Beto O'Rourke to stump in Tucson

Beto O'Rourke, a Democratic presidential candidate, will hold a "town hall" meeting in Tucson on Sunday. The former Texas congressman lost a high-profile U.S. Senate race to Ted Cruz last year.... Read more»

Giffords report claims gun violence in Arizona costs state billions

A new report claims that Arizona loses as much as $1.9 billion every year to costs directly associated with gun violence, from lost wages to expenses on everything from health care to police and criminal justice. ... Read more»

During Trump's visit, El Paso residents criticized his divisiveness — and lawmakers' inaction on gun laws

Anger and frustration about gun laws — and president's racist language — is becoming more apparent in a city still dealing with grief from what police have said is a racially motivated massacre.... Read more»

How Teach for America evolved into an arm of the charter school movement

The Walton Foundation, a staunch supporter of school choice and Teach for America’s largest private funder, was paying $4,000 for every teacher placed in a traditional public school — and $6,000 for every one placed in a charter school.... Read more»

What the Devil won't tell you

Gallego's decision to bow out of Senate race a missed opportunity for Dems

A Ruben Gallego primary run against Mark Kelly may have been the final step in turning Arizona purple, which is sort of like watching that first platypus grow a bill.... Read more»

Video: When Beto got busted at the border

Beto O'Rourke announced Thursday that he's running for president. Back in 2013, during a visit to Nogales, the then-freshman Democrat had an up-close encounter with border security. TucsonSentinel.com captured the story.... Read more»

Texas facility for migrant kids will remain open into 2019, feds confirm

The facility, which critics have called a “tent city” and sits on a remote port of entry, was opened in June to house mainly unaccompanied minors who crossed the border without parents or guardians.... Read more»

ICE dumps hundreds of migrants with nowhere to go at El Paso bus depot on Christmas Eve

EL PASO – Hundreds of asylum-seekers spent part of Christmas Eve in a downtown parking lot here without knowing where they’ll end up next.... Read more»

Analysis: One last Ted Cruz and Beto O’Rourke Texas election headline

It was a tighter race than the Republicans or the Democrats initially expected, but in the end, Ted Cruz won another six years in the U.S. Senate over Democrat Beto O'Rourke.... Read more»

Time runs out for Congress to address border crisis

Lawmakers spent hours earlier debating the merits of a border bill. But CSPAN reported that House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, failed to garner enough support from his GOP colleagues, who argued the measure was not strong enough.... Read more»

Texas Dems divided over border crisis bill

Proposed legislation to address the surge of unaccompanied Central American children crossing into the U.S. is dividing Texas’ border lawmakers. ... Read more»

Border Patrol ramping up in Rio Grande Valley

Border Patrol agents say the illegal traffic on public and private land in the Rio Grande Valley has triggered the need for additional resources in the region. In addition to the controversial border fence that straddles miles of the Rio Grande in this swampy part of Texas, the Valley has also seen an influx of watchtowers, barricades and agents.... Read more»

Lawmakers file a bipartisan bill on CBP oversight

Border lawmakers from opposing parties introduced legislation this week that would increase the monitoring of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s use-of-force practices and create a uniform complaint process to address allegations of misconduct by agency officials.... Read more»

Activists: CBP use-of-force directive a first step

Civil liberties and immigrant rights groups are welcoming the release of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s use-of-force policy and a new directive for U.S. Border Patrol agents as a signal of greater transparency, but those groups — along with some congressmen — argue that more should be done.... Read more»

Torn between higher taxes and border hassles

As part of President Enrique Peña Nieto’s economic reforms in Mexico, the federal value-added tax in regions within about 12.5 miles of the border was raised this year to 16 percent from 11 percent, matching the rest of the country. As a result, economists and local government officials in Texas are eyeing millions in additional dollars being spent by Mexican residents who are willing to cross the Rio Grande to save on items from toilet paper to electronics.... Read more»