8 offer pleas in Mexican Mafia case

By BETH DeFALCO
Associated Press Writer

PHOENIX (AP) -- Eight defendants linked to the New Mexican Mafia prison gang entered guilty pleas Thursday in federal court after prosecutors agreed to take the death penalty off the table.

The New Mexican Mafia - or New Eme - is described as a criminal syndicate originally identified within the Arizona Department of Corrections in the late 1970s. It was said to be a group of inmates who split from the original Mexican Mafia. Law enforcement officials say it was a well-organized gang based on a military-style structure.

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Border Patrol may set pot seizure record
BY BLAKE SCHMIDT, SUN STAFF WRITER

They still have nine months to go, but U.S. Border Patrol agents are on pace to break the record they set last year for annual marijuana seizures in Yuma County.

So far in the current 2006 fiscal year, agents have seized a total of nearly 12,000 pounds of pot in the Yuma sector, which extends from the southeastern corner of California to the Yuma-Pima county line.

In the same time frame of fiscal 2005, agents had seized 3,400 pounds of marijuana, said sector spokesman Michael Gramley.

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Hispanic literacy in U.S. shows troubling signs

Federal report indicates a rising number of those 16 and older lack even basic skills

By MATTHEW TRESAUGUE
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

An estimated 11 million U.S. adults lack the literacy skills to perform everyday tasks, while an increasing number of Hispanics struggle to do more than sign a form in English, a federal survey shows.

Forty-four percent of Hispanics, ages 16 and older, do not have basic English skills, meaning they might be unable to use a television guide to find out what programs are on at a specific time or to compare ticket prices for two events. That is a substantial increase from 36 percent a decade ago, the last time the federal government released such a comprehensive literacy study.

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House OKs border fence, spars on other issues

Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The House continued to struggle Friday over how best to shut down illegal immigration, approving the construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border but putting off debate on an explosive proposal to deny citizenship to babies born in this country to undocumented immigrants.

The legislation on strengthening border controls and cracking down on the hiring of undocumented immigrants headed for a vote Friday after the House Rules Committee, which determines allowable amendments, rejected the birthright amendment.

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Immigrant tuition spurs lawsuit in California

Erica Molina Johnson
El Paso Times

A lawsuit filed against the University of California for allowing undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition could have implications in El Paso.

The students suing the university claim the school is violating federal law by allowing undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition while charging higher rates for U.S. citizens living outside the state.

Texas allows the same practice at state schools, including at the University of Texas at El Paso.

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8 Mexican Firms, 23 People Are Indicted Over Sales of Illegal Steroids

By Tony Perry
Times Staff Writer

SAN DIEGO — Federal prosecutors Thursday unsealed the indictments of eight Mexican companies and 23 people suspected of selling more than 80% of the illegal anabolic steroids used in the U.S.

The anabolic steroids, which are illegal in the U.S. but legal in Mexico, were sold at border pharmacies and over the Internet, prosecutors said.

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Third border crossing sought by area leaders

By Diane Lindquist
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

CHULA VISTA – Congestion at the two San Diego-Tijuana border crossings is so great, leaders from both sides of the border said yesterday, that a new port of entry is needed immediately.

The soonest one can be built, however, is 12 to 14 years away, they said.

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Fox calls increased U.S. border enforcement 'shameful'
By Olga R. Rodriguez

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MONTERREY, Mexico – President Vicente Fox on Wednesday criticized the United States' decision to strengthen its border security and complete a wall along the two countries common border calling it "disgraceful and shameful."

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Mexican police break up international ring that produced estimated $5 million in fake U.S. bills
By Lisa J. Adams
ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEXICO CITY – Mexican investigators on Wednesday announced the dismantling of an international counterfeiting ring that produced an estimated US$5 million in fake $100 bills during more than four years of operation in Mexico.

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Police find body outside government official's house in Mexican border city

ASSOCIATED PRESS
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico – Police found the body of a man in a car parked outside the house of the Ciudad Juarez traffic director, authorities said Wednesday.

Killings likely linked to organized crime have claimed at least 40 victims since the beginning of the year in Ciudad Juarez, a city of 1.3 million people across the border from El Paso, Texas.