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Las Cruces Swim Team Bus Boarded by Border Patrol; Congressman Demands Answers

February 2025·Location: Las Cruces, NM

Las Cruces Swim Team Bus Boarded by Border Patrol; Congressman Demands Answers
Photo via ACLU

On Feb. 21, 2025, a Border Patrol agent boarded a Las Cruces Public Schools charter bus carrying 12 swim team students and two staff members to the state championships in Albuquerque, after the Spanish-speaking driver could not answer the agent's questions in English. Coach Pamela Quiñones said the agent began yelling in Spanish and demanding documentation from all passengers without further questioning the adults, leaving students visibly shaken. Border Patrol called it a routine immigration inspection, noting the bus had no school decals and was treated as a standard charter vehicle, and said all passengers were confirmed to be legally present before agents left without incident. U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez criticized the stop, saying no student or coach should face intimidating enforcement actions and raising concerns about the checkpoint system's impact on civil rights.

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