Author: KVIA

Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — El Paso County Commissioners approved the county Hospital District’s 2027 fiscal year budget and tax rate Monday.

“We are proud to have proposed and had approved a $2.1 billion budget and tax rate of $0.236904, which is less compared to the 2026 property tax rate of $0.240892 – a decrease of $0.003988 (2% reduction),” University Medical Center of El Paso said in a news release.

UMC this is the sixth time that the Hospital District proposed and adopted the no-new-revenue tax rate, even as the Hospital District revenues grew by three times since 2017.

Property taxes account for 8% of the district’s overall budget and 11% of UMC’s budget, UMC said.

The 2020-21 overall property tax rate for the Hospital District was at the highest at $0.267747. Compared to the 2027 tax rate approved Monday, that rate is a 12% reduction over the last six years, UMC said.

UMC said the approved budget reflects recent investments, including new employees and increasing the minimum wage from $15.50 to $16.

“This increase also resulted in pay adjustments for associates in the first five pay grades to maintain appropriate wage differentials. These adjustments do not apply to senior leadership positions,” UMC said.

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Rosemary Garcia

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Pursuits along Texas highways can become dangerous for everyone involved. In border communities, they are a common sight. Many have resulted in serious crashes and even death.

The Texas Department of Public Safety has been using technology known as the Grappler System to help prevent and stop pursuits altogether for a few years now.

“Let violators know you’re not going to get away,” Sergeant Eliot Torres, the spokesperson for safety, education and the public education office for the DPS West Texas region, said.

The Grappler System uses a tool that is mounted to the front of certain Texas DPS units. Authorities stop a fleeing vehicle by dropping a net under the spinning tire and tangling it. Then, the target is able to come to a complete stop thanks to a tether attached to the fleeing vehicle and the DPS unit.

ABC-7’s Rosemary Garcia got a glimpse into how the technology works and how it has benefited state authorities stationed locally.

Watch Rosemary’s special report ‘The Grappler’ Thursday at 6 p.m. only on ABC-7.

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Olivia Vara

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Restaurants across Texas are facing higher costs for food, labor, insurance, utilities and payment processing, according to the Texas Restaurant Association’s second-quarter 2026 Economics Report.

Raul Gonzalez, co-owner and executive chef of Starlite Gastropub, says higher gas and grocery costs are leaving El Pasoans with less money to spend on dining out.

“The percentages that are being taken up of people’s paychecks—it’s just simple math. We need prices to come down,” Gonzalez said.

“A bigger portion of people’s paychecks is going to gas their cars. And so there’s going to be less money available for other things. The cost of groceries is higher,” he said.

Gonzalez said he started seeing the impact of inflation in 2024.

“The market has, has definitely changed,” he said.

The Texas Restaurant Association report says some restaurant operators now rank insurance premiums among their three largest expenses. It also says many consumers remain price-sensitive and are less willing to pay higher menu prices.

The report identifies immigration enforcement as another factor affecting restaurant staffing. A majority of operators surveyed reported some immigration-related impact on their employees.

Gonzalez said rising costs contributed to the closure of his second restaurant, which was located next door to Starlite Gastropub.

“That definitely played a part into it. In years past, the, you know, the businesses that were here were all flourishing,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said restaurant owners and customers need relief from rising costs. Industry leaders are expected to discuss potential relief during the upcoming Texas legislative session.

For now, Gonzalez said he remains focused on serving the community through food.

“We’re providing good food, but we’re also providing a story and we’re providing a connection…you can’t really market for that, you know, but that’s just kind of what we do. And that’s what makes us different,” said Chef Raul “Rulis” Gonzalez.

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Gabrielle Lopez

SANTA FE, N.M. (KVIA) — Sunday, the New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously paused an air permit proceeding and water use from a new well for the Project Jupiter data center in Santa Teresa.

Documents said the court granted a stay in an Oct. 23, 2025, emergency drilling authorization permitting water use from a new well to construct Project Jupiter.

By granting a stay, the court temporarily froze the water use from the well. The Center for Biological Diversity against the New Mexico State Engineer and Santa Teresa Capital, LLC, filed the request for stay.

in a separate order, the court paused an air quality permit proceeding, documents said. This request for stay was granted in New Energy Economy against the New Mexico Environment Department.

The New Mexico Supreme Court further said a response should be filed by Sept. 2 in both orders.

The NMED said it’s preparing to file a response.

“In the meantime, the Department is releasing a draft version of its administrative record, which it already intended to file today as part of the administrative proceedings prior to the Supreme Court’s action. This will allow the public ample time to review, regardless of how the timeline moves forward,” NMED said in a statement.

In June, software company Oracle announced a new energy plan for Project Jupiter. It filed an application to use Bloom Energy fuel cell technology, replacing the original gas turbine and diesel generator design.

Oracle said the change would lower water use and emissions.

The software company also announced a new initiative to save more water than the data center uses. It said its initiative is expected to save 21 million gallons of water a year, or 20 times the amount needed to run cooling and power systems at Project Jupiter.

July 9, the New Mexico Department of Justice announced an investigation into allegations of fake public comments submitted during a public review period for the air quality permit.

NMDOJ said it would investigate Yucca Growth Infrastructure, which applied for the permit. The department said people alleged fake comments submitted under their names.

ABC-7 reached out to Oracle for comment. It provided the following statements:

“Oracle and its project partners remain committed to developing Project Jupiter responsibly.  We are committed to protecting New Mexico’s resources, are abiding by every applicable regulatory process and public review period, and have complied with every required timeline along the way. The New Mexico Environment Department’s air-permitting process includes a thorough technical review, with many opportunities for public input at every stage in the process. Project Jupiter is meeting applicable permitting requirements, stands ready to proceed with the department’s public hearing process, and is engaging with the community as that review moves forward.

The effort to bypass the department’s established procedural deadlines is unwarranted, but we will continue to share facts about the project transparently and are confident the regulatory process will prevail. The facts already demonstrate the significant and growing economic benefits of this responsible data center project: nearly $80 million in state and county tax revenue delivered to date; more than $4.7 billion in projected long-term economic impact; 2,700 workers employed to date, including nearly 700 New Mexico residents; more than 7,000 expected construction jobs and 1,500 ongoing project-supported jobs; and $50 million committed to local water infrastructure. Project Jupiter is also designed to avoid potable water use for cooling, conserve more water than it uses through a partnership with Arable, reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by approximately 92% compared with the prior design, and match its electricity use with 100% carbon-free energy by 2031.”

We are deeply saddened that this order impacts a local small business. The immediate impact of this order falls on the region’s only commercial sod farm and the fourteen Santa Teresa residents whose jobs depend on its operations. 

We will of course comply with the order and remain focused on long-term water stewardship. This includes a responsible, carefully developed plan that protects water as a valuable resource through closed-loop cooling, minimal ongoing use of non-potable water, and a recently announced partnership with Arable to conserve more water in the Rio Grande-Bravo watershed than Project Jupiter uses.”

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Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Two people were hospitalized after a crash in Northeast El Paso Monday, according to the El Paso Fire Department. The El Paso Independent School District said the crash involved a district police officer.

See the moment the crash happened in the video above.

The Fire Department said it happened just before 8 a.m. near Sean Haggerty Drive and the U.S. 54 highway.

According to EPFD, one person has minor injuries after the crash.

“The officer did not suffer any serious injuries, and the investigation is ongoing,” EPISD told ABC-7.

Multiple vehicles crashed, according to El Paso Fire.

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Olivia Vara

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — For one California transplant, Round Table Pizza’s arrival in El Paso is serving up more than just a meal—it’s bringing back memories of home.

“If you’ve grown up in California or if you’ve lived in California, you know, Round Table Pizza,” Papool said.

Papool said the restaurant was a familiar gathering place during his childhood.

“It’s the local pizza joint. It’s the joint where you go after a Little League baseball games. It’s the joint where you go for, birthday parties, that sort of thing,” Papool said.

Round Table Pizza has more than 350 locations, most of them in California. Before the Fort Bliss location opened, the closest restaurants were hundreds of miles away.

“Ever since I moved here, I’ve really been wanting a round table pizza, in El Paso,” Papool said.

“I’ve contacted corporate many times to ask them to bring us one, and they never did until they brought one unexpectedly at Fort Bliss back in June,” Papool said.

Papool and his wife applied for Community Access Passes so they could visit the first Round Table Pizza location on a military base.

The restaurant is located at the Global Reach Express Shopette on Fort Bliss.

“Eating the pizza tastes like home, if that makes sense. You know, it reminds me of the pizza that I had growing up. And it’s just bringing a little piece of California to the Borderland,” Papool said.

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Armando Ramirez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) School of Pharmacy hosted a White Coat Ceremony on Saturday evening for the university’s Doctor of Pharmacy Class 2030.

During the ceremony, family and friends joined University administrators and faculty as students received their first white coat. According to UTEP, the white coat symbolizes professionalism, clinical care, and service, as well as the trust and responsibility students will carry in caring for patients.

Photo Courtesy: UTEP

Students were called up to the stage one by one, and two faculty members presented the white coats. After that, the class read the Oath of a Pharmacist, where they pledge to be ethical, to look out for patients, and overall be a good pharmacist.

Pharmacy student Nya Sanderson said that anyone who wants to get back to their community and has an interest in science and medicine should study Pharmacy.

Photo Courtesy: UTEP

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ABC News

By Catherine Bouvet

Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez woke up to a gut-wrenching call at 3:40 a.m. Tuesday: Cristy Maryori Villafranca Trejo, his wife and the mother to their 6-year-old daughter, was aboard a plane about to be deported to Honduras.

​Turcios told ABC News that he scrambled to stop it. He stayed on the phone with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, sending documentation showing that his wife’s immigration case was still pending. After the officer confirmed the paperwork, Villafranca was pulled from the flight and returned to Camp East Montana, the detention center at Fort Bliss, Texas, where she remains.

​It was the latest turn in an ordeal that began July 11, when masked ICE officers detained Villafranca outside a Walmart​ as the couple’s young daughter watched. Villafranca left Honduras in 2016 due to violent crime in the country, her husband said.

Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez ‘wife was detained by masked ICE officers outside a Walmart​ as their six-year-old daughter watched.Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez

“My wife is everything to me, to my family, for my daughter, and it’s just sad that we are still being treated like criminals, just because we weren’t born in this country,” said Turcios, who became a U.S. citizen in 2024 after joining the military.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not reply to an ABC News request for comment about Villafranca’s case.

Turcios’ family is hardly alone. President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign has swept up more than 50 parents and spouses of service members during his second term, with at least six deported, according to an investigation by the Associated Press.

Danitza James, CEO of Repatriate Our Patriots, which works with Families United to help active-duty service members and veterans reunite their families, said that, beyond providing legal representation, the organization’s only other strategy has been to call Congress to request help.

She said she is currently working with eight active-duty service members and one veteran whose family members have been detained as of Aug. 20. ABC News spoke with two of the families that she is working to unite.

The cases complicate one of the administration’s central arguments for its aggressive expansion of immigration enforcement. Trump has repeatedly said ICE is targeting the “worst of the worst,” and has described immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally as “animals” and “dangerous criminals” that should not be in the country.

An ABC News review of state and federal records did not find criminal records for any of the military spouses named in this story in the states where they live.

“She’s been a very supportive wife since the first day that I decided to join the military. I was deployed for nine months. She took care of my family,” Turcios said of his spouse. “She’s not a threat to anybody. We’re just trying to keep our family together.”

Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez holds a picture of himself with with his wife Cristy, who is currently on immigration detention, at home in El Paso, Texas, July 21, 2026.Ryan Romero/AP Photo

The Trump administration’s detention of undocumented spouses and parents of active-duty service members comes as the U.S. is at war with Iran, leaving troops without the support of their families and shifting their focus away from their military careers, advocacy groups say. Some have been forced to take leave from duty to care for their children in their spouses’ absence, according to advocacy groups and families ABC News interviewed.

“There are so many military families of active-duty service members that are living in the shadows of this immigration machine, that is putting them in fear of seeking resources and asking for help, while their service member is actively serving our country, and sacrificing for our nation,” said James of Repatriate Our Patriots.

Military service has long been a pathway to citizenship

For decades, military families have occupied a protected corner of the immigration system, according to the National Military Family Association. Under policies embraced by Republican and Democratic administrations, the undocumented parents and spouses of service members have generally been shielded from deportation.

Military recruiters have also long promoted military service as a pathway to citizenship, including through programs which can allow undocumented relatives of troops to remain in the country while applying for a green card and work authorization.

The bargain extends to troops themselves. Green card holders can join the U.S. military and troops can apply for naturalization after a year of honorable service, an incentive that stretches back to the Civil War. During World War I, Congress went further, streamlining the citizenship process for troops whose enlistment could effectively mean automatic citizenship.

Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez is currently taking care of his six-year-old daughter, who just started first grade, while he is on active duty at Fort Bliss. His wife is currently detained at Camp East Montana.Courtesy Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez

“Having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation’s laws,” a DHS spokesperson said in response to the recent arrest by ICE of the father of an active-duty sailor for alleged immigration violations. “Military service by an immediate relative does not automatically grant parole, lawful status, or immunity from immigration enforcement.”

Racial and ethnic minorities are making up a growing share of the military. In the Army, the Pentagon’s largest service by far, Hispanic recruits grew from about 19% of new enlistees in 2020 to nearly 27% last year, according to internal service data reviewed by ABC News.

Naturalizations through military service have also more than tripled over roughly the same period, rising from about 4,500 in 2020 to 16,000 in 2024, according to Department of Homeland Security data. The Philippines, Mexico, Jamaica and Nigeria were among the leading countries of origin for troops who became U.S. citizens through their service.

Turcios left Honduras in 2014, also to escape violence in the country, he said. After attending high school in the U.S. he joined the military and became a U.S. citizen in 2024 after a nine-month deployment to the Middle East. Then he began pursuing citizenship for his wife, hoping his service would help expedite her naturalization process, he said.

Instead, Villafranca, undocumented spouses and parents of many other active-duty military personnel have been forced into detention, according to lawyers, advocacy groups and military families. 

Villafranca relayed allegedly inhumane conditions in Camp East Montana, according to her husband. The facility is the country’s largest detention center, which sits on land formerly used for Japanese-American internment camps during World War II.

A sign marks the entrance to a series of hardened tents at the Camp East Montana immigrant detention center in the desert at a U.S. Army base on the outskirts of El Paso, Texas, Feb. 13, 2026.Morgan Lee/AP Photo

Turcios said his wife had to wear the same clothes for about four days. Access to clean clothing remained an issue until he reached out to Rep. Veronica Escobar, D- Texas, who sent an inquiry to ICE regarding Villafranca’s lack of clean clothing. Turcios said that after a few weeks, they finally fixed the issue.

Detained at green card interview

Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Jaramillo’s wife, Maisa Lopes Eliaser was taken into custody in front of Jaramillo, who was dressed in uniform, and their five-year-old son during an appointment to be interviewed to get her green card on July 8.Courtesy Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Jaramillo

​Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Jaramillo has served in the military for 11 years and is currently stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana. His wife, Maisa Lopes Eliaser, came to the U.S. from São Paulo, Brazil, in 2019 on a tourist visa, which she had overstayed while Jaramillo was helping her pursue citizenship.

She was taken into custody in front of Jaramillo, who was dressed in uniform, and their five-year-old son during an appointment to be interviewed to get her green card.

Lopes Eliaser spent two days in Pickens County Jail in Georgia before being transferred to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, where she slept in a large room with approximately 80 people for about six weeks, her husband said.

This image taken from video shows the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, La., April 7, 2025.Stephen Smith/AP

​On July 13, Lopes Eliaser said ICE officers put her on a bus to the Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana. She was then flown to Bogotá, Colombia, where the plane stopped before its final destination, Brazil. During the layover, Lopes Eliaser called her husband using someone else’s phone, he said.

Jaramillo said he had been communicating with Sen. Mark Kelly, a Navy veteran, about his wife’s case before she was taken to the airport. When Lopes Eliaser disappeared from the detainee-tracking app that Jaramillo was checking, he contacted Kelly again to ask for help bringing her home.

Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Jaramillo had to take leave to care for his five-year-old son and fight to get his wife back, who was held in immigration custody for nearly six weeks.Courtesy Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Jaramillo

“Maisa’s case is an example of this administration’s focus on targeting the loved ones of those who’ve stepped up to serve our country. It’s wrong and makes no sense at all,” Kelly wrote in a statement to ABC News.

Kelly’s office told ABC News that his casework team established communications with the ICE field office and kept Jaramillo updated.

DHS did not respond to a request for comment on Eliaser’s case at the time.

What members of Congress are doing

Jaramillo credits Kelly for contacting ICE and getting Lopes Eliaser eventually returned to the U.S. When she landed in Brazil, she was flown back to the Alexandria International Airport without ever stepping off the airplane. Jaramillo and Lopes Eliaser were reunited and are currently together at their home in Louisiana.

​”That was a nightmare. That was a really, really nightmare,” Jaramillo said. “I’m never going to explain best how difficult it was and still is.”

​While Jaramillo and Lopes Eliaser are now united, they are still dealing with the aftermath of her detention and deportation. Jaramillo had to take leave to care for his son and fight to get his wife back. Now that his wife is back home, he said he will return to service on Monday.

Since Lopes Eliaser was first detained, Jaramillo said he has incurred more than $7,000 in legal fees and costs associated with submitting paperwork, approximately equal to over a month’s pay.

​Jaramillo said his wife is still experiencing health issues from the conditions of detention, which he said were crowded and where she also lacked access to clean clothing. Jarmillo said he took her to see a doctor Thursday.

​James said that many of the other cases of active-duty military service members’ families being detained have involved members of Congress making calls to reunite families.

Kelly has publicly been involved with two other cases of military families targeted by the Trump administration for deportation.

​In a letter sent Aug. 9 to DHS, the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs, congressional Democrats wrote that they will investigate whether the Pentagon and DHS are coordinating to deport military service members and their families.

​”The best way to bring change to this is to the legislative or policy, because this should not be a phone call. This should not be a one-case change,” James said. “This is clearly impacting more than 50 military spouses and cases across the board, and there needs to be a change that is codified.”

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Armando Ramirez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPCSO) says that 40-year-old Edgar Amaya is facing a charge of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) after a crash that left one person with serious injuries.

Officials say deputies with the sheriff’s office were called out Saturday, August 22, around to 1:48 a.m. to the 900 block of O.T. Smith Road regarding a motor vehicle crash involving serious injuries.

The EPCSO Special Traffic Investigators (STI) were called out to the scene and took over the investigation.

The investigation determined that a blue Can-Am Maverick, an off-road vehicle, was traveling northbound on a paved pedestrian walkway adjacent to O.T. Smith Road. Officials say the walkway is designated for pedestrian use only and is not open to motor vehicles, also saying that pipe barriers are positioned along the center of the walkway to restrict vehicular access.

The sheriff’s office says that as the Can-Am approached one of the barriers, the driver, identified as 40-year-old Edgar Amaya, lost control of the vehicle and collided with the barrier. The front passenger sustained serious injuries and was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

Amaya was arrested and charged with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI); he would then be booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility, where his bond was set at $5,000.

Officials say the investigation remains ongoing.

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Carpio Griego

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Sunday night, two El Pasoans took home the 2026 Miss El Paso USA and Miss El Paso Teen USA titles. Laura’s Productions hosted the final part of the pageant at Bowie High School’s Fine Arts building.

Lauren Elizabeth Hernandez won the 2026 Miss El Paso USA title.

Victoria Benitez won the 2026 Miss El Paso Teen USA title.

Pageant director Laura Rayborn said every woman and girl competing for the title has been preparing for almost a year for pageant night.

“A lot of people think it just takes a girl and then she just walks on stage but it’s quite a bit of work,” Rayborn said. “These young ladies are having to perfect their interviews, perfect their fitness, being able to do their walks on the runway, get sponsors, it’s a lot of work.”

Work that payed off as the preliminary round kicked off with each contestant making their mark in a gown that fit perfectly and applause from the family and friends of each contestant as they strutted up and down the stage with judges tabulating their scores based on each move the contestant makes.

One person who told ABC-7 what it’s like to compete was 2026 Mrs. El Paso winner Jennifer Feely, who described going on the stage as nerve racking but exciting especially the chance to meet new people throughout the process.

Women Feely said help build each other up and inspire each other.

“The big thing is just go out there and have fun,” Feely said. “Yes it’s nerve wracking, but at the same time it’s very exciting and just being on stage, the crowd cheering for you, just giving it your all and just shining out there and your confidence it’s what’s most important.”

This was just the first round, judges still had to make cuts to get each field to 12 during the intermission, a time Feely said can feel like ‘forever’ as each woman and girl was waiting to see if they would move on.

“It seems like it’s forever waiting. For you to come out, for them to announce your name and then finally, when you’re out there on stage and doing your poses, it’s just very surreal,” Feely said.

The title is more than a crown though according to both women, Rayborn said it means to Represent El Paso including community work with non-profits and foundations within the city like the El Paso Villa Maria homeless shelter.

Feely said her title is an honor to her, meaning she gets to be a more of a part of the El Paso community as she also pointed to the charity and non-profit work which comes with the title.

“Being Mrs. El Paso to me means just being part of the El Paso community,” Feely said. “It’s just such an honor to be able to represent this amazing city and just being a part of charities, different work that we do.”

After cuts it was time for those chosen to begin the next rounds, the remaining Miss El Paso contestants participating in the swimsuit portion of the competition and the remaining Miss El Paso Teen contestants began their activewear round.

A chance to show the work put into fitness Rayborn mentioned with each contestant again receiving a wave of applause as they once again posed for the judges before another round of evening gowns for both fields

Only two would walk away with a title at the end of the night, a moment Feely remembers well.

“Oh my gosh, it was absolutely amazing, it almost felt like a dream,” Feely said. “You know putting that crown on, putting the sash on, having your family members and just the audience cheering for you it was absolutely amazing.”

A title Rayborn said comes with a new Audi for the Miss El Paso USA winner to drive in their time as winner in addition to both winners receiving diamond rings Rayborn said are courtesy of Johnson Jewelers.

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