LAREDO, Tx. (KGNS) - City of Laredo Mayor Dr. Victor Trevino is applauding the efforts of our local law enforcement as well as the school districts’ quick response to dismiss classes.

Dr. Trevino said the information about the threat was passed along to the Emergency management Coordinator Guillermo Heard who then informed local law enforcement agencies.

During a time of active shootings and bomb threats, Dr. Trevino said any threat needs to be taken seriously.

“We have difficult times now adays, not like before and we take all threats seriously, whether they can be true or not true, we have to act like they are all true.

During a press conference Acting Police Chief Steven Landin said the threat was not credible and that officers went to the schools to make sure there were no devices in any of the campuses.

The FBI is investigating the threat.

McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — Millions of dollars have been earmarked to clean up a polluted segment of the Rio Grande known as Zacate Creek in Laredo, Texas.

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, earlier this month announced $1 million in federal earmarks would go to the Zacate Creek Restoration Project, which includes revegetation and reforestation where the creek feeds into the Rio Grande.

Those funds are part of $8.6 million in U.S. funding that has been culled together for the restoration project by the City of Laredo, Webb County, and the Department of Interior. This includes some land pledged by the city and $2 million pledged by the county.

In addition, Mexico’s federal government recently pledged $81 million to repair a dilapidated sewage facility that it operates in Nuevo Laredo, across the Rio Grande from Zacate Creek, Laredo City Councilwoman Melissa Cigarroa told Border Report.

“They’ve had tremendous collector problems and pipe failures. And so it is to rehabilitate their sewer system,” Cigarroa said Tuesday.

Cigarroa said the cleanup efforts south of the border will greatly improve the creek area that they are trying to revitalize.

“It’s a combination, right? We’re all trying to reclaim this green space and develop it,” she said. “To create these green spaces where people can come and gather and Nuevo Laredo has been incredibly supportive.”

The city also has discussed making it a birding sanctuary.

Cigarroa said the Zacate Creek Restoration Project is a “pilot program” for the binational river park project that leaders from both countries are trying to develop along the banks of the Rio Grande in Laredo and Nuevo Laredo.

In the Zacate Creek area, down river, they want to revegetate the region and reforest the area with native species, clean out the trails, and make more accessible a stunning waterfall.

“It will be revitalized by restoring all that and then also dealing with invasive species and erosion and really trying to draw out the gem. We’ve got a natural waterfall there,” she said.

The nonprofit Rio Grande International Study Center will be helping with the reforestation and revegetation as well as removing invasive species, said Cigarroa, who is former board president for the organization that studies the Rio Grande watershed.

Cigarroa said replacing invasive grasses with native grasses “seems to be incredibly important” following the destruction from wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii, earlier this month.

“Water is life, and Zacate Creek is no exception,” Cuellar said in a statement. “The Zacate Creek Restoration Project ensures Laredoans will continue to enjoy this natural geographical feature.”

Cuellar, who is from Laredo, earlier helped to secure $2 million in congressional funding for the binational river project.

More funding and projects related to the binational river project are expected to be announced this week at the NADBank Summit 2023 that is being held in San Antonio, which starts on Wednesday.

Border Report plans to cover the Summit and will update with additional information.

LAREDO, TX. (KGNS) - An internal memo sent to officers from Laredo Police makes it way out of the department.

According to the release, it claims a criminal organization is allegedly kidnapping individuals in Laredo.

It goes on to say if an officer comes across a possible kidnapping case to use extreme caution.

Acting Chief Steve Landin told KGNS that memo was not meant for the public and it was an internal message for police officers.

Landin would not provide any additional information regarding the message.

McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against SpaceX alleging the company discriminates against hiring refugees and asylum-seekers.

The complaint, by the Executive Office of Immigration Review, alleges the company founded by Elon Musk “discriminated against asylees and refugees throughout its hiring process, including during recruiting, screening, and selection, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act.”

The 13-page complaint, filed Wednesday in an administrative court within the Department of Justice, says from September 2018 to May 2022 the private space company discouraged asylees and refugees from apply for positions “by wrongly stating that SpaceX can only hire U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.”

It alleges that refugees and asylees who did apply were not fairly considered or hired “because of their citizenship status.”

“Space X’s discriminatory hiring practices were routine, widespread, and longstanding, and harmed asylees and refugees,” according to the lawsuit.

Refugees and asylum-seekers who are legally paroled into the United States by the Department of Homeland Security and are issued work permits should be allowed to work in all qualifying positions, the federal government says.

Federal law prevents discriminatory hiring practices against asylees and refugees, according to the Immigration and Nationality Act.

According to the lawsuit, because SpaceX designs, manufacturers and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft, the company has claimed it can only hire U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents due to export control laws and regulations including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

In a tweet in X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, which is now owned by Musk — Musk commented Thursday: “SpaceX was told repeatedly that hiring anyone who was not a permanent resident of the United States would violate international arms trafficking law, which would be a criminal offense. We couldn’t even hire Canadian citizens, despite Canada being part of NORAD! This is yet another case of weaponization of the DOJ for political purposes.”

According to a tweet cited in the June 16, 2020 lawsuit, Musk posted: “US law requires at least a green card to be hired at SpaceX, as rockets are considered advanced weapons technology.”

Some of the commenters questioned how that is possible if Musk, himself, is South African-born.

Border Report has reached out to SpaceX for comment on the lawsuit and whether the company plans to change its hiring practices if ordered to do so by a judge. This story will be updated if information is received.

The company’s SpaceX South Texas Launch site is located near Boca Chica Beach, which is on the Texas-Mexico border on the Gulf of Mexico on a spit of undeveloped beach.

The facility has grown significantly in the past decade to a sprawling compound stretched over a couple miles and employing hundreds in an area they call “Starbase.”

On the company’s website it states: “SpaceX is looking for world-class talent ready to tackle challenging projects that will ultimately enable life on other planets. We are an equal opportunity employer offering competitive salaries, comprehensive health benefits and equity packages.”

The website on Monday listed at least 135 full-time openings at Starbase ranging from engineers to food services to human resources recruiters.

The lawsuit alleges that according to data SpaceX provided the federal government, from September 2018 to May 2022, out of more than 10,000 hires, SpaceX hired only one individual who was an asylee.

The federal government wants a judge to order SpaceX to hire refugees and asylees who qualify for positions and to pay civil penalties for each individual they say has been discriminated against.

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - The former Border Patrol agent convicted of killing a woman and their one-year-old son is asking for a new trial.

Ronald Anthony Burgos-Aviles filed a notice to appeal the conviction and sentence handed down during his trial in July.

The attorney representing Burgos says a new trial should be granted because the verdict is contrary to the law and evidence.

The DA says he’s confident the judge will rule in his favor, but says all options are back on the table if a new trial is granted -- including the death penalty.

District Attorney Isidor “Chilo” Alaniz says, “If we go back and do the new trial, if he’s appealing the punishment, then we would start from scratch. So I don’t know, it’s interesting. I don’t see the logic, but it’s their right to ask for a new trial and we’ll wait and see what happens.”

A ruling is expected next month in September.