Courtesy David Leao,  AUSTIN–HB 5, the education legislation that deals with high-stakes testing and curriculum in public schools, was debated by the full House of Representatives for nearly nine hours and passed overwhelmingly with a 147-2 vote.  Rep. Richard Peña Raymond, Chairman of The House Committee on Human Services, coauthored HB 5 because the legislation

Courtesy Richard Pauza,  Laredo, Texas –U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Laredo Port of Entry on Tuesday seized $185,000 in methamphetamine hidden in a vehicle battery.   The seizure occurred Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 at Lincoln-Juarez Bridge. A CBP officer referred a 2006 Chevy Tahoe driven by a 20-year-old female U.S. citizen from Dallas for

Courtesy Richard Pauza,  Laredo, Texas –U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and agents at the Laredo Port of Entry in a 24-hour period seized $1.9 million in methamphetamine and $326,519 in unreported currency in three separate, unrelated enforcement actions.      The methamphetamine seizure occurred on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 at Lincoln-Juarez Bridge. A CBP officer

Courtesy David Leo,  AUSTIN–Rep. Richard Peña Raymond, Chairman of the House Committee on Human Services, filed HB 1501 paying tribute to the memory of the men, women and children lost in the terror attacks on September 11, 2001 and honoring the heroic actions of all first responders and volunteers who aided the innocent victims and

Courtesy Richard Pauza,   Laredo, Texas –U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Laredo Port of Entry this Washington’s Birthday holiday weekend seized methamphetamine valued at $400,000 from a vehicle driven by a Mississippi woman.     The seizure occurred on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013 at Gateway to the Americas Bridge. A CBP officer referred a

Courtesy David Leo,  No one in 1966 – especially not a 6-year-old boy growing up in Benavides, Texas, where so many owned a gun for sport and deer hunting – could avoid being forever seared by the black and white images running under Walter Cronkite’s narration on the evening of August 1. Earlier that day,

Courtesy Richard Pauza,   LAREDO, TEXAS – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and agents at the Laredo Port of Entry seized $460,060 in unreported currency from a vehicle driven by a Chicago man in a routine examination.  The currency seizure occurred on Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, at Lincoln-Juarez Bridge. CBP officers and agents were

Courtesy David Leo, ~ Calls on the Legislature to Put Children First  ~  AUSTIN, TX– Following the 83rd legislative session swearing in, Rep. Raymond (D-Laredo) called on the legislature to put children first by fully restoring funding to education and investing in programs focused on the well-being of our kids.  “I am asking my colleagues

Courtesy Richard Pauza,   LAREDO,TX – In anticipation of the annual spike in cross-border traffic over the Christmas/New Year’s holiday season, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials in Laredo are taking steps to adjust staffing, including supplementing with Border Patrol agent staffing, and employing additional facilitation measures to address the increased flows.  CBP will place

Courtesy Richard Pauza, Seize Counterfeit Watches Valued at $83 Million  Laredo, Texas – The Import Specialist Enforcement Team (ISET) at U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Laredo Port of Entry recently seized a commercial shipment of counterfeit watches infringing on the Audemars Piguet recorded trademark carrying a retail value of $83 million. This is the