Alexandra Rangel

1 week ago | azfamily.com | Alexandra Rangel

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, AZ (AZFamily) — A new stretch of border wall is set to be built in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, with 27 miles planned through a remote and ecologically sensitive region. The Department of Homeland Security has awarded Fisher Sand & Gravel, a North Dakota-based company, a $309 million contract to carry out the work. The project will cut through the San Rafael Valley, a biodiverse area in the Tucson Border Patrol Sector known for its grasslands and rare wildlife.

1 week ago | azfamily.com | Alexandra Rangel

YUMA, AZ (AZFamily) — As President Donald Trump waffles on workplace raids, farmers in Yuma are voicing frustration with their uncertain future. “It’s not right. It’s not right that we’re going through this,” said Francisco Claveros, a farmworker in Yuma County. Claveros is one of thousands of farmworkers who cross the border daily to keep the country’s farms running. “People might be afraid of going to work,” said José, another farmworker. José said there are rumblings of fear among workers.

1 week ago | azfamily.com | Alexandra Rangel

YUMA COUNTY, AZ (AZFamily) —About 40% of agricultural workers in the United States are undocumented, making farms and their labor force vulnerable to immigration enforcement. A viral video from Southern California shows ICE agents chasing farmworkers through agricultural fields. On that same day, federal agents raided a meatpacking plant in Nebraska, detaining 70 undocumented workers. Advocates and workers now warn that these tactics could leave fields empty and crops unharvested.

2 weeks ago | azfamily.com | Alexandra Rangel

YUMA, AZ (AZFamily) — Armored military vehicles have been spotted operating near the San Luis Port of Entry near Yuma as part of an ongoing joint effort between the Department of Defense and U.S. Border Patrol Yuma Sector. Arizona Family’s reporting team observed two military vehicles traveling about a mile east of the port, heading toward a more remote area along the southern border.

2 weeks ago | azfamily.com | Alexandra Rangel

SAN LUIS, AZ (AZFamily) — Voters in San Luis will soon decide the future of a city-owned detention center that houses federal immigrant detainees. City Council members approved a resolution to add the measure for the November special election, asking residents whether the city should sell the San Luis Regional Detention Center. The detention center has operated for nearly two decades, housing hundreds of federal detainees.