Latest news with #Laredo
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Travel + Leisure
6 days ago
- Business
- Travel + Leisure
This Is the No. 1 Place to Live in the U.S. for Affordability and Cost of Living
In a 2025 Pew Research Center survey, a majority of Americans said the economy was either only in "fair" or "poor" shape, with 63 percent citing "inflation" as a major concern. If this is your top priority too, know that one, we can relate, and two, GoBankingRates may have a few suggestions on where you can relocate to in the U.S. to experience a more affordable lifestyle. The website released its "Most Livable Destinations" list, including 10 spots where you can live a great life without a six-figure income. For this report, GoBakingRates first sourced the 50 best places to live from U.S. News & World Report's "250 Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2025-2026." Next, it looked into each city's average monthly and annual rent, which it sourced from Zillow's April 2025 data. It also examined each city's annual expenses for groceries, health care, utilities, and transportation, all based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2023 Consumer Expenditure Survey data points. And to determine the salary needed in each place, GoBankingRates followed the "50/30/20 budget rule," which Investopedia explained, "suggests that you spend 50 percent of your budget on needs, 30 percent on wants, and 20 percent on your savings goal," with housing falling under that "need" category too. After reviewing all the data, GoBankingRates named Laredo, Texas, the most affordable city, thanks to its annual cost of living expenses for homeowners at just $36,008 and the salary needed for homeowners at $72,015. It also found that the annual cost of living expenses for renters was just a touch higher at $36,888, and the salary needed for renters was also a smidge higher at $73,776. Texas also took the second-place spot thanks to the affordability of McAllen, where the annual cost of living expenses for homeowners is just $36,287, with the salary needed for homeowners at $72,574. The city's annual cost of living expenses for renters is $38,742, with the salary needed for renters at $77,484. These two Texas locations are joined by Moore, Oklahoma, in third, followed by Midland, Michigan; Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; Springdale, Arkansas; Saint Peters, Missouri; Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and West Des Moines, Iowa, rounding out the top 10. And while each of these spots requires less than $100,000 a year, GoBankingRates noted that all of the cities require an above-average salary to live comfortably." It added, "The average salary in the U.S. is about $67,000, but you'll need to earn over $70,000 to live comfortably in the top city for renters and over $72,000 to live in the top city for homeowners." See the full report at
Fox News
27-05-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Sens Cruz, Lujan introduce bill to expedite permits for international bridges and ports of entry
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has put forth legislation amending the International Bridge Act of 1972 that would expedite the presidential permitting process for all international bridges and land ports of entry. The bipartisan bill from Cruz and Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., will expand on legislation previously written by Cruz and passed into law that streamlined permits for international bridges in Eagle Pass, Laredo and Brownsville. The new bill will streamline all permits for international bridges and ports of entry for Mexico and Canada. In a news release, Cruz discussed how this new bill has been a top priority for him. "This bill builds on and expands our success in securing presidential permits for four major international bridge projects in South Texas by streamlining the approval process for all future international bridges along the Texas–Mexico border," Cruz said in a news release. Cruz strongly urged his colleagues "to pass this bill so it can be sent to the President for signature." Lujan said in a news release that he was proud to introduce bipartisan legislation that would deliver real investments to New Mexico. "Ports of entry and international bridges are vital to the economic success of our border communities, supporting trade, business, and tourism," Lujan said. "Yet, new border crossings are too often held up by the presidential permit process." Dr. Victor Treviño, Mayor of the City of Laredo, thanked both senators for putting this bipartisan bill together that strengthens the northern and southern border. "This bill marks a critical step toward modernizing the development and expansion of cross-border infrastructure by bringing much-needed efficiency and predictability to the presidential permitting process—an essential reform for communities like Laredo, which continues to be on the front lines of international commerce as the #1 Port of Entry in the United States," Trevino said in a news release. Trevino also urged Congress to pass this bill so that President Donald Trump can sign it. The bill also includes a bar on future administrations from considering environmental documents, including documents created as part of the National Environmental Policy Act. Fox News Digital has reached out to Cruz's office for comment.
Arab News
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Trump administration releases people to shelters it threatened to prosecute for aiding migrants
Border shelters were rattled by a letter from FEMA that raised 'significant concerns' about potentially illegal activityFEMA suggested shelters may have committed felony offenses against bringing people across the border illegally or transporting them within the USTEXAS, USA: The Trump administration has continued releasing people charged with being in the country illegally to nongovernmental shelters along the US-Mexico border after telling those organizations that providing migrants with temporary housing and other aid may violate a law used to prosecute shelters, which have long provided lodging, meals and transportation to the nearest bus station or airport, were rattled by a letter from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that raised 'significant concerns' about potentially illegal activity and demanded detailed information in a wide-ranging investigation. FEMA suggested shelters may have committed felony offenses against bringing people across the border illegally or transporting them within the United States.'It was pretty scary. I'm not going to lie,' said Rebecca Solloa, executive director of Catholic Charities Diocese of Immigration and Customs Enforcement continued to ask shelters in Texas and Arizona to house people even after the March 11 letter, putting them in the awkward position of doing something that FEMA appeared to say might be illegal. Both agencies are part of the Department of Homeland receiving the letter, Catholic Charities received eight to 10 people a day from ICE until financial losses forced it to close its shelter in the Texas border city on April 25, Solloa Holding Institute Community, also in Laredo, has been taking about 20 families a week from ICE's family detention centers in Dilley and Karnes City, Texas, Executive Director Michael Smith said. They come from Russia, Turkiye, Iran, Iraq, Papua New Guinea and House in El Paso, Texas, has been receiving five to 10 people day from ICE, including from Honduras and Venezuela, said Ruben Garcia, its executive Rescue Committee didn't get a letter but continues receiving people from ICE in Phoenix, according to a person briefed on the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information that has not been made public. The releases include people who had been held at ICE's Krome Detention Center in Miami, the site of severe around conflicting issuesICE's requests struck Solloa as a 'little bit of a contradiction,' but Catholic Charities agreed. She said some guests had been in ICE detention centers two to four weeks after getting arrested in the nation's interior and ordered released by an immigration judge while their challenges to deportations wound through the courts. Others had been flown from San Diego after crossing the border released were from India, China, Pakistan, Türkiye, and Central and South America, Solloa a Methodist pastor, said that the FEMA letter was alarming and that agreeing to continue caring for people released by ICE was 'probably not a good idea.' Still, it was an easy choice.'There's some things that are just right to do,' he McLaughlin, spokeswoman for the Homeland Security Department, drew a distinction with large-scale releases under Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden. The Biden administration worked closely with shelters but, during its busiest times, released migrants at bus stops or other public locations.'Under the Biden administration, when ICE has aliens in its custody who are ordered released, ICE does not simply release them onto the streets of a community — ICE works to verify a sponsor for the illegal alien, typically family members or friends but occasionally a non-governmental-organization,' McLaughlin government has struggled to quickly deport people from some countries because of diplomatic, financial and logistic challenges. Those hurdles have prompted ICE to deport people to countries other than their own, including El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama and — this week — South Sudan. If those options aren't available, ICE may be forced to release people in the United can challenge deportations in immigration court, though their options are much more limited when stopped at the border. If a judge orders their release, ICE is generally left with no choice but to release pose another challenge. ICE is generally prohibited from holding families with children under 18 for more than 20 days under a long-standing court agreement that the Trump administration said Thursday it would try to Trump administration has boasted that it virtually ended the practice of releasing people who cross the border illegally with notices to appear in immigration court. The Border Patrol released only seven people from February through April, down from 130,368 the same period a year earlier under President Joe Biden. But those figures do not include ICE, whose data is not publicly availableClose ties between shelters and federal authoritiesFEMA awarded $641 million to dozens of state and local governments and organizations across the country in the 2024 fiscal year to help them deal with large numbers of migrants who crossed the border from has suspended payments during its review, which required shelters to provide 'a detailed and descriptive list of specific services provided.' Executive officers must sign sworn statements that they have no knowledge or suspicions of anyone in their organizations violating the smuggling releases show how border shelters have often maintained close, if cordial, relations with federal immigration authorities at the ground level, even when senior officials publicly criticize them.'We have a good working relationship with our federal partners. We always have,' Solloa said. 'They asked us to help, then we will continue to help, but at some point we have to say, 'Yikes I don't have any more money for this. Our agency is hurting and I'm sorry, we can't do this anymore.''Catholic Charities hosted at least 120,000 people at its Laredo shelter since opening in 2021 and housed 600 to 700 people on its busiest nights in 2023, Solloa said. It was counting on up to $7 million from FEMA. The shelter closed with loss of nearly $1 million, after not receiving any FEMA Institute, part of United Women in Faith, has cut paid staff and volunteers to seven from 45 amid the absence of federal funding, Smith said. To save money, it delivers most meals without protein. Language differences have been International Rescue Committee said in a statement that it intends to continue providing support services to released people in Phoenix.'As the scale and scope of these needs evolve, the IRC remains committed to ensuring individuals have access to essential humanitarian services, including food, water, hygiene supplies and information,' it said.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Texas A&M College of Dentistry grad to make history this weekend
The Brief At 58, Cristina Flores will become the oldest graduate with a Bachelor of Science in dental hygiene from Texas A&M College of Dentistry this Sunday. Flores, continuing a family tradition in dentistry, moved from Laredo to achieve her degree, becoming the third in her family to graduate from the A&M system. She hopes her story inspires others, stressing that age shouldn't limit one's goals. DALLAS - History will be made on Sunday when Cristina Flores, 58, becomes the oldest graduate with a Bachelor of Science dental hygiene degree from Texas A&M College of Dentistry. The backstory Flores applied to the Texas A&M College of Dentistry five years ago. The 58-year-old left her native Laredo to move to North Texas and attend the school. The work runs in the family. Her father was a dentist for 60 years. Her two brothers and sister are dentists or oral surgeons. She is also the third in her family to graduate from the Texas A&M University system. She has two sons, now attorneys, who both graduated from the school. Flores' daughter attended her mother's pinning ceremony, even pinning her Bachelor of Science in dental hygiene pin. Her children were with her as she got her Aggie ring. A symbol of what she has accomplished. What they're saying "I knew I wanted to come here even though it was further away from home. I knew I wanted to come here. I wanted to be an Aggie also," Flores said. "It was a challenge learning how to study again, and I found out I loved school. I didn't remember how much I liked school, but it was a challenge sitting down and studying." Flores first started college in 1987, but did not get to finish. "I knew I wanted to finish it. It was always in the back of my mind. I knew I was eventually going to go back," she said. "It turned out to be a great choice." Flores hopes her story is a sign to others of what they can accomplish. "There's no deadline on goals. You can definitely do it at whatever age at 55. At 53, I didn't know I was going to be here and look at me now. When I started I remember saying, 'I'm going to be 58 by the time I graduate, and it's here. It's already here, so no, there's no deadline to what you can do," she said. The Source Information in this article comes from an interview between FOX 4's Shaun Rabb and Cristina Flores.
The Independent
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump administration releases people to shelters it threatened to prosecute for aiding migrants
The Trump administration has continued releasing people charged with being in the country illegally to nongovernmental shelters along the U.S.-Mexico border after telling those organizations that providing migrants with temporary housing and other aid may violate a law used to prosecute smugglers. Border shelters, which have long provided lodging, meals and transportation to the nearest bus station or airport, were rattled by a letter from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that raised 'significant concerns' about potentially illegal activity and demanded detailed information in a wide-ranging investigation. FEMA suggested shelters may have committed felony offenses against bringing people across the border illegally or transporting them within the United States. 'It was pretty scary. I'm not going to lie,' said Rebecca Solloa, executive director of Catholic Charities Diocese of Laredo. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement continued to ask shelters in Texas and Arizona to house people even after the March 11 letter, putting them in the awkward position of doing something that FEMA appeared to say might be illegal. Both agencies are part of the Department of Homeland Security. After receiving the letter, Catholic Charities received eight to 10 people a day from ICE until financial losses forced it to close its shelter in the Texas border city on April 25, Solloa said. The Holding Institute Community, also in Laredo, has been taking about 20 families a week from ICE's family detention centers in Dilley and Karnes City, Texas, Executive Director Michael Smith said. They come from Russia, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Papua New Guinea and China. Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas, has been receiving five to 10 people day from ICE, including from Honduras and Venezuela, said Ruben Garcia, its executive director. International Rescue Committee didn't get a letter but continues receiving people from ICE in Phoenix, according to a person briefed on the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information that has not been made public. The releases include people who had been held at ICE's Krome Detention Center in Miami, the site of severe overcrowding. Working around conflicting issues ICE's requests struck Solloa as a 'little bit of a contradiction,' but Catholic Charities agreed. She said some guests had been in ICE detention centers two to four weeks after getting arrested in the nation's interior and ordered released by an immigration judge while their challenges to deportations wound through the courts. Others had been flown from San Diego after crossing the border illegally. Those released were from India, China, Pakistan, Turkey, and Central and South America, Solloa said. Smith, a Methodist pastor, said that the FEMA letter was alarming and that agreeing to continue caring for people released by ICE was 'probably not a good idea.' Still, it was an easy choice. 'There's some things that are just right to do," he said. Tricia McLaughlin, spokeswoman for the Homeland Security Department, drew a distinction with large-scale releases under Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden. The Biden administration worked closely with shelters but, during its busiest times, released migrants at bus stops or other public locations. 'Under the Biden administration, when ICE has aliens in its custody who are ordered released, ICE does not simply release them onto the streets of a community — ICE works to verify a sponsor for the illegal alien, typically family members or friends but occasionally a non-governmental-organization,' McLaughlin said. The government has struggled to quickly deport people from some countries because of diplomatic, financial and logistic challenges. Those hurdles have prompted ICE to deport people to countries other than their own, including El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama and — this week — South Sudan. If those options aren't available, ICE may be forced to release people in the United States. People can challenge deportations in immigration court, though their options are much more limited when stopped at the border. If a judge orders their release, ICE is generally left with no choice but to release them. Families pose another challenge. ICE is generally prohibited from holding families with children under 18 for more than 20 days under a long-standing court agreement that the Trump administration said Thursday it would try to end. The Trump administration has boasted that it virtually ended the practice of releasing people who cross the border illegally with notices to appear in immigration court. The Border Patrol released only seven people from February through April, down from 130,368 the same period a year earlier under President Joe Biden. But those figures do not include ICE, whose data is not publicly available Close ties between shelters and federal authorities FEMA awarded $641 million to dozens of state and local governments and organizations across the country in the 2024 fiscal year to help them deal with large numbers of migrants who crossed the border from Mexico. FEMA has suspended payments during its review, which required shelters to provide "a detailed and descriptive list of specific services provided.' Executive officers must sign sworn statements that they have no knowledge or suspicions of anyone in their organizations violating the smuggling law. The releases show how border shelters have often maintained close, if cordial, relations with federal immigration authorities at the ground level, even when senior officials publicly criticize them. 'We have a good working relationship with our federal partners. We always have," Solloa said. 'They asked us to help, then we will continue to help, but at some point we have to say, 'Yikes I don't have any more money for this. Our agency is hurting and I'm sorry, we can't do this anymore.'' Catholic Charities hosted at least 120,000 people at its Laredo shelter since opening in 2021 and housed 600 to 700 people on its busiest nights in 2023, Solloa said. It was counting on up to $7 million from FEMA. The shelter closed with loss of nearly $1 million, after not receiving any FEMA money. Holding Institute, part of United Women in Faith, has cut paid staff and volunteers to seven from 45 amid the absence of federal funding, Smith said. To save money, it delivers most meals without protein. Language differences have been challenging. The International Rescue Committee said in a statement that it intends to continue providing support services to released people in Phoenix. 'As the scale and scope of these needs evolve, the IRC remains committed to ensuring individuals have access to essential humanitarian services, including food, water, hygiene supplies and information,' it said. ___ Spagat reported from San Diego.
