Angela Kocherga | KTEP

Sunday Mexico holds a massive mid-term election with voters casting ballots for every member of the lower branch of Congress, 15 governors and hundreds of mayors . The race for governor of border state Chihuahua is among the most hotly contested. Among the concerns: a concentration of power in one party, Mexico'spresident's party, and violence on the campaign trail. More than 30 candidates have been murdered since April.   KTEP’s Angela Kocherga reports on what’s at stake.

CIUDAD JUAREZ – The figures in pale camouflage uniforms are visible in key spots along this border, from the fence jutting high above the desert in Anapra to the muddy banks of the shallow Rio Grande near downtown Juárez. 

“These points are strategic,” said a Mexican National Guard member in Juárez who did not want his name used because he is not authorized to do interviews. “The flow of migrants is reduced because of our presence here.” 

CIUDAD JUAREZ – The final days at Casa de Colores were hectic as the last residents living in the old hotel turned migrant shelter prepared to leave.

“It’s a bittersweet feeling,” said Fernanda Levin, a 25-year-old trans woman from El Salvador. “I’m happy that I’ll be able to fulfill my dream, but we’re sad that Casa de Colores is closing.

In this edition of The Weekend, University of Texas at El Paso President Heather Wilson discusses UTEP's 10-year strategic plan with KTEP's Angela Kocherga. The plan focuses on strengths but also the challenges ahead for UTEP and students seeking a higher education in our region.  UTEP's president also talks about community engagement, a cyber intrusion on campus and  the university's newly-hired men’s basketball coach.  

CIUDAD JUAREZ --Ana Castro sat with her two children on a curb just steps from the Paso del Norte Bridge in downtown Ciudad Juarez, considering her options and crushing debt.

“Truthfully, I’d like to try again,” said Castro, hours after she and her daughter, 12, and son, 9, were expelled by the U.S. Border Patrol after crossing into the United States. “We’re already here and have a debt weighing on us.”

CIUDAD JUAREZ --  The Biden administration is grappling with a huge logistical and humanitarian challenge on the Southwest border, where about 5,000 unauthorized migrants are crossing on average every day.

About half of the migrants are allowed to stay in the U.S. and ask for asylum, and the rest are turned back to Mexico, according to a senior Border Patrol official who spoke on condition of anonymity to reporters on Friday.