Nonprofits, business groups help Latino-owned businesses hit hard by pandemic
PHOENIX – Salvadoreño Restaurant No. 3, like other Hispanic-owned restaurants, endured many hardships during the pandemic. Yesenia Ramirez, co-owner of the restaurant, says they had to “respond to change immediately.”
‘Historical’ infusion of dollars resuscitates marginalized arts and cultural groups
PHOENIX – Eighty-eight community nonprofit cultural organizations are coming back to life after the pandemic, thanks to $2.65 million in federal COVID-relief aid targeting the arts in marginalized communities. The money was allocated by the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture.
Reopening of border after 20 months is both exciting and low key in Nogales
NOGALES – Nogales had a celebratory if low-key border reopening Monday, as people in cars and on foot crossed over from Mexico for the first time since March 2020, when COVID-19 prompted the U.S. to ban all nonessential travel.
Nogales businesses hope reopening the border will reverse losses suffered during pandemic
NOGALES – After 19 months, Nogales will reopen Monday to nonessential travelers from Mexico, giving the Arizona border city of 20,000 hope that life and the economy may return to pre-pandemic normal.
Tucson chief moves a step closer to CBP job, on narrow committee vote
WASHINGTON - Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus moved one step closer to becoming the next commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday after a Senate committee narrowly approved his nomination, voting largely on party lines.
DHS tries again to end ‘remain in Mexico’ policy, despite court order
WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security said Friday it will end the Migrant Protection Protocols, its second attempt to reverse the Trump-era "remain in Mexico" policy that makes asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their cases are considered.
Latina moms, environmental advocates fight air pollution with electric school bus
More than 4 in 10 people live in neighborhoods with unhealthy air, and the problem affects people of color to a much larger degree. In one west Phoenix neighborhood, Latina moms came together to combat the issue by targeting the buses their kids ride to school.
Border apprehensions hit all-time high of 1.7 million in fiscal 2021
WASHINGTON - Apprehensions at the southern border hit 1.7 million in fiscal 2021, the highest in more than 60 years. Apprehensions at the Arizona border were also up sharply, although neither the Yuma sector nor the Tucson sector of the border set records in 2021.
Yuma mayor says surging illegal migration is stressing local services
WASHINGTON - Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls told a Washington forum this week that the rise in illegal immigration is stressing health care and the nonprofits that help migrants in his town, and he's worried the situation will only get worse.
Republicans press Tucson police chief on border in nomination hearing
WASHINGTON - Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus walked a fine line in a hearing Tuesday on his nomination to lead Customs and Border Protection, easily fielding questions from Democrats while telling GOP senators some of what they wanted to hear.
As marijuana profits fade, cartels increasingly smuggle fentanyl across the border
ARIVACA – Cartels are smuggling more and more deadly fentanyl across the border, leaving Arizona law officers, leaders and residents to deal with the repercussions. Nationwide, overdose deaths hit a record high in 2020 and are continuing to rise, driven by synthetic opioids – especially fentanyl.
Citizenship applications backlog leaves thousands with cases pending
WASHINGTON - More than 11,000 citizenship applications are pending in Arizona, some of the 907,424 cases pending across the U.S. this summer, more than twice the 2015 backlog. Federal offials blame the pandemic for the delays, but critics blame Trump-era agency cuts.
