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U.S. DISTRICT COURT
HIGHER EDUCATION
Couple receives sentence Both were convicted of illegal firearm possession S P ECIAL T O T HE T I ME S
A 43-year-old Zapata man and his common-law wife have been ordered to federal prison following their convictions of being felons in possession of firearms. Jesus Jose De Jesus and Amira Elizabeth Saenz, 35, each pleaded guilty March 21, 2017.
U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña ordered De Jesus to serve 46 months in prison, while Saenz received a six-month term of imprisonment plus an additional six months to serve on home confinement for revocation of a prior supervised release. After completion of their sentences, both will serve three years of supervised release.
De Jesus is a convicted sex offender and multiple-time convicted felon. Saenz is a convicted drug felon. As such, both are prohibited from possessing firearms per federal law. On Oct. 27, 2015, law enforcement officers were conducting compliance checks on sex offenders in Zapata County, at which time they encountered four firearms
inside a residential trailer located on the 3400 block of South U.S. Zapata Highway 83 in Zapata. The next day, agents recovered the four firearms located in the bedroom the couple shared. The firearms included a .308 caliber rifle, .22-caliber rifle, seven millimeter rifle and a
Alamo continues on A6
TAMIU continues on A6
Eric Gay / AP
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush is overseeing a 7-year, $450 million revamp of the Alamo, where 189 independence fighters were killed in 1836. That includes restoration of historical structures and building a new museum and visitors' center.
Fighters’ ties to slavery among issues surrounding renovation efforts
SAN ANTONIO — Remember the Alamo? A new Texas battle is brewing over how best to do so. Land Commissioner George P. Bush is overseeing a 7-year revamp of the shrine where 189 Texas independence fighters
were killed by Mexican Gen. Santa Anna’s troops in 1836. The site’s size would quadruple after excavation and restoration of historical structures, the closing of nearby streets and the building of a more than 100,000-square foot museum to house artifacts and guide visitors through the Alamo’s history. The project has raised the ire
of some conservatives, who worry that the Battle of the Alamo will be sanitized by “political correctness” at a time when Confederate monuments are being removed across the country. Even though the Alamo battle was well before the Civil War, some of the participants were slaveholders. A flashpoint has been the fate of the Cenotaph, a 60-foot
SPECIAL TO THE TIME S
(18.29-meter) granite monument near the Alamo completed in 1940 and engraved with the names of those killed during the battle. The city of San Antonio wants to move it to a site somewhat farther away. But critics fear the Cenotaph will suffer the fate of some Confederate monuments and be banished.
NEW BATTLE OF THE ALAMO IS BREWING
A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
School quickly attracting newcomers More students are choosing to ‘Go Beyond’ at Texas A&M International University and the university saw notable enrollment increases for fall 2017, especially among first-time freshmen and graduate students. A total of 59 Texas counties are represented in the student body. Those with the highest student enrollment include Webb, Zapata, Maverick and Starr. TAMIU’s total student enrollment for fall 2017 is 7,654, a 3 percent increase over fall 2016 (7,416). Also, first-time freshmen enrollment, totaling 1,229, represents an historic 10 percent hike compared to last Fall. The freshmen class comes to TAMIU from 120 different high schools, with 20% hailing from high schools outside of Laredo. Total semester credit hours (SCH) are up 5.2 percent, from 83,217 last Fall to 87,535 this Fall. Both undergraduate and graduate enrollment, including doctoral students, is up 3 percent, at 6,804 and 850 respectively. In addition, full-time female student enrollment increased 9.2 percent over the same period last year, to 3,276 students. Full-time male student enrollment increased 2.5 percent over last year to 2,154. TAMIU President Pablo Arenaz said it’s an exciting time to be a student at TAMIU, as the university is quickly becoming a destination institution of higher education. “At my investiture last year, I challenged our faculty, staff and students to join me in helping TAMIU to become a ‘destination’ university. In witnessing this enrollment increase and knowing that more students are choosing to attend TAMIU over other universities, I think we are well on our way,” Arenaz said, noting, “Over the past year, TAMIU has earned significant accolades from independent, national publications and students are realizing that at TAMIU they can get a quality, world-class education at an affordable price.” Most recently, TAMIU
Couple continues on A6
TEXAS GENERAL LAND OFFICE
By Will Weissert
TAMIU sees record enrollment
NATIONAL SECURITY
Trump’s border wall models take shape in San Diego By Elliot Spagat A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
SAN DIEGO — The last two of eight prototypes for President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall took shape Thursday at a construction site in San Diego. The prototypes form a tightly packed row of imposing concrete and metal panels, including
one with sharp metal edges on top. Another has a surface resembling an expensive brick driveway. Companies have until Oct. 26 to finish the models but Border Patrol spokesman Theron Francisco said the last two came into profile, with crews installing a corrugated metal surface on the eighth model on a dirt lot just a few steps from
homes in Tijuana, Mexico. As the crews worked, three men and two women from Nepal, ages 19 to 30, jumped a short rusted fence from Tijuana into the construction site and were immediately stopped by agents on horseback. Francisco said there have been four or five other illegal crossing attempts at the site since work began Sept. 26.
The models, which cost the government up to $500,000 each, were spaced 30 feet (9.1 meters) apart. Slopes, thickness and curves vary. One has two shades of blue with white trim. The others are gray, tan or brown — in sync with the desert. Bidding guidelines call for the prototypes to stand between 18 and 30 Wall continues on A6
Gregry Bull / AP
Crews look through a border wall prototype near the border with Tijuana, Mexico on Thursday in San Diego. Companies are nearing an Oct. 26 deadline to finish building eight prototypes of President Donald Trump's proposed border wall with Mexico.