Student storytelling at Arizona Capitol advances immigration group’s policy priorities

PHOENIX — About 150 students with Aliento visited the Capitol Wednesday to meet with legislators to talk about immigration policy priorities, including initiatives on driver’s licenses, repealing English-only and securing funding for College Promise programs.

Students go between the Arizona House and Senate for meetings with state legislators on Feb. 15, 2023. (Photo by Drake Presto/Cronkite News)

Arizona advocates win national recognition for work on Proposition 308

WASHINGTON - An Arizona nonprofit was honored here Tuesday for its push to win in-state tuition for undocumented students, a change that organizers said has moved the state from an "epicenter of hate toward immigrants into an epicenter of hope."


Cochise sheriff comes to ‘share the reality’ of border in House testimony

WASHINGTON - Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels told a sharply divided House committee Wednesday that drug trafficking and illegal immigration is getting worse and that it's affecting the safety of residents in his border county.


Colonias residents fight long, and often lonely, fight for basic services

EL PASO COUNTY, Tex. - More than 134,000 residents to colonias - unincorporated rural communities along the U.S.-Mexico border - live withough basic services like roads, water or sewer, and the fight to change that is long and lonely, often left to residents and private nonprofits.


Colleges expect more undocumented students this spring after Prop 308

WASHINGTON - Arizona voters did a sharp about-face this fall, narrowly voting to allow in-state tuition for undocumented state residents, a 180-degree reversal of a policy that was overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2006 prohibiting such aid for Dreamers in the state.


Border communities, Border Patrol brace for migrant surge as Title 42 ends

TUCSON - Record-high numbers of migrants stressed humanitarian organizations and border officials alike in 2022. Now, both groups are bracing for a new surge, with the end next week of Title 42, a pandemic-era rule that allowed 2.5 million migrants to be turned away.


Border surge brings shift in migrant countries, challenges to U.S. policy

WASHINGTON - The surge of migrants at the southern border has included skyrocketing numbers from countries that were barely represented in previous years, presenting a challenge that experts say the U.S. is not equipped to address.


Supreme Court wrestles over state challenges to federal immigration policy

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Tuesday grappled with how strictly the federal government must enforce immigration policy, and whether states should have a say in how that policy is enforced.


Arizona nonprofit raises funds to help Puerto Ricans in Hurricane Fiona aftermath

PHOENIX – Members of the Puerto Rican Center of Arizona have held six events across metro Phoenix to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Fiona, which struck Puerto Rico in September.


Magnus out as head of Customs and Border Protection after less than a year

WASHINGTON - Former Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus resigned as head of Customs and Border Protection over the weekend, reportedly forced out after a tumultuous year that saw record-shattering numbers of migrants stopped at the southern border.


Doug Ducey, federal government battle over shipping containers at the border

YUMA – State and Yuma officials concede that placing old shipping containers at the border is not the permanent or effective solution they want, but they did it anyway. Now, what some call a political stunt has the state embroiled in a legal fight with the federal government.


Day of the Dead, Hollywood style, comes to movie star cemetery

LOS ANGELES – Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, attracts thousands every year to Hollywood Forever. Families created altars for loved ones who have died, adorning them with photographs, decorations and some of the departed’s favorite things. The hope was, even in death, their family members might return and enjoy the tributes for one day of the year.