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FEDERAL COURT
Man illegally crossed Group of four charged for transporting 11 people 9 people
Immigrant smugglers indicted By César G. Rodriguez THE ZAPATA TIME S
Suspect has been charged By César G. Rodriguez TH E ZAPATA T IME S
A man has been arrested in Zapata for transporting nine people who crossed the border illegally, according to an affidavit. A criminal complaint filed Tuesday identified the suspect as Carlos Javier Sanchez and charged him with transporting illegal immigrants. The incident unfolded May 8. An off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent observed what appeared to be a human smuggling attempt along U.S. 83 in Zapata. An offduty agent allegedly spotted two suspicious vehicles, a gold Nissan Altima and a gold Nissan Armada, parked on the side of the road. “After viewing people run from the brush and enter one of the vehicles, the (agent) notified the Zapata (Border Patrol) station of the incident and requested they respond to the location,” states the complaint. Agents said they encountered the Armada heading north on U.S. 83 and conducted a vehicle stop. Authorities identified the driver as Sanchez. They determined that his nine passengers were not in the country legally. Homeland Security Investigations special agents responded to the Zapata Station to investigate the attempted human smuggling. Records alleged Sanchez opted to speak to authorities without an attorney present. Sanchez had allegedly agreed to pick up two female immigrants and transport them to Laredo for $200 each. “Sanchez said that he reluctantly picked up seven other (undocumented immigrants) at the pick-up Crossed continues on A10
Four people accused of picking up illegal immigrants in Zapata County were indicted this week in a Laredo federal court, an affidavit states. An indictment filed Tuesday identified the defendants as Karina Cruz-Madrid, Jose Guadalupe Jimenez, Tonie Jo Ann Gonzalez-Pacheco and Cynthia
Veronica Rodriguez-Raya. All were charged with one count of conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants within the United States and four counts of attempt to transport undocumented people for financial gain. If convicted, they could face up to 10 years behind bars. They have arraignment May 19 in courtroom 2C before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hack-
er. The group was charged with transporting 11 immigrants, according to a criminal complaint filed April 25. The alleged smuggling attempt occurred April 22 in an area north of San Ygnacio. That day, a concerned citizen called U.S. Border Patrol saying that a white GMC heavy duty dually truck and a green Ford Expedition were on the side of
U.S. 83 possibly picking up illegal immigrants, court records state. Agents said they attempted an immigration inspection on the occupants of the GMC because the vehicle had been reported stolen out of Atascosa County. The GMC sped off and went onto on-coming traffic until it collided with a parked work truck, authorities said. Indicted continues on A10
LGBT RIGHTS
TRANSGENDER BATHROOM DIRECTIVE INTENSIFIES DEBATE Republican leaders draw backlash over policy By Richard Pérez-Peña and Jack Healy NEW YORK TIME S
The Obama administration’s directive Friday on the use of school bathrooms and locker rooms by transgender students intensified the latest fierce battle in the nation’s culture wars, with conservatives calling it an illegal overreach that will put children in danger and advocates for transgender rights hailing it as a breakthrough for civil rights. The policy drew a swift backlash from conservative politicians, groups and parents. In Texas, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick appealed to local school boards and superintendents not to abide by the administration’s directive, noting that there were just a few weeks left in the school year and time over the summer to fight the policy with legislation or legal action. “We will not be blackmailed,” he said. “I believe it is the biggest issue facing families and schools in America since prayer was
LM Otero / Associated Press
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, right, listens to a reporter's question during a news conference at the Texas Republican Convention on Friday, in Dallas. Texas is signaling the state will challenge an Obama administrative directive over bathroom access for transgender students in public schools.
taken out of public schools,” Patrick, a Republican, said at a news conference. “Parents are not going to send their 14-yearold daughters into the shower or bathroom with 14-year-old boys. It’s not going to happen.”
With a jab at another job Patrick has held, Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said, “I think this does underscore the risk of electing a right-wing radio host to a statewide office.”
Earlier in the day, the Justice and Education departments sent a letter to school districts saying that students must be allowed to use the facilities that match the gender they identify as, even if Debate continues on A10
MEXICO
Violence created growing population of displaced ASSOCIATED PRE SS
Alejandrino Gonzalez / Associated Press
In this file photo, people stand next to the body of police commander David Urquizo Molina after he was gunned down in the city of Chilpancingo, Guerrero State, Mexico. Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission said Wednesday that the violence unleashed by organized crime has forced thousands of people to abandon their homes.
MEXICO CITY — Violence unleashed by organized crime has forced thousands of people in Mexico to abandon their homes, adding to the country’s internally displaced population, the country’s National Human Rights Commission said Wednesday. The commission said it interviewed 1,784 people who reported being displaced. But it also said information from others, including local authorities and human rights organi-
zations, produced a total of at least 35,433 people who have fled. Commission President Luis Raul Gonzalez said the report did not measure the phenomenon as much as make it more visible so authorities can address it with a new law for victims. “Forced internal displacement in Mexico is a problem whose magnitude and real reach still must be investigated and determined in an objective and integrated manner,” Gonzalez said. The commission’s fig-
ure was only a fraction of an estimate released Wednesday by an international humanitarian group. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, a Norway-based non-governmental organization, estimated that at the end of 2015, Mexico had 287,000 internally displaced people resulting from conflict and disasters. The report estimated nearly 100,000 newly displaced people in Mexico last year, the vast majority because of disasters. The group tries to meaMexico continues on A10