Latest news with #Yuma
Fox News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump's border wall expansion moves forward in several critical areas: 'Crisis is not yet over'
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem cleared waivers allowing for 36 more miles of border wall construction in Arizona and New Mexico. The waivers curb environmental regulations that the construction would be subjected to legally build more quickly. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital in a statement that "DHS has been working at a neck-breaking speed to secure our border" and remove "criminal illegal aliens out of our country." The waivers cover several projects, including filling gaps in the Yuma Sector and making developments on the wall in the El Paso Sector, according to a news release. In addition, 24 miles will be part of the Tucson Sonoita Project. These projects already had funds allocated in 2020-21 appropriations for Customs and Border Protection, the release from CBP added. "Today's news is welcome here in Yuma, Arizona, where our community is still grappling with the consequences of the Biden-Harris Administration's four years of open-border policies," Jonathan Lines, a Yuma County Supervisor and Chairman of the Border Security Alliance, stated. "We applaud President Trump's commitment to border security, and we look forward to the completion of the wall across the entire southern border. The border crisis is not yet over, and our federal government must continue to equip the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents with the tools, technologies, and resources necessary to provide adequate national security to keep America safe," Lines added. Another waiver was granted in April to build more of the wall in California. With only a few small exceptions, border wall construction was largely halted during the Biden administration as millions of people crossed illegally, including through gaps. The gaps between barriers are also known to be used for cartel activity. "Our border has never been safer or more secure, and we have the Trump Administration to thank for that," Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen told Fox News Digital in a statement. "Finishing the wall is exactly what Arizonans voted for, and I'm pleased Secretary Noem is quickly carrying out President Trump's mission to protect our citizens and strengthen our national security. Sanity and the rule of law are being restored in our nation." Critics of further wall construction have largely cited environmental concerns. "Waiving environmental, cultural preservation, and good governance laws that protect clean air and clean water, safeguard precious cultural resources, and preserve vibrant ecosystems and biodiversity will only cause further harm to border communities and ecosystems," Earthjustice Associate Legislative Representative Cameron Walkup said in a statement in April after the California waiver. "Rather than rushing to spend tens of billions of dollars to help President Trump build even more wasteful border wall through a budget reconciliation package, Congress should focus on rescinding these waivers and remediating the significant damage that has already been caused by the wall," Walkup added.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
2 arrested in Yuma for alleged roles in 2-year-old's death
The Brief Angelina Vasquez, 20, and her boyfriend, Miguel Garcia, 23, are accused of killing her two-year-old son and concealing his body in Yuma. The two were arrested on May 30 after the child's remains were found, police said. YUMA, Ariz. - A mother and her boyfriend have been arrested in Yuma for their alleged roles in the death of her 2-year-old son, the police department said. What we know On May 30 at around 1:45 p.m., officers responded to the area of Vista Del Castillo Drive and 24th Street for a "suspicious incident." "Upon arrival, officers located what appeared to be human remains, possibly of a 2-year-old male. The Investigations Unit was called out and took over the investigation. Both the mother of the 2-year-old, 20-year-old Angelina Vasquez, and her boyfriend, 23-year-old Miguel Garcia, have been arrested in reference to this case," Yuma Police said. They were both booked into jail on suspicion of first-degree premeditated murder and abandonment/concealment of dead body parts. What we don't know Police did not detail the child's manner of death or how long he might've been dead for. Police also did not say what the motive in this case was.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lady Raiders advance to NJCAA National Championship game
YUMA, Az (WMBB) – Northwest Florida State defeated top-seeded Florida Southwestern 3–1 in the NJCAA Division I World Series semifinals Friday, advancing to the national championship game. The Lady Raiders will face Florida Southwestern in a rematch Saturday at 3 p.m. CDT in the 2025 NJCAA Division I Softball World Series national championship game. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Republican AGs visit US-Mexico border wall as Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' clears expansion funding
YUMA, ARIZ. – Republican attorneys general from 11 states visited the U.S.-Mexico border wall in remote Yuma, Arizona, this week, touting a more than 90% decrease in illegal crossings since President Donald Trump began his second term. Their visit came a day before the House narrowly passed Trump's "big, beautiful bill," which in part allocates $46.5 billion to revive construction of the wall, which at its current stage covers just a quarter of the approximately 1,900-mile-long stretch separating the United States from Mexico. In Yuma, a city of just 110,000 people, local officials briefed the Republican attorneys general of Kansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, South Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Alabama, Montana, Iowa and Indiana on how an average of 1,500 people were illegally crossing the border a day during the first six months of the Biden administration. That's dropped to about four daily illegal crossings since Trump took office. In addition to the border wall itself, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach -- chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association – told Fox News Digital the administration needs other "force multipliers," especially with the task of carrying out the "largest interior removal since the Eisenhower administration." He announced an additional three GOP states entered into 287(G) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which means local and state deputies and officers are trained to exercise federal law enforcement powers, including making immigration-related arrests, initiating removal processes, conducting investigations and tapping into ICE databases. "The thing the Trump administration needs the most right now is force multipliers," Kobach said. "Even if we doubled the number of Border Patrol agents at ICE stations, we still wouldn't have enough. This border wall, which I'm looking at, is one force multiplier at the border. The other big force multiplier is state and local law enforcement signing 287(g) agreements and then helping ICE in the interior. And that's where the red states are leading the way." South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said 540 kilograms of fentanyl and 850 kilograms of cocaine were trafficked into the Palmetto State, originating from Mexican drug cartels. One kilo alone is enough to kill half a million people. "This is the kind of stuff that keeps me up at night. I have two teenage kids in high school. When you hear about parents losing a kid in an overdose, it really strikes at your core. And so it's not just about law enforcement, it's about national security," Wilson told Fox News Digital. "As a 29-year veteran of the Army, an Iraq war veteran. I think in terms of national security, as well as law enforcement. This right here, what happens here, President Trump's policies here have empowered local law enforcement and local and state prosecutors like myself to be able to more effectively combat the illicit activity, starting with Mexican drug cartels and gangs like Tren de Aragua." Wilson said it is important to fortify a "digital border," noting how Mexican drug cartels, Chinese nationals and other illicit criminal organizations launder the proceeds of human and drug trafficking and other crimes using platforms such as WeChat. Wilson has partnered with North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, a Democrat, and attorneys general from four other states in a bipartisan effort to target the Chinese app allegedly linked to the international fentanyl trade. The 11 Republican attorneys general in Yuma highlighted the importance of making the trip to the southern border despite their home states not directly bordering Mexico. Under the Biden administration, the Republicans argued that every state became a border state with the trafficking of fentanyl and other deadly drugs, as well as people across the border. "In the dark days of the Biden administration, this part of the border saw 1,500 illegal crossings a day. Today? Just four. That's leadership," Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said. "In Kentucky, we lost 1,400 lives last year to drugs coming over this border. That's not abstract—it's empty chairs at kitchen tables. I'm here to thank the men and women who wear the badge, who've made this border secure again." "Alabama may not be a border state, but we've seen the cost of an open border – fentanyl deaths, rising crime. The difference now? It's not the law that changed, it's the leadership," Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said. "Border encounters are down 93%, gotaways down 95%. That's the result of letting immigration enforcement do their jobs. We're no longer the last line of defense—we're partners in restoring the rule of law." "When federal officials can't do their jobs, every state becomes a border state—even Indiana," Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said. "We were the first non-border state to sue the Biden administration over its lawless immigration policies. Now, under new leadership, morale at the border has skyrocketed. I'm here not just for our law enforcement, but for the teachers overwhelmed by the fallout, for the parents and professionals caught in a broken system. Enough is enough." A stop on the tour included seeing pallets of $2 million worth of border wall supplies paid for under Trump's first term that the Biden administration prevented federal contractors from erecting – something Kobach categorized as "dereliction of duty" and "deliberate efforts to keep our border open." The Republican attorneys general also heard from the local hospital system, which incurred $26 million in unreimbursed care costs during a six-month period between December 2021 and May 2022 primarily due to treating migrants. At the peak of the crisis, approximately 350,000 illegal aliens crossed the border through the Yuma sector in a single year under the Biden administration. The surge caused $1.2 million in losses to three family farms in the region, as migrants camped out and defecated around crops. Local officials underscored the national food security risks, given that Yuma produces 2,500 semi-loads of leafy greens per day during peak season. The Marine Top Gun School brings thousands more U.S. Marines to Yuma every six months, but live-fire drills had to be shut down due to the surge in illegal crossings near ranges, local officials told the attorneys general, highlighting how military readiness was also impacted due to the Biden border crisis.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
INTERVIEW: No. 6 Odessa looks to bring home the first national championship since 1994
YUMA, Arizona (KMID/KPEJ) – No. 6 Odessa defeated No. 11 Wallace State – Hanceville 6-2 in their first game of the NJCAA Division 1 World Series. Now, the Lady Wranglers prepare for another tough game. We talked with head coach Doug Eastman about what it's like playing in the World Series. You can hear his response and see information about their upcoming game in the video above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
