Stories - AZPM

Border Patrol agents process a group of nearly 250 migrants in Ajo, Arizona, on Wednesday, May 10.

Tucson Sector sets 15-year high with July border apprehensions

As unauthorized migration in the Tucson Sector surpasses Texas to become the busiest in the nation, DHS sends dozens of additional staff to help with surge.

DACA students and supporters gather in 2017 after the president announced the end of the program that allowed "Dreamers" to stay in the country.

Freeze on DACA approvals leaves thousands of Arizona migrants in limbo

While the Department of Homeland Security stopped processing first-time DACA applications in October 2022, those who have coverage are still able to apply for renewal.

A few of the Arizona-Mexico border from a helicopter operated by Customs and Border Protection's Air and Marine Operations. June 2021.

Kelly and Sinema criticize federal funding “failure” for migrant aid programs

Pima County warns migrant services may stop if funding is not increased.

A pair of bobcats behind a home in central Tucson.

The Center for Biological Diversity petitions Mexican environmental ministry to protect bobcats

The species faces numerous threats.

Vana Dee Lewis wearing one of her #WORTHY shirts.

Vana Dee Lewis wants you to know you are "#WORTHY."

Also on Arizona Spotlight: From Odyssey Storytelling, Ana Montanez shares a story about discovering inner strength, and Gabriel Dozal on his book "The Border Simulator."

Members from the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, and members from the Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, hosted a hearing Tuesday at Cochise College relating to the Biden Administration's approach to mitigating illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. Congressman Juan Ciscomani (R-Arizona) (right) attended the meeting. Congressman Andy Biggs (R-Arizona) (second from the left) talks about his perspective on the matter. August 8, 2023.

Border is an “Existential Crisis” to House Republicans

Five Congressional Republicans condemned President Biden’s border policy at a subcommittee hearing Tuesday afternoon in Cochise County.

Since the year 2000, the Pima County Medical Examiner has received nearly 4,000 sets of human remains from people who died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border into Arizona. Here, a cross marking the place where a man in his 30s died in 2009 lays a few hundred yards from one of the water stations the nonprofit Humane Borders sets out for migrants crossing the desert.

Woman dies after calling 911 from remote part of Arizona desert

A migrant died in Border Patrol custody after agents found her with symptoms of severe heat stroke.

Border officials process 241 migrants who crossed the border near Ajo, Arizona, on May 10, 2023, the day before the end of Title 42.

Apprehensions and rescues increase in Border Patrol Tucson Sector

Migrant apprehensions and rescues have reached record highs in Border Patrol's Tucson Sector, making it the busiest sector in the nation, with nearly half of the migrants being families.

Photo courtesy of Alejandra Aragón, a contributor to the Reclaiming the Border Narrative archive.

The University of Arizona launches website showcasing U.S.-Mexico borderlands stories to reclaim border narrative

The Confluencenter is collaborating with borderlands artists, advocates, journalists, and others to showcase stories, art and other projects from the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, aiming to present a comprehensive and diverse history of the region.

The summer of 2023 will be remembered for this unusual pairing of films.

The "Barbenheimer" Experience Arrives in Tucson

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Using a natural desert resource in a new way; and ""Chasing the Ghost Bear: On the Trail of America’s Lost Super Beast".

“To Erasures, Erasures" by Susan Briante

Poet Susan Briante shares an original poem that addresses immigration and the US-Mexico border.

A file image of a judge's gavel in a courtroom at the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

New report offers ideas to fix asylum backlog

The Migration Policy Institute says fixing both the court system and immigration reform are needed to solve irregular migration. But in the absence of legislative reform, their new report offers ways to streamline the asylum process.

Federal officials have installed 500 border lights in the San Bernardino Valley and Wildlife Refuge, according to the Center for Biological Diversity study, though the lights are not currently operational.

Court settlement includes meaningful border wall changes for wildlife

A settlement between the Biden administration and environmental groups stipulates changes to the border wall that are a win for Southern Arizona wildlife, including larger connectivity passages and environmental impact studies.

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs announced that Cochise County will be receiving $41 million dollars from the state to enhance border security during a press conference at Cochise College's Sierra Vista campus Wednesday. July 19, 2023.

Hobbs announces more than $41 million in state funds to Cochise County for border security

The funds came from the state's border security fund

Looking through the rusted-steel border wall into Mexico, at the San Pedro River bed.

DHS agrees to stop border wall construction, fund environmental remediation projects

A settlement agreement estimates $1.62 billion in funding and nearly $430 million returned to DOD projects.

Migrant encounters drop during first month since end of Title 42

Despite concerns that the end of Title 42 would bring an influx of migrants, the number of apprehensions continue to drop, in Arizona and across the U.S.-Mexico border.

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