Author: KVIA

Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Wednesday, Airbnb presented a $225,000 donation for anti-human trafficking organizations based in Texas, including two from El Paso.

Texas leaders united in El Paso to renew their commitment to combat human trafficking. Texas Senator César Blanco was among the crowd.

“Human trafficking isn’t always visible. It can occur in our neighborhoods, businesses, and communities without people realizing what’s happening,” Rep. Blanco said. “As Texas prepares to welcome visitors from around the world for major events like the FIFA World Cup, raising awareness and supporting survivors is more important than ever.”

Two El Paso-based nonprofits attended the donation announcement: the Paso Del Norte Center of Hope and Center Against Sexual and Family Violence.

The gathering ended with representatives signing a blue heart, the internationally-recognized symbol of human trafficking awareness, according to Airbnb.

Airbnb said the donation is party of the company’s community fund, which supports local communities and the people who live there.

In 2017, Airbnb helped launch a free tool to help hosts report potential child exploitation, the company said.

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Gabrielle Lopez

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KVIA) — Thursday, a free car seat fitting will take place at Sisbarro Buick-GMC in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Parents will get hands-on help to install booster seats.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation said the fitting station will take place June 4 at 425 W. Boutz Rd. from 3-5 p.m.

Inspections are on a first-come, first-served basis and doesn’t require an appointment.

NMDOT said participants should bring their own car seat, manuals for the car and booster seat and the child who will use the seat.

If inspectors notice a booster seat is recalled or unsafe, there will be replacement options. A $35 replacement fee may apply, and children must be present for the change, NMDOT said.

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El Paso Matters

by Priscilla Totiyapungprasert

Nearly 180 detainees are under quarantine for possible measles exposure at Camp East Montana, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Fort Bliss, city health officials told El Paso Matters on Wednesday.

The facility initiated quarantine after 16 detainees were identified as contacts of two confirmed measles cases at a detention facility in Arizona, city officials said. The detainees arrived at Camp East Montana before the Arizona measles cases were confirmed, Dr. Hector Ocaranza, city and county health authority, said in an email statement to El Paso Matters.

City, state and federal officials didn’t say when the quarantine began.

But it appears the quarantine started at the detention center several days before state and local health officials were notified of possible measles exposures. A Catholic group was turned away Sunday from a planned Mass and told there was a quarantine to protect against measles spread, said a person familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified.

The chain of communication among federal, state and local authorities raises questions about whether ICE delayed notification on potentially serious public health matters. 

As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, there were no detainees at Camp East Montana showing symptoms of measles, and no indication of measles spread in the El Paso community linked to these exposures, Ocaranza said.

Chris Van Deusen, a spokesperson for the state health department, said a group of detainees were also quarantined for measles exposure at the West Texas Detention Facility in Sierra Blanca. The detention centers are quarantining because of different possible exposures to measles cases in other states, he said in an email.

Earlier this year, measles infected 16 detainees at Camp East Montana and eight people in the community. All of the community cases worked for the federal government or had ties to immigration detention facilities. The outbreak was linked to a surge of measles cases in the West Texas Detention Facility in Sierra Blanca, which receives transfers from Camp East Montana.

READ MORE: How measles reporting gaps by ICE, hospital delayed El Paso’s response to outbreak

The quarantined detainees at Camp East Montana are separated into two groups for monitoring: 130 men with quarantine scheduled to end June 11 and 48 women with quarantine scheduled to end June 20. No one in either group has reported symptoms, Ocaranza said.

A worker at Camp East Montana who answered the phone Tuesday said the facility remains open to visitors, depending on the quarantine status of the detainee they’re visiting.

Timeline raises questions again about timely communication

El Paso Matters initially asked city and federal officials about a possible quarantine at Camp East Montana on Monday. City officials initially said on Tuesday they hadn’t received notification of any communicable diseases at the detention center. On Wednesday, they said that state health officials had notified them Tuesday afternoon.

Chris Van Deusen, a spokesperson for the state health department, told El Paso Matters at 2:45 p.m. Tuesday that he was not aware of the quarantine. Then, in a follow-up Wednesday, Van Deusen said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified the state agency Tuesday about groups under quarantine at both Camp East Montana and the West Texas Detention Facility in Sierra Blanca. 

ICE did not respond to El Paso Matters’ initial request for comment. The Department of Homeland Security later confirmed the Camp East Montana quarantine Wednesday afternoon. The agency did not respond to questions about when the quarantine began and if any contacts were transferred to the West Texas Detention Facility.

SEE ALSO: ‘I am scared to be here’: Lawsuit seeks to halt ICE’s Camp East Montana operations over alleged standards violations

Following the wave of measles cases earlier this year, email records obtained by El Paso Matters revealed how communication gaps challenged epidemiologists’ ability to contact trace and contain the spread.

Ocaranza and DHS didn’t respond to questions from El Paso Matters on whether El Paso public health officials had received adequate and timely notification about the current quarantine at Camp East Montana.

“It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody,” an unnamed DHS spokesperson said Wednesday in an email statement. “This includes medical, dental, and mental health services as available, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care.” 

DHS did not respond to questions about the measles situation at Camp East Montana and the West Texas Detention Facility.

PODCAST: Emails reveal confusion, failures in El Paso measles outbreak response

The state health department is coordinating with the medical team at the West Texas Detention Facility and the U.S. Marshals Service regarding several detainees who were exposed to confirmed measles cases, Ocaranza said.

The city health department relaunched its measles dashboard earlier this year with a list of community exposure sites, which included the El Paso County Jail, where federal detainees are also held.

Patrick Gailey, chief deputy of the El Paso County Detention Bureau, said if inmates are brought from outside agencies such as the Marshals Service, they have to report whether the individual was exposed so they can immediately be isolated and notify jail staff to make sure that staff is also protected.

“Right now we don’t have anyone at the jails who has measles,” Gailey told El Paso Matters. “Right now we have zero reports of any measles outbreak or chicken pox.”

Gailey said all inmates are given a medical screening upon entering the facility and if there is a measles exposure inmates would be put in a 21-day quarantine.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease that often causes a fever and rash. People are considered contagious four days prior to rash onset.

Elida S. Perez and Robert Moore contributed to this story.

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Gabrielle Lopez

SUNLAND PARK, N.M. (KVIA) — A truck crashed into a home in Sunland Park, New Mexico, according to the city’s fire department. Firefighters rescued a dog and checked on a person inside the house.

Courtesy: Sunland Park Fire Department

It happened on the 1100 block of Brass Hill Avenue early Wednesday morning, the fire department said on Facebook.

Crews stabilized the damage wall and covered a window with a tarp.

Courtesy: Sunland Park Fire Department

The Sunland Park Police Department took over the investigation.

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Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The University of Texas football program received $500,000 from Tropicana Homes to support its transition to the Mountain West Conference this fall.

“UTEP Football has always been an important part of the spirit and identity of El Paso,” Tropicana Homes co-owner Bobby Bowling IV said in a statement. “We believe in the university, the city, and the positive impact Miner football continues to have on our community.”

Tropicana Homes co-owner Randy Bowling said Miner football brings “pride, tradition and excitement” to the UTEP community. As a former college football player, Bowling said he’s seen how strong programs can shape young athletes.

UTEP coach Scotty Walden gave his thanks to the Bowling family for their donation. With it, Walden said the team was able to recruit “elite student-athletes.”

UTEP Vice President and Director of Athletics Jim Senter said the Bowling family has a long tradition of supporting the Miners.

The Miners will start its new era in the Mountain West on July 1.

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Carpio Griego

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The family of late El Paso artist Hal Marcus, under the Paso del Norte Community Foundation, created the Hal Marcus Art Foundation in his honor.

The foundation will launch June 6, which would have been Marcus’ 75th birthday, PDN Foundation said.

Three projects are in line to be completed throughout 2026 and 2027:

A memorial mural on the wall of the El Paso Electric Substation on El Paso Street

Transforming Marcus’ home into the Hal Marcus Art Museum

A community mosaic on the rock wall of Dunn Park

The Cuatro Amigos will create the memorial mural, PDN Foundation said.

Marcus’ home-turned-museum will include tours of his personal studio and mosaic garden.

Marcus died in April at 74 years old after a battle with cancer.

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Heriberto Perez Lara

FORT BLISS, Texas (KVIA) — The U.S. Military’s Joint Task Force North (JTF-North) held a colors casing ceremony at Fort Bliss, which was the deactivation of the command and the “successful completion” of its decades-long mission.

JTF-North was established in 1989, initially designated as Joint Task Force Six (JTF-6), in response to President George H.W. Bush’s anti-drug initiatives.

In 2025, there was a transition of tactical border security missions and JTF-N began moving into a permanent Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) framework, which was unveiled at Fort Bliss today.

“This evolution reflects a strategic shift from executing periodic missions to providing a persistent, unified planning environment,” JTF-N said in a statement. “This JIATF structure is designed to integrate Department of War capabilities with interagency partners to synchronize long-term regional policy and counter-transnational threat operations across the U.S. Northern Command Area of Responsibility (USNORTHCOM AOR).”

Watch the full story and reactions from the ceremony on ABC-7 after the NBA Finals Game 1.

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Rosemary Garcia

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Inside her home, El Pasoan Betty Landin enthusiastically shows off her creation –The Wander Pillow. At the beginning of the year, the female entrepreneur applied to be a contestant on ABC’s Shark Tank.

The ABC television show recently closed its nationwide search. The popular program helps entrepreneurs and inventors take their business ideas to the next level! Hopeful contestants pitch their ideas to wealthy investors, or ‘sharks,’ in hopes of securing a business deal.

Landin’s entrepreneurial start isn’t traditional. She was born in Tamaulipas, Mexico, to conservative parents. Landin said she wasn’t allowed to attend school because she was a girl.

“I was born different,” she said.

At 17 years old, Landin decided to take a leap of faith and pursue higher education in Ciudad Juárez. She received a degree in accounting. She said this decision would create friction within her family.

Landin has been an accountant for more than 25 years now, but she said her real calling was inventing.

“I always wanted to be an inventor, but that didn’t pay the bills,” Landin said.

She would even face homelessness as a single mother.

Following the cartel war, Landin moved to El Paso. It was here she created the Wander Pillow. It’s a neck pillow with a built-in hidden blanket!

“You flip and then you unzip, and then you unfold the blanket so it can keep you warm,” she said.

She said the idea came to her in a dream, and shortly after, she came up with her first draft.

“I woke up. I draw like a draft, and then that’s what I do. And then I go back to bed because then I’m going to forget. And yeah, the next day I start like creating that.”

She has already invested more than $50,000 and sold more than 1,000 units. She sells each one for $50.

Landin is a big Shark Tank fan! She decided to apply for Season 18.

She said appearing as a contestant will help her take her creation to the next level. She even performed her pitch for ABC-7:

“Meet the Wander Pillow. This looks like a normal neck pillow, but BAM! It has a built-in blanket inside — a 2-in-1 masterpiece. I’m ready to change the way the world travels. But I need a shark who doesn’t just swim but flies, too. So who wants to help me bring warm flights to the world?”

Today, Landin is a proud businesswoman — but mom, grandmother and wife above all. Many of her creations are inspired by her grandchildren.

Landin hopes her story of starting from the bottom will inspire others to chase their dreams.

“I made it,” she said. “Nobody can tell you can’t do anything. Because sometimes you don’t even know your limitations until, until you test them. So I just go for it.”

While she doesn’t know yet if she’ll be on the next season, she said she will keep trying and won’t give up on this lifelong dream.

Landin recently opened her first brick-and-mortar location at the Army Exchange on Fort Bliss.

If you are interested in checking out the Wander Pillow, click here.

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Armando Ramirez

UPDATE (June 3, 2026, 6:30 p.m.) — Mayor Renard Johnson says he understands residents’ concerns about the proposed Meta data center, but warned that canceling the project could trigger years of costly litigation that taxpayers may ultimately have to help fund.

“If we were to enter into any litigation with that particular company, and if the city were to lose, we would also have to pay their attorney fees,” the mayor said. “That would be a significant amount of money that would be borne by taxpayers.”

City officials say the City Council approved legally binding agreements for the project in 2023 and that Meta has since invested millions of dollars in its development.

District 6 City Representative Art Fierro, who voted in favor of the agreement in 2023, said he wants to review updated information from legal counsel before deciding whether to support efforts to terminate the contract.

“I’ll review the information from our legal counsel, our outside counsel, and then make my decision from there,” Fierro said.

Fierro said it is important for council members to receive a full briefing on the project before taking action.

The mayor said he shares concerns raised by residents about the potential environmental impact of the data center.

“I want to protect our natural resources, whether it’s water and our utilities,” he said.

At the same time, he said he does not want taxpayers to face a financial burden from legal challenges or send a message that the city does not honor its agreements.

“I’ve received calls from people wondering, ‘Are you now going to change my agreement and change the rules?'” the mayor said. “You don’t ever want your city to have that stigma that you’re not going to honor your deal. In business, we know that your handshake is your word.”

The City Council is scheduled to consider an item seeking to terminate the contract for the Meta data center during its meeting Tuesday.

UPDATE (June 3, 2026) — Residents have been asking the City of El Paso whether it can “simply cancel” the Meta agreement, the city’s manager and attorney said in a statement Wednesday.

“The answer is no,” the city said. “The project was approved through legally binding agreements adopted by the City Council in 2023. Since then, Meta has invested millions of dollars in land acquisition, planning, engineering, infrastructure, and construction based on those agreements. Construction is already underway.”

The city sent the following statement on behalf of the city manager and attorney:

“Because of those investments and contractual commitments, the City cannot simply decide to terminate the agreement. Any attempt to do so would likely result in significant legal challenges, and there is little reason to believe the company would voluntarily abandon a project after investing substantial resources in El Paso.

At its core, this is a matter of fiscal responsibility. The City has a duty to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars. Attempting to cancel a legally executed agreement would create substantial financial risk for residents while offering no assurance that the project would stop.

Taxpayers should also understand that legal costs associated with such an action are not currently budgeted. Any litigation would create new, unplanned expenses that would have to be funded by the public. Those costs could include outside legal counsel, expert witnesses, court costs, staff time, and potentially significant financial damages, including Meta’s legal fees, if the City were found to have violated its contractual obligations.

Just as important, filing or defending a lawsuit does not automatically stop a project. The City could find itself spending millions of taxpayer dollars on years of litigation while the project continues to move through the legal process.

The practical question is whether taxpayers should be asked to absorb potentially significant unbudgeted legal costs in an effort to undo agreements that were lawfully approved and relied upon by a company that has already invested millions of dollars in our community.

The City’s responsibility is to protect taxpayers from unnecessary financial exposure and ensure public resources remain focused on core priorities such as public safety, streets, parks, infrastructure, and other essential services—not on costly and uncertain litigation.”

UPDATE (3:43 p.m.) — The office of Representative Lily Limón confirmed with ABC-7 that Rep. Limón is working with Rep. Acevedo on the action item that would direct the city manager and attorney to start negotiations to terminate the contract with Meta Platforms, Inc.

“This item is being brought forward in light of significant public concerns regarding utility affordability, water resources, environmental impacts, infrastructure burdens, transparency, contractual enforceability, governmental immunity and whether the projected public benefits of the project are adequate,” Rep. Limón’s office said.

Her office said the item will be presented June 9 at the next City Council meeting.

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — El Paso City Representative Josh Acevedo has announced that he will propose an item during the next City Council meeting, seeking to terminate the contract for the Meta data center in Northeast El Paso.

The proposed item will allow the City to end the Chapter 380 Economic Development Program Agreement with Wurldwide LLC and their parent company, Meta Platforms Inc.

“We have heard loud and clear from the community on this issue and now is the time to break the contract agreement with Meta,” Representative Acevedo said. “This hyperscale data center will drain our region’s water resources and bring further pollution to the area with its gas-powered electrical plant.”

The City of El Paso held six community meetings to solicit feedback on a proposed data center policyframework, where residents voiced their concerns regarding the data center.

“As residents of a desert community, the value of our water and air far outweigh any revenues the City would collect or possibly lose from this major data center,” Representative Acevedo added. “With a massive data center planned for Fort Bliss and one in neighboring Doña Ana County, we cannot afford to put our community’s health and natural resources at risk. Action must be taken now.”

KVIA ABC-7 has previously reported on the construction of data centers in the Borderland, including the Meta data center in Northeast El Paso.

This is a developing story, once more information is provided we will update you on air and online.

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Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Deputies arrested a 22-year-old man after he was wanted in connection with an aggravated robbery charge, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.

On Monday, deputies received information about Justin Ray Chavez’ location. They found him on the 12300 block of Campo Bello Drive off Camino De La Rosa Road in San Elizario.

EPCSO said Chavez surrendered and went into custody. The sheriff’s office booked him into the county detention facility on an aggravated robbery charge without bond.

Chavez was recently on the Crime Stoppers of El Paso’s “Top Ten Most Wanted” list, EPCSO said.

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