YEAR IN REVIEW
WEDNESDAY JUNE 18, 2014
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PART 1 OF 2 IN A LOOK BACK AT THE YEAR FOR ZAPATA ATHLETICS, 7A
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2014 MISS LAREDO USA/MISS LAREDO TEEN USA PAGEANTS
IMMIGRATION
Sparkling beauty
Children make their voice heard
Three Zapata residents competed Sunday
Many sought family, escape violence By ALDO AMATO THE ZAPATA TIMES
PEÑA
ELIZONDO
GONZALEZ
By GABRIELA A. TREVIÑO
The girls were judged on their appearance in a bikini, an evening gown and their ability to answer an interview question on the spot. O’Connor answered the question, “How would your friends describe you at your best and how would they describe you at your worst?” Benavides answered the question, “What would your adult self tell your teen self ?” She said she would have told herself to be more mature and responsible although she knows her errors have made her the person she is today. Benavides wore a blue, form-fitting dress with a long train, and she said that her first meal after the pageant would be Wing Stop. In addition to her Miss Laredo
Teen USA crown, O’Connor also won the “Best in Evening Gown” award. Miss Laredo’s win came as a surprise as contestant Victoria Young won four awards prior to announcing the official Miss Laredo winner. Young won Best in Swimsuit, Most Photogenic, Best in Evening Gown and the People’s Choice award. She was, however, named first runner up. Reigning Miss Texas USA Lauren Guzman and Amin Kabini, a makeup artist who has worked with the Miss Universe system, were the official hosts of the show. About 500 people bought tickets for the show, according to the front door ticket takers. (Gabriela A. Treviño may be reached at 956-728-2579 or gtrevino@lmtonline.com)
THE ZAPATA TIMES
Three residents from Zapata competed in beauty pageants Sunday at the Laredo Civic Center. Cassandra Peña competed in the 2014 Miss Laredo, and Triana Gonzalez and Priscilla Elizondo competed in the Miss Laredo Teen competition. However, Dalia Benavides and Catherine O’Connor were crowned the 2014 Miss Laredo USA and Miss Laredo Teen USA, respectively, in pageants totaling 20 contestants at the Laredo Civic Center on Sunday. Reigning beauty queens Miss Laredo Teen USA Teresa Ramirez and Miss Laredo Estefania Flores relinquished their crowns to the new winners.
TEXAS
Federal judicial vacancies Vacancies in the state are among the highest in the nation; budget cuts, volume of delayed felony cases are to blame ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — The number of federal judicial vacancies in Texas is among the highest in the nation and the problem is compounded by budget cuts and a growing volume of felony cases that are being delayed, federal officials say. There are eight vacancies on district benches in Texas and two more
are expected within the year. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel said the problem is particularly acute in the western judicial district of Texas. The district has the second-highest number of criminal felony filings per judge in the country, according to the Austin AmericanStatesman. “We are under water here,” said Yeakel, who hears cases in Austin.
“We need new federal judges by every objective standard, and that’s not what we are getting.” Only two U.S. district judges, including Yeakel, hear the majority of the cases in Austin, and the last judicial position for the division was created in 1991, though the population has since doubled. Meanwhile, federal cuts over the years have
resulted in staff reductions and the elimination of court programs. Federal sequestration measures and last year’s government shutdown have further reduced spending on federal courts to the lowest levels in at least a decade. Court officials say more cases are placed on hold, defendants spend
See VACANCIES PAGE 8A
Fourteen-year-old Christian Daniel and his 11-yearold sister recently traveled more than 1,400 miles from El Salvador to the TexasMexico border. After entering the United States illegally, however, Border Patrol apprehended them. Christian Daniel told U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar during his visit to a Border Patrol facility Saturday in McAllen that he has a father in Columbus, Ohio and that he came here to study. A boy identified as Elvis, 16, told Cuellar that he, too, fled El Salvador and was hoping to find work in the United States. He also said he came here to escape violence and gangs, which had killed a friend of his. He said they told him he was next. Of the nine children whom Cuellar talked to at the Border Patrol facility, the majority said they came to the United States to either reunite with family or escape violence in their home country. They are among the thousands of children from Central America who are streaming across the border illegally. “We have a humanitarian obligation to children who are crossing our border unaccompanied,” Cuellar said. “I feel that the Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Health and Human Services are doing all they can under the circumstances to ensure every migrant is treated with dignity and respect. “There is no strong protocol in place for dealing with Central American immigrants and some of the most important work left is to improve the process for returning them to their home countries.” Some of the immigrant children said they paid smugglers undisclosed amounts of money to not only better themselves, but
“
“We have a humanitarian obligation to children who are crossing our border …” US CONGRESSMAN HENRY CUELLAR
also their family members. Domitilla, 14, fled the violence in Guatemala and was “forced to walk miles and run from authorities” and slept outside in the heat. Cuellar said she was apprehensive to talk about mistreatment from human smugglers during her 20-day journey to the United States. Another 14-year-old child, Miguel, told Cuellar he did not hire anyone to smuggle him from El Salvador to the United States. He got here just by asking questions. He said his mother lives in Los Angeles, Calif. And that he crossed the Texas-Mexico border because it was easier. Cuellar said he talked with officials from the United States, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras about the influx of unaccompanied children trying to cross into the country illegally. “The United States needs to do a better job in working with Mexico to strengthen their southern border and to work with the Central American countries,” Cuellar said. “In the past few days, I have personally spoken to the ambassadors of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras and the Embassy of Mexico and I will continue working with them to address the problem jointly with a shared responsibility.” (Aldo Amato may be reached at 728-2538 or aamato@lmtonline.com)
US BORDER PATROL
Man allegedly refused to answer questions David Wayne Martin, 30, claimed he wanted to exercise his constitutional right at a checkpoint By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A man who claimed he wanted to exercise his constitutional right to not answer questions from federal agents at a Border Patrol checkpoint has been arrested for blocking the primary inspection lane with his vehicle, according to court records released last week. A criminal complaint filed Friday charges David Wayne Martin, 30, with forcibly impeding with the duties of a federal officer and for forcible assault on Border Patrol agents by resisting arrest. On Wednesday, Martin ar-
A criminal complaint filed Friday charges Martin with forcibly impeding with the duties of a federal officer and for forcible assault on Border Patrol agents by resisting arrest. rived in a blue Ford Expedition at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on mile marker 29 of North Interstate 35. An agent who was conducting an immigration inspection asked Martin twice if he was a U.S. citizen. “Each time, Martin refused to answer any questions, stating he wished to exercise his con-
stitutional rights and not respond to any questions,” the complaint states. A supervisor was requested to assist. The supervisor asked Martin to move to the secondary area to free up the primary inspection lane. Martin allegedly refused to move his vehicle from the primary inspection lane, “stating he did not con-
sent to (a) warrantless search of his vehicle,” the complaint states. “Since Martin refused to answer questions concerning his citizenship and refused to move his vehicle away from the primary inspection lane, the Border Patrol agents took Martin into custody and placed him in a holding cell,” court records
state. Homeland Security Investigations special agents took over the case. He allegedly agreed to speak to them without an attorney present. “Martin stated that he was an idiot and had messed up in not answering the U.S. Border Patrol questions,” according to court records. Martin told authorities he had recorded his encounter at primary inspection. He allegedly said he had been planning the recording at the checkpoint for the past two weeks. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)