would only save about $6 on their district tax bill.

If approved, a business or commercial property valued at $1 million could pay almost $12,000 in property taxes to the school district; that would drop to about  $11,500 if voters reject the tax proposal..

CAD records currently say Meta’s 1,040 acres of land for the data center site has a taxable value of just over $1.6 million; none of the improvements being built on the land currently have a taxable value. If the VATRE rate is approved by voters, the school tax on the land would be $19,476. If voters reject the tax rate, Meta’s tax bill will drop to $18,787, saving the company $689, according to El Paso Matters’ calculations.

De La Torre said the district has already reduced the deficit and plans to continue cutting costs.

YISD, which had less than 33,000 students last year, expected enrollment numbers to drop by about 1,250 students this year. Instead, enrolment only fell by about 900. De La Torre said this will bring in $3 million in additional revenue.

He said the district also plans to offer a separation incentive to 100 employees who are considering retiring or resigning in December, which could cut payroll costs by about $4 million for the current school year.

The tax ratification election will be held Nov. 3, with early voting Oct. 19-30. The last day to register to vote in that election is Oct. 5.