Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 123, No. 151 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
June 24, 2014
TUESDAY
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Number of immigrant families released unknown
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration has released into the U.S. an untold number of immigrant families caught traveling illegally from Central America in recent months — and although the government knows how many it’s released, it won’t say publicly. Senior U.S. of ficials directly familiar with the issue, including at the Homeland Security Department and White House, have so far dodged the answer on at least seven
occasions over two weeks, alternately saying that they did not know the figure or didn’t have it immediately at hand. “We will get back to you,” the Homeland Security deputy secretary said Friday. The figure is widely believed to exceed 40,000 since October. It’s believed to be slightly below the roughly 52,000 children caught traveling illegally from Central America over the same period, an extraordinary increase since last year that is driv-
ing a humanitarian crisis at the border. Despite promises to the contrary, this is how it looks when the image-conscious Obama administration doesn’t want to reveal politically sensitive information that could influence an important policy debate. The mystery figure is significant because the number of families caught crossing from Central America represents a large share of new immigration cases that will further strain the overwhelmed U.S. immigration
courts system. It also affects federal enforcement strategy, such as where to deploy the border patrol, and political calculations about whether Congress or the White House will relax American immigration laws or regulations before upcoming congressional elections in November. Most of the immigrant families are from Honduras, El Salvador or Guatemala and cannot be immediately repatriated, so the government has been releasing them into the
Miss Roswell competes in Miss NM Pageant BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
The 22 Miss New Mexico Pageant contestants were in Roswell Monday visiting the UFO Museum and Mine That Bird. Among the contestants is Jessica Burson, the 2014 Miss Roswell, who will take to the Spencer Theater stage on Thursday in Ruidoso to compete in the Miss New Mexico Pageant, beginning at 7 p.m. with the first preliminary competition. The second preliminary competition will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday with the final competition and crowning held at 8 p.m. on Saturday. The winner of the Miss New Mexico title will move on to the Miss America competition in Atlantic City, N.J., in September. Burson hopes to represent New Mexico on the national stage, but she
Randal Seyler Photos
Above: Miss Roswell Jessica Burson, second from left, poses with fellow Miss New Mexico Pageant contestants on Monday at the Double Eagle Ranch near Roswell. The Miss New Mexico contenders met Mine That Bird and then received a tour of the UFO Museum. Right: The Miss New Mexico Pageant contestants wore Kentucky Derby-themed hats to meet Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird.
families caught crossing the border illegally, usually mothers with children. It has space for fewer than 100 family members at its only detention center for them, in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The administration announced Friday that it will open new detention facilities for immigrant families, including a 700bed facility at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, which is
U.S. interior and telling them to report within 15 days to the nearest U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement of fices. Despite promises for better transparency on immigration issues, the administration has been unwilling to say how many immigrant families it’s released — hundreds or thousands — or how many of those subsequently reported back to the government after 15 days as directed. The government has limited options for detaining
Burson
points out that she is a newbie to the pageant circuit.
“This is my first pageant ever, but I have shown livestock my entire life,” Burson, 20, said on Friday. “I of ficially retired when I aged out of livestock showing, and now have an opportunity to be a role model for young people. I
See IMMIGRANTS, Page A3
see this as an opportunity to overcome a lot of barriers and a great opportunity for me to show my strengths.” If you don’t remember there being a Miss Roswell Pageant this year, that is because there wasn’t one, Burson said. She was awarded the Fiesta Title and had raised money for the Children’s Miracle Network, and was offered the Miss Roswell title by the pageant director since there was not going to be anyone to carry on the title in 2014. “God puts blessings in different packages,” she said. One of those blessings was the Kids to the Park Day in June, sponsored by Healthy Kids of Chaves County, which happens to be where Burson works. “It was hot, but that event was really awesome,” See PAGEANT, Page A3
Well owners urged Garcia: Nation’s future depends on education to test water quality
SANTA FE (AP) — The oil and gas industry and the watchdog groups following them are in agreement on one issue — getting New Mexico well owners to have their water quality tested. The New Mexico Oil and Gas Association said well owners should voluntarily get their water tested before and after any drilling activity, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported Monday. But the organization’s reasoning is to prove that drilling won’t have any negative effects on groundwater. Wally Drangmeister, an association spokesman, said “misinformation and innuendo” have led to the mistaken perception that oil and gas drilling aren’t
safe. “There are many water wells in New Mexico that have issues completely unrelated to oil and gas operations, but people have tried to blame well problems on oil and gas,” Drangmeister said. Watchdog groups, however, have been pushing for privately-owned wells to get tested so industry stakeholders are held accountable. Kathleen Dudley, a spokeswoman for Drilling Mora County, an activist group, said residents with wells should be gauging the water quality for their own protection. “If a homeowner See WELLS, Page A3
AP Photo
This June 18 file photo shows acting Veterans Affairs Secretary Sloan Gibson speaking in Washington.
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TODAY’S FORECAST
BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
The value of a college education goes far beyond its economic impact — in fact, the nation’s future may well depend on higher education, said Dr. Jose Z. Garcia, New Mexico’s secretary of higher education. Garcia was in Roswell on Sunday as the keynote speaker for the second annual Friends of the Cowboy Bell Scholarship Fund dinner, held at the First United Methodist Church. The annual dinner is a fundraising event for the Cowboy Bell Scholarship Fund. The scholarship began in 1977, and in the intervening years, the fund has provided $1.3 million in scholarships to 6,400
Randal Seyler Photo
Dr. Doug Mills, pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Roswell, at left, visits with Dr. Jose Z. Garcia. Garcia is the New Mexico secretary of higher education, and he was the keynote speaker at the Friends of Cowboy Bell Scholarship Fund dinner on Sunday.
students.
“I applaud your efforts to help young people attend college,” Garcia said. “Sometimes it isn’t so
much the amount of the scholarship, but the thought that someone believes in you and supports your dreams that
make the difference.” Garcia said his mother was bor n in Greenfield, and she was able to attend college thanks to a $35 scholarship from the Roswell Chamber of Commerce. “She often told me that $35 made the difference in whether or not she would go to school that year, and if she hadn’t gone then she probably would not have gotten to go.” His mother eventually had a full career as a teacher. “So you never know how much good you are going to do with a scholarship, regardless of how big or small the amount,” he said. “That is why I truly respect what you are doing See EDUCATION, Page A3
VA challenged on handling of whistleblower charges
WASHINGTON (AP) — A top federal investigator has identified “a troubling patter n of deficient patient care” at Veterans Affairs facilities around the country that she says was pointed out by whistleblowers but downplayed by the department. The problems went far beyond the extraordinarily long wait time for some appointments — and the attempts to cover them up — that has put the department under intense scrutiny. In a letter Monday to
President Barack Obama, Carolyn Lerner of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel cited canceled appointments with no follow up, drinking water contaminated with the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease and improper handling of surgical equipment and supplies. One veteran was admitted to a longterm mental health facility but didn’t get a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation for eight years.
• THELMA (LUCILE) EVERETT MOODY • ADA RAMSEY MASHAW
• PHILLIP “P- NUT” LOPEZ JR.
Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson said he had launched a departmental
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A6
review due to be completed within 14 days. “I am deeply disappointed not only in the substantiation of allegations raised by whistleblowers, but also in the failures within VA to take whistleblower complaints seriously,” he said in a statement. Lerner said the VA consistently acknowledges problems but says the quality of patient care is not af fected, which she referred to as “the VA’s typical har mless error approach.” “This approach has preCLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B4
vented the VA from acknowledging the severity of systemic problems and from taking the necessary steps to provide quality care to veterans,” Lerner wrote to Obama. “As a result, veterans’ health and safety has been unnecessarily put at risk.” Complaints about a lack of access to VA health care have prompted a national outcry that led to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki’s resignation. The most startling allegations have arisen out
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2
HOROSCOPES .........B6 LOTTERIES .............A2
See VA, Page A3
OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8