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BORDER REGION
RIO GRANDE
Health center works to fill executive director position
Criminal activity rises
Trustees will discuss who will be interviewed By Judith Rayo LA R ED O MORNI NG T IME S
The Border Region Behavioral Health Center board of trustees will discuss this morning in Zapata who should be selected to be interviewed for the executive director posi-
tion. The directors put together a search committee comprised of four board members to search for a new executive director. Board members Julie Bazan, Roberto Vela, Rosie Benavides and Yolanda Davis are part of the search commit-
tee. The search for an executive director comes after Daniel Castillon resigned in June to pursue other interests. Castillon had been employed with the mental health center for 26 years. He served in the capacity of executive director for 10 years. “They had a very deliberate and careful process to make sure that they choose the candidate they feel is best qualified for the position,” said the
center’s attorney, Juan Cruz. Currently, Maria Sanchez and Rolando Gutierrez are serving as co-interim executive directors. “The operations of the center have been running smoothly under the co-interim executive directors,” Cruz said. Vela added, “They have managed the center's business very successfully. They have been employed at the center for many years and are very experienced.
BORDER SECURITY
DOMESTIC CUTS MIGHT FINANCE WALL Taxpayers, not Mexico, to cover down payment By Andrew Taylor A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is proposing immediate budget cuts of $18 billion from programs like medical research, infrastructure and community grants so U.S. taxpayers, not Mexico, can Trump cover the down payment on the border wall. The White House documents Border continues on A12
Bryan Denton / NYT
This Jan. 28 file photo shows a vendor set up along the U.S.-Mexico border fence on the beach in Tijuana, Mexico.
By Aaron Nelsen RIO GRANDE VALLEY BUREAU
FRONTON – Along a remote bend in the Rio Grande, where invasive Carrizo cane obscure surrounding farm fields, border agents are on heightened alert. Earlier this month three men fishing on the river were shot, likely by gunfire from Mexico, authorities said. One of the men was killed. It was the latest in a spate of violent incidents over the past year, including assaults on U.S. Border Patrol agents, reinforcing the notion that Starr County is the most volatile stretch of the 2,000 mile border with Mexico. “Look at the cartel activity on the south side,” said Manuel Padilla, Jr. the Border Patrol’s sector chief in the Rio Grande Valley. “You have armored vehicles, you have grenade launchers, you have 50 (calibers), you have very ugly stuff on the south side that Mexico is battling.” Back at sector headquarters Padilla explained that personnel, technology and infrastructure helped border agents bring down illegal activity in its Tucson, San Diego and El Paso sectors. Significant investment in all three elements are also present in Cameron County and parts of Hidalgo County. But as enforcement ratcheted up in other South Texas counties, the problems of an unruly border have shifted to Starr, a county that has in recent years become ground zero in state and federal border security efforts. As Padilla sees it, the county’s relative lack of technology and infrastructure has made it a smuggling hotbed. “Cameron County accounts for less than 6 percent of my (immigrant) apprehensions, guess where it went,” Padilla said. “And when you have a Rio Grande continues on A11
ZAPATA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Missing Migrant International Summit held ZAPATA TIME S
Courtesy
A recently held Missing Migrant International Summit offered a way to formulate and share practices to prevent migrant deaths, locate and rescue those in distress, identify those who have perished and reunite their remains with their families.
The number of undocumented migrant deaths along the southern border of the United States remains at critical levels. Various entities continue to work to identify deceased migrants and arrange for their repatriation to their home countries, often with limited resourc-
es and funding. This work has historically been independent, with cooperation involving only agencies/entities of similar disciplines (eg. medical examiners, law enforcement, human rights groups and consulate offices). These multi-disciplined efforts have had some measure of success, but those successes have usually been restricted to
local levels and specific geographic locations. The purpose of a recently held Missing Migrant International Summit, attended by the Zapata County Sheriff’s Office, was to offer a broad range of stakeholders an opportunity to formulate and share best practices to prevent migrant deaths, Summit continues on A11