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WORKFORCE COMMISSION
IMMIGRATION
Unemployment October jobless rate in Texas slips to 5.1 percent ASSOCIATED PRESS
OBAMA
Obama urges Congress to act
AUSTIN — Texas’ unemployment rate declined for the second month in a row to 5.1 percent in October as the state continues to add jobs, the Tex-
as Workforce Commission reported Friday. The October rate was down from 6.2 percent a year before, and slightly lower than September’s 5.2 percent. Steady job gains also helped push the Oc-
tober nationwide unemployment rate to a six-year low of 5.8 percent, labor officials reported. The state’s highest unemployment was in the McAllenEdinburg-Mission area at 7.9
percent. Midland had the lowest unemployment rate in Texas during October at 2.5 percent, while neighboring Odessa had a jobless rate of 3 percent.
See JOBS PAGE 11A
TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
DISAPPEARANCE PROTEST
President campaigns for reform in Las Vegas By MICHAEL D. SHEAR AND ASHLEY PARKER NEW YORK TIMES
LAS VEGAS — President Barack Obama opened up a campaign for his executive actions on immigration Friday as he told an audience of mostly Latino students at a high school rally here that Congress had to revamp what he called the nation’s broken immigration system. It was the same Las Vegas suburban high school where nearly two years ago Obama laid out principles that eventually became the core of a bipartisan immigration bill that passed the Senate in 2013, helped along by Republican worries that they were rapidly losing traction in states like Nevada, where Hispanic voters are among the fastest-growing constituency. In Washington, Republicans continued to attack the president’s actions. Speaker John A. Boehner said Obama was "damaging the presidency itself" by abusing the
See OBAMA PAGE 10A
Photo by Victor Strife | The Zapata Times
TAMIU students pose for a photograph, as they gathered to protest the disappearance and presumed murder of the 43 students from Escuela Normal Rural “Raul Isidro Burgos” de Ayotzinapa in Guerrero, Mexico, Thursday morning outside the TAMIU Judith Zaffirini Success Center.
Locals mourn the loss of 43 Mexican students By JUDITH RAYO THE ZAPATA TIMES
A day of seeking justice in Mexico has gone international as 43 TAMIU students gathered to protest the disappearance and presumed killing of 43 students
in Guerrero, Mexico. “Today, Nov. 20, we have dressed in black to mourn the loss of the individuals that lost their lives on Sept. 26,” said Jackelyne Briseño, Texas A&M International University Student Government Association presi-
dent. “We have dressed in black to demonstrate that it hurts and we are worried the students have not been attending school. We have dressed in black because we want parents of the students to know we understand their pain
and frustration. We have dressed in black because they were taken alive and alive we want them back.” The students gathered outside the Judith Zaffirini Success Cen-
See MOURN PAGE 10A
EAGLE FORD SHALE
3 indicted for $1.5M oil robbery scheme THE ZAPATA TIMES
A Laredoan and two other men have been indicted in connection with the alleged theft of oil from companies in the Eagle Ford Shale. Proceeds from the theft scheme totaled more than $1.5 million, according to the FBI and IRS, which investigated the case along with a host of other law enforcement and government agencies. The Laredoan, Victor Manuel Guerra Jr., 37, was arrested Wednesday. The two other men, Juan Martin Bernal, 49, of Eagle Pass, and Carlos Samuel Peña, 25, of Del Rio, were arrested earlier this month. Guerra is charged with two counts of
The theft and money laundering charges are punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The wire fraud charges are punishable by up to 20 years in prison. theft from interstate shipment, 69 counts of wire fraud and 58 counts of money laundering. Bernal and Peña are each charged with one count of theft from interstate shipment and 69 counts of wire fraud. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges. The indictment alleges that Guerra, who
owned wastewater removal companies Las Lomas Vacuum Services and AVG Vacuum Services, coordinated with Bernal and Peña to determine when his truck drivers could enter oil well areas unnoticed. Guerra’s tanker truck drivers would travel onto the property under the guise of collecting contaminated water, the indictment alleges.
Bernal, who worked for Newfield Exploration Company, and Peña, who worked for Anadarko Petroleum Corp., would allow the drivers entry onto the properties, according to the indictment. Instead of removing wastewater from storage tanks, law enforcement alleges the drivers would take oil stored in tanks near the wastewater. They then allegedly took the oil to a property overseen by Guerra. There, it was held in storage units. Guerra would allegedly sell the product to thirdparty buyers, who paid for it via wire transfer to a bank account controlled by Guerra.
See OIL PAGE 11A