DA Yvonne Rosales has just arrived for a hearing where she faces a "show cause" effort after she didn't attend another hearing as ordered yesterday. Proceedings should begin momentarily. She is expected to face questioning from the judge and defense lawyers. Here's a catch-up on yesterday's hearing. elpasomatters.org/2022/11/30/el-…

Latest hearing in the Walmart shooting just convened, no one from the DA's office yet present. Charles Vance from DA's office arrived 2 minutes late for the hearing. He's not part of the Walmart prosecution team. Judge Medrano is not happy.

Update on El Paso's mail voting issues. Through Saturday, 1,150 of 2,566 returned mail ballots have been rejected because of defects, mostly noncompliance with Texas' more stringent requirements this year. That's a 45% rejection rate, compared to 5-10% in previous elections. 1/ 98% of rejected mail ballots (1,130) were for the Democratic primary. Only 54 Republican voters have sent back mail ballots, and 20 of those were rejected. This is a reflection of the GOP demonization of mail-in voting. 2/

The new Texas mail voting law is having a major impact on El Paso voting, and the data suggests it's disproportionately impacting women (and in El Paso, that means Latinas). Here's what I'm seeing in data so far. 1/ 994 of the 2,159 mail ballots received as of Friday by @EP_Elections (46%) have been rejected. In prior elections, the rejection rate was 5-10%, elections administrator Lisa Wise tells me. 2/

I have filed a lawsuit against Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Health and Human Services that alleges repeated failure to comply with the Freedom of Information Act. 1/ The lawsuit alleges that failure to comply w/ FOIA “poses a danger … to all news media and advocacy organizations seeking to provide information to the public at a time that the federal government is fundamentally restructuring border security and immigration in the region.” 2/

An 8 1/2-month pregnant Mexican woman and her family went to an El Paso-Ciudad Juárez bridge Saturday to make an asylum claim. @CBP officer Loya said, “We’re full.” Then Sen. @RonWyden stepped forward and intervened. My story for @WashingtonPost. 1/ washingtonpost.com/politics/senat… The metering process that limits asylum access excludes Mexicans and pregnant women. @CBP says the officer would have acted differently if they told him their nationality. But the family presented him with a folder that included their Mexican birth certificates and IDs. 2/

A number of pregnant asylum seekers who had been sent back to Ciudad Juarez as part of the "remain in Mexico" policy appear to have been removed from the program today. This includes Raquela, who was near full-term when sent back in early April and gave birth 6 days ago. 1/ I crossed the border this morning with six pregnant women who were returning to El Paso for their initial court hearing in the program formally known as Migrant Protection Protocols. This includes Enma, a Guatemalan woman pictured here in purple who is 8 months pregnant. 2/

I was back in immigration court in El Paso today for more hearings on people in Migrant Protection Protocols, the "remain in Mexico" policy. 20 people in court, 8 no-shows. Again, some disturbing revelations. 1/ Rene, a man from El Salvador, said on March 29 he was robbed and stabbed in Ciudad Juarez. He went to the police but was told they couldn't help him because he wasn't Mexican. 2/

The controversial tent facility that housed 6,200 migrant children near Tornillo, Texas, since June released its last child today. My coverage for @TexasMonthly traced the history of the facility and provided a number of exclusives. Here’s a look back at the coverage. 1/ The facility opened amid the Trump administration’s family separation policy in June. @HurdontheHill, whose district includes Tornillo, was the first member of Congress to go inside and shared what he saw with me. 2/ texasmonthly.com/news/inside-te…

Just in from Ruben Garcia at @AHouseElPaso: ICE is releasing 518 more migrants in El Paso today, bringing the 4-day total to more than 1,300. CBP also expected to begin more quickly releasing children in the wake of 2nd death. This will strain El Paso resources. 1/ Annunciation House is stressing to all sponsors to buy bus or plane tickets quickly to free up beds. Also asking other churches that can take in refugees to call Annunciation House ASAP. 2/

BREAKING: @CBP just ordered a number of changes in the wake of the second child death in the custody of Border Patrol's El Paso sector this month. The release confirms my earlier reporting for @washingtonpost. 1/dhs.gov/news/2018/12/2… Highlights: "U.S. Border Patrol is conducting secondary medical checks upon all children in CBP care and custody, including children arriving as part of Family Units (FMUA) and Unaccompanied Children (UACs), with a focus on children under 10 years old" 2/

Today, @kategannon and I have the privilege of serving lunch to dozens of Central American migrants who are guests in El Paso this Christmas. Luis Sanchez, the owner of The King of Ice Cream, is making this a truly special day. Here’s the story. 1/ Kate and I volunteered a couple weeks ago to buy and serve Christmas lunch at one of the @AHouseElPaso hospitality centers for migrants, who are in El Paso for a couple days while awaiting transportation to join their families elsewhere in the US. 2/

For those of you asking how you can help with the migrant families who were released without warning by ICE at the El Paso Greyhound station, here's some information. The most important step, if you can afford it, is to donate to Annunciation House. paypal.com/donate/… 1/ Many have asked about donating used clothes. Annunciation House has enough used clothes right now; additional donations would cause logistical problems. So they ask that you not donate used items at this point. 2/

BIG: Trump administration reverses course on controversial policies for people who want to sponsor migrant children apprehended at the border. Change could free thousands of kids, lead to closing of Tornillo tent facility. My story for @TexasMonthly. 1/ texasmonthly.com/news/trump-fin… With today's change, let's review how we got here. Here's my @TexasMonthly story from June detailing the new fingerprint policy for sponsors, and warning of the risks of that policy. 2/ texasmonthly.com/news/agency-ov…

The nonprofit that runs the tent facility for migrant children in Tornillo tells me the government has paid $144 million from June through November to operate the tent facility. I think that's the first time we've gotten some accounting of actual cost. 1/ texasmonthly.com/article/more-m… The nonprofit, BCFS Health and Human Services of San Antonio, has had a series of contracts with @HHSGov since June, worth up to $450 million or so. But that's a maximum value if Tornillo was at capacity. 2/

On this 100th anniversary of the World War I armistice, here's the story of Texas' most decorated serviceman from World War I, Marcelino Serna. 1/ thevintagenews.com/2018/01/21/mar… Serna was an undocumented immigrant who spoke little English when he was sent to Europe. He was offered the chance to return home but declined, choosing to stay with his unit. 2/