El Paso Matters

06/05/2026

The EPISD board voted Thursday to declare financial exigency and start eliminating jobs under a plan that will leave the district with a $4.3 million deficit next year. The adopted plan will result in the loss of 54 teaching jobs and 40 administrative contract positions, down from the more than 400 job cuts previously outlined by the district. Here’s how trustees voted and what happened at the five-hour long meeting.

The EPISD board declared a financial exigency Thursday, paving the way for more than 400 job eliminations as the district confronts a projected $42 million budget deficit.

06/05/2026

El Paso’s largest school district is bracing for a massive overhaul and job loss Thursday, with the El Paso Independent School District Board of Trustees set to declare financial exigency and begin a process to eliminate hundreds of jobs.

More than 400 jobs are set to be eliminated at EPISD as trustees prepare to vote Thursday on a financial exigency declaration aimed at closing a projected budget deficit of more than $40 million.

The decision marks the culmination of a rapidly unfolding fiscal crisis and could have lasting effects on educators, families and the broader El Paso economy.

Those losing jobs will primarily be women, because just over two-thirds of educators in EPISD are women, according to Texas Education Agency data.

Read more at elpasomatters.org 🔗 Tap the link in our bio.

06/04/2026

BREAKING: After nearly four months in ICE detention in El Paso while in need of surgery for an ovarian cyst, a 23-year-old Minnesota woman originally from Guatemala has been released, her attorney said. Andrea Pedro Francisco was arrested Feb. 5 in Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge and sent to El Paso. She was released Wednesday.

“Now that I know I'm going home, I think first of my family, of seeing my family again,” Pedro Francisco said in a statement provided to El Paso Matters.

“Now that I know I'm going home, I think first of my family, of seeing my family again,” Andrea Pedro Francisco, who spent nearly four months in ICE detention in El Paso, said in a statement. Doctors have said she is in need of surgery for a growing ovarian cyst.

06/04/2026

El Paso’s largest school district will move forward with the most significant workforce reduction in its history Thursday night. The EPISD board is poised to declare a financial exigency and approve more than 400 job cuts as district leaders confront a projected budget deficit exceeding $40 million.

An El Paso Matters analysis found that women educators have already experienced a disproportionate share of job losses tied to declining enrollment and are likely to be most affected by the latest reductions.

The EPISD board is expected to declare a financial exigency Thursday, paving the way for more than 400 job eliminations as the district confronts a projected $42 million budget deficit.

06/04/2026

An Associated Press investigation reveals that dozens of children who were separated under the first Trump administration have been re-separated, despite a judge's order to reunite them. Some of their parents have been locked in immigration detention facilities for months, others deported back to their home countries after being taken from their families once again.

Ederson Galicia Alva, now 11, was separated from his mother twice. After nearly a year in Guatemala, his family returned to Florida last week under a federal judge's order.

More from the Associated Press:

Dozens of children who were separated under the first Trump administration have been re-separated, despite a judge's order to reunite them. Some parents have been locked in immigration detention facilities for months, others deported.

06/03/2026

Happy Global Running Day! 🏃‍♀️

Every runner has a story. Whether you're training for your next race, getting back into a running routine or just looking for a goal to work toward, now is the perfect time to sign up for the El Paso Matters 9.15K.

Join us Sept. 19 in Downtown El Paso for a race that celebrates our community and supports independent local journalism. Not ready for the full 9.15K? Our 1-Mile Fun Run/Walk is a great way to be part of the event, too.

⏰ Register by June 30 to lock in the lowest price of $40. Registration fees increase July 1.

One Run. Countless Stories. What's yours?

🔗 Sign up today at elpasomatters.org/run

06/03/2026

BREAKING: A measles quarantine is underway at Camp East Montana, the ICE detention facility on Fort Bliss, after nearly 180 detainees were identified as possible contacts of two confirmed measles cases at a detention center in Arizona. Health officials say no one under quarantine has shown symptoms, but the situation has raised questions about whether state and local public health authorities were notified in a timely manner.

ICE detainees at Fort Bliss are under quarantine after possible exposure to measles linked to confirmed cases at an Arizona detention facility, health officials said. State and local officials appear not to have been notified for several days.

06/03/2026

BREAKING: A day after a city council representative called to terminate the city’s Meta data center tax break deal, El Paso’s top city officials said El Paso can’t cancel the agreement. The mayor, city manager and city attorney acknowledged public concerns, but warned that breaking the agreement could expose the city to litigation and damages.

El Paso’s top city officials said the municipal government cannot back out of a tax break agreement it granted Meta after a city council representative called to terminate the deal.

06/03/2026

The city of El Paso responded to 84 illegal dumping reports this year, as of April. Many more incidents go unreported, leading residents to organize community cleanups around El Paso.

“We are trying to control the bleeding, but we gotta stop the bleeding,” said Rick Flores of Desert Rescue 915. https://elpasomatters.org/2026/06/03/el-paso-illegal-dumping-bulk-trash-pickup-landfill-community-cleanups/

06/03/2026

Catch this week’s top events across El Paso.

🎬 Parks After Sunset: “Zootopia”
🤼 Lucha League Cereal Party
🥾 Beginner Hiking Workshop
🎶 Windy City at Cool Canyon Nights
🎨 Mago Gándara documentary and panel
🦁 El Paso Zoo Sip and Paint fundraiser
🏳️‍🌈 Museum of History Family Day: Pride

Plan your week with our full events roundup. https://elpasomatters.org/2026/06/03/el-paso-things-to-do-parks-after-sunset-zootopia-lucha-league-macc-pride-month/