Southwest
CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Fence-cutting migrants busted by feds
SUNLAND PARK, N.M. — Multiple groups of illegal immigrants, including one group who sliced open border fencing to enter deeper into the U.S., were stopped by Border Patrol agents last week, as officials are drawing on more resources and tools to prevent them from fleeing into the U.S.
Fox News Digital was on the ground in the El Paso Sector, as Border Patrol agents on an early morning patrol caught multiple groups of illegal immigrants moving into the U.S.
One group, consisting mostly of Ecuadorians, was caught down a main road from the bollard border wall separating the U.S. and Mexico. The group were checked, given water, made to take off shoelaces and hand over their belongings, before being put into a transport van to the local Border Patrol station.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS
April 12, 2024: Migrants are apprehended near the border in New Mexico. (Fox News)
There, they will be subject to Title 8 removal proceedings, which could include a quick return to their country of origin via expedited removal, or it could mean entry into the United States as they await their immigration removal proceedings and a court hearing.
In another section near the port of entry, agents nabbed a group of migrants from Ecuador, Bolivia and Guatemala who had cut a hole in the border fence, but had been stopped by agents just feet from the hole. The fencing is, in some areas, reinforced by bollards, which in turn are sometimes filled with concrete in an effort to make cutting them harder. The group included two small children.
Agents have also found makeshift ladders and rope discarded near parts of the wall that are harder to cut through.
SPIKE IN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM THIS US ADVERSARY BLOWS LID OFF PREVIOUS YEAR’S RECORD
It’s an area where smugglers have operated for years and they are notoriously vicious. They will leave migrants behind if they get injured, or send them across, knowing that they are in danger to the elements. This was the area where, in 2021, smugglers heartlessly abandoned a five-year-old and three-year-old girl, dropping them over the fence before they were rescued by agents.
Border Patrol Agent Claudio Herrera told Fox News Digital that there were nearly 600 rescues of distressed migrants in FY 23, and so far in FY 24 there have been more than 320.
Migrants are apprehended near the border wall in New Mexico in this April 12, 2024, photo.
“Unfortunately, we have seen in the past how these transnational criminal organizations stash these migrants south of the border. And they don’t give them food or enough water. By the time they’re already arrived at our borders, they’re already dehydrated,” he said.
During some migrant surges, majorities of illegal immigrants have been turning themselves in the hope of being released. Here, that isn’t the case. One agent told Fox that the vast majority of encounters (as high as 95%) are migrants who are trying to evade Border Patrol rather than giving themselves up, suggesting that they’ve been briefed by smugglers that their chances of being returned are high.
Apprehensions in the sector are down sharply from last year. There were 427,471 in FY 23 by Border Patrol. So far in FY 24, which began in October, there have been just over 150,000. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) puts that decrease in part due to a multi-layered enforcement strategy that combines existing barriers, technology including autonomous surveillance towers, K-9 units and recent cooperation with state police to stop illegal entrants.
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“We are doing a fantastic job interdicting these individuals from smuggling schemes, in vehicles or also in the stash houses. We also have our checkpoints. We also have canines. We also have horse patrol, ATVs, you name it. We have all these different assets that help us do our job better,” Herrera said.
Elsewhere in the sector, Texas has also fortified existing barriers with extra layers of razor wire, a move that has led to a legal battle with the federal government.
But looming over the Sunland Park area is Mount Cristo Rey, where there can be no border barriers, due to the jagged terrain, and small white obelisks mark where the U.S. ends and Mexico begins. It’s a perilous area for migrants and agents alike.
Migrant scout oversees the border area near Mexico in this April 12, 2024, photo. (Fox News)
Agents with whom Fox was embedded spotted a helicopter from CBP’s Air and Marine Operations (AMO) flying low over the mountain’s border with Mexico, and followed up the ominous mountain, where cartel scouts were situated just on the Mexican side. A group of adult male migrants whom they were overseeing, but who had not yet reached the U.S., quickly turned back upon seeing the agents.
But the scouts remained just feet from the border, gesturing vulgarly at the agents and filming them and Fox’s reporter. The Border Patrol vehicle headed up the mountain and later returned, at which point the scouts had inched across into the U.S. side, but fled back over to the Mexican side when they saw the vehicle.
For the agents though, they don’t need to spend much time up in the mountains. With the extra levels of surveillance, including the autonomous surveillance towers that use AI to track and identify migrants, agents can track any migrants clambering across the mountain and wait for them at the bottom when they come down and have tired themselves out.
Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.
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Southwest
Texas requires students learn about ‘perils of communism’ in sweeping new curriculum overhaul
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A rewrite of Texas’ social studies curriculum will require educators to teach students about the perils of communism, according to a recent report.
“The new framework, known as the ‘comprehensive’ model, introduces a novel chronological approach to history and signals that the process will result in drastically different new standards,” the Houston Chronicle reported.
Set to take effect in the fall of 2030, “the model, favored by conservatives on the board, boosts the proportion of Texas history, and removes standalone world cultures courses,” the piece said.
“Third grade will now begin with ‘birth of Western civilizations’ and eighth grade will become a Texas history-only capstone course.”
LET’S TEACH OUR KIDS WHY AMERICA IS WORTH FIGHTING FOR
A rewrite of Texas’ social studies curriculum will require educators to teach students about the perils of communism, according to a recent report. (fstop123/iStock via Getty Images Plus)
The State Board of Education approved the Social Studies plan by a vote of 8-7 in September.
Under the revised standards, the curriculum will focus more on Texas history and U.S. history rather than world history and cultures.
The Houston Chronicle reported that Democrats on the board raised concerns about the changes.
“Democrats on the board say the new framework reduces representation, will be more difficult for teachers to explain and delays lessons about nonwhite people to later grades,” the piece said.
“Looking at this storytelling thing, when do people that look like me get to learn about themselves before the fifth grade?” Staci Childs, D-Houston, was quoted as saying in the article, speaking about herself and other Black or Hispanic members of the board.
The Houston Chronicle also reported, “The standards are also being revised to align with recently-passed state law that requires students to be taught about the perils of communism.”
FIVE HOPEFUL SIGNS COLLEGE STUDENTS ARE SEEKING TRUTH ONCE MORE
Under the revised standards, the curriculum will focus more on Texas history and U.S. history rather than world history and cultures. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)
In the revised framework, according to the report, “Students must learn about ‘atrocities attributable to communist regimes,’ including the Cambodian genocide, guerrilla movements in Latin America and the ‘oppression and suffering experienced by people living under communist regimes.’ The lessons must also touch on modern threats posed to the U.S. and its allies by communist regimes and ideologies.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Texas State Board of Education; Rep. Aaron Kinsey, R-Midland, chair of the Texas State Board of Education; and Childs for comment.
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State Democrats raised concerns about the new curriculum, with one state lawmaker saying it reduces representation of Black and Hispanic Texans. (Getty)
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Southwest
San Antonio teen who vanished Christmas Eve found dead by suicide in nearby field after days-long search
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This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Texas authorities confirmed on Thursday a missing San Antonio teen who vanished on Christmas Eve took her own life.
Camila Mendoza Olmos, 19, was last seen alive at about 7 a.m. on Dec. 24, walking a few blocks from her home.
Olmos’ body was found Tuesday in a field just a few hundred yards from her home, next to a gun, according to a report from affiliate FOX 7 Austin.
Officials confirmed they found the body of Camila Mendoza Olmos, who went missing on Christmas Eve. (Help Find Camila Mendoza Olmos via Facebook)
BODY FOUND DURING SEARCH FOR MISSING TEXAS TEEN CAMILA MENDOZA OLMOS AS ANOTHER TEEN GIRL DISAPPEARS
The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the body as Olmos on Wednesday, determining the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head and ruling the manner of death a suicide, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office previously said Olmos had a history of suicidal ideation and depression, noting there were no signs of foul play.
Camila Olmos was reported missing on Christmas Eve morning. (Bexar County Sheriff)
MISSING CAMILA MENDOZA OLMOS: DASHCAM CAPTURES LAST SIGHTING OF TEXAS TEEN WHO VANISHED CHRISTMAS EVE
The body appeared to have been in the location where it was found for several days, according to authorities.
In a Facebook post Wednesday afternoon, family members thanked the community for their support.
“In the name of the Olmos family, we want to give a humble and heartfelt thank you to all the news reporters, churches, friends, families, and communities for your support and prayers,” Nancy Olmos wrote in the post. “Our beloved Camila Mendoza Olmos is now with the Good Lord.”
Camila Mendoza Olmos’ manner of death was ruled a suicide, according to officials. (Help Find Camila Mendoza Olmos via Facebook)
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“We kindly ask that you please respect our pain and, most importantly, keep my cousin Rosario—Camila’s mom—and my nephew Carlos—Camila’s brother—in your prayers during this incredibly difficult time,” she added. “Thank you, and God bless you all.”
Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
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Southwest
University of Oklahoma teaching assistant fired after flunking Christian student files appeal with school
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A University of Oklahoma graduate teaching assistant who was fired after flunking a Christian student who cited the Bible in an essay, causing a national uproar, is appealing the school’s decision.
Brittany Stewart, a self-employed and self-described civil rights lawyer, said she is representing William “Mel” Curth, who assessed student Samantha Fulnecky a zero out of 25 on an assignment about gender norms.
“Today, my client, Mel Curth, submitted her appeal of the University’s Institutional Equity Office finding that she engaged in arbitrary and capricious grading of a student’s assignment in violation of that student’s religious liberty,” Stewart said on Bluesky earlier this week.
OU student Samantha Fulnecky, with her Bible, in the Oklahoma Memorial Union, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman/Imagn Images)
“Ms. Curth fully denies that she engaged in any discriminatory behavior,” the statement continues. “It is her position that the investigation was flawed, failed to consider all possible motives and issues, and that new evidence has come to light that undermines the investigation’s conclusion.”
CONSERVATIVE PROFESSOR SLAMS 0 GRADE FOR OKLAHOMA STUDENT’S BIBLICAL ESSAY AS PUNITIVE: ‘VERY INAPPROPRIATE’
Stewart did not specify what the new evidence is.
For the assignment, Curth, who uses she/they pronouns, asked students to read a short paper called, “Relations Among Gender Typicality, Peer Relations, and Mental Health During Early Adolescence,” which discusses results of a study about gender norms among middle schoolers and the social ramifications children may face if they don’t conform to gender norms.
The students were instructed to provide a “thoughtful discussion of some aspect of the article.”
Fulnecky, a junior at the school, responded by saying she thought gender norms should not be viewed as stereotypes. She cited Genesis, the first book of the Bible, in which God created men and women equally, but with separate purposes.
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA REMOVES PROFESSOR FOR ALLEGED DISCRIMINATION RELATED TO TA WHO GAVE CHRISTIAN STUDENT 0
Students walk on campus between classes at the University of Oklahoma on March 11, 2015, in Norman, Oklahoma. (Brett Deering/Getty Images)
“Gender roles and tendencies should not be considered ‘stereotypes,’” Fulnecky wrote in her essay. “Women naturally want to do womanly things because God created us with those womanly desires in our hearts. The same goes for men. God created men in the image of His courage and strength, and He created women in the image of His beauty. He intentionally created women differently than men and we should live our lives with that in mind.”
She later described the normalization of non-binary gender as “demonic.”
Curth took exception to Fulnecky’s response.
“Please note that I am not deducting points because you have certain beliefs, but instead I am deducting point [sic] for you posting a reaction paper that does not answer the questions for this assignment, contradicts itself, heavily uses personal ideology over empirical evidence in a scientific class, and is at times offensive,” Curth’s explanation for the grade said, later adding that the essay was “offensive” and claiming that science backs the idea that “gender is neither binary nor fixed.”
THIS WEEK IN CAMPUS RADICALS: CHRISTIAN STUDENT FLUNKED, JEWISH STUDENTS SHAKEN, CONSERVATIVE GROUPS BLOCKED
There were three grading criteria, according to Fulnecky, who said none of those criteria listed empirical evidence as a requirement.
“Does the paper show a clear tie-in to the assigned article?” was the first, worth up to 10 out of the assignment’s 25 total points.
“Does the paper present a thoughtful reaction or response to the article, rather than a summary?” was the second, also worth up to 10 points.
“Is the paper clearly written?” was the last criterion, worth up to five points.
OU student Samantha Fulnecky, with her Bible, in the Oklahoma Memorial Union, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
OU STUDENT’S ZERO FOR CHRISTIAN-BASED GENDER CRITIQUE TRIGGERS CONGRESSIONAL PUSHBACK OVER ACADEMIC BIAS
Fulnecky filed an official religious discrimination complaint with the school after receiving the zero grade, and Curth was put on administrative leave pending an investigation.
On Dec. 22, the University of Oklahoma released a statement saying Curth had been fired.
“Based on an examination of the graduate teaching assistant’s prior grading standards and patterns, as well as the graduate teaching assistant’s own statements related to this matter, it was determined that the graduate teaching assistant was arbitrary in the grading of this specific paper,” the school said. “The graduate teaching assistant will no longer have instructional duties at the University.”
Stewart said in her statement that Fulnecky had an ulterior political motive for challenging the grade, and slammed the university for making public statements while she said Curth is bound by “confidentiality rules.”
“Rather than engaging in discrimination, Mel Curth has been the target of a political movement that seeks to silence and/or oust LGBTQ people from academia,” Stewart’s statement concludes. “Ms. Curth will continue to fight back against these harmful allegations.”
A University of Oklahoma campus sign is pictured in Norman, Oklahoma, on Dec. 1, 2024. (Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital reached out to Stewart and the University of Oklahoma for comment.
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