Aaron J. Montes

Freelance Writer

El Paso, TX

I am a multimedia journalist based in El Paso, Texas along the U.S. Mexico border. My focus is covering governmental policy and the socio-economic issues people in the El Paso and Juarez, Mexico region face. My work has appeared in the El Paso Times and investigative collaborations with the New York Times and USA Today Network. I've also written for the Los Angeles Times and NBC News about the latest in immigration from Latin America.

Aaron J. Montes

Freelance Writer

El Paso, TX

Housing immigrants under bridge 'did not have to happen,' advocates say after CBP shifts
Migrants never should have been held outside, on the desert floor behind barbed wire and chain-link fences, said Ruben Garcia, executive director of Annunciation House. “It did not have to happen,” Garcia said of the makeshift camp set up beneath the Paso del Norte International Bridge in El Paso.
El Paso Times
Isabel Cabanillas fought Juárez violence and injustice, her friends carry on her cause
A narrow Juárez street holds the memory of Isabel Cabanillas, a young mother, artist and activist. Her friends pinned a pink spray-painted bike to a telephone pole, hung a pink cross with her name in black, and placed a vase with flowers near the blood-stained sidewalk where her body was found. "She was happy, down to earth and personable," one of Cabanillas' friends recalled.
El Paso Times
'Mistakes were made,' Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says of campaign letter's words on immigrants
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott opened public safety talks in El Paso, conceding that "mistakes were made" in a campaign letter sent to supporters a day before the Walmart shooting. Critics said the letter used words that seemed to attack immigrants. Abbott's letter called on supporters to help prevent “a crisis at our southern border — a crisis that Congress refuses to fix.”.
El Paso Times
Cold sets in, but many Mexican asylum-seekers refuse government offer of shelter in Juárez
Hundreds of Mexican asylum-seekers camped for months near the city's busiest international bridges are refusing to leave to shelters, despite plunging temperatures. Mexican authorities began offering to move families from three encampments as a cold front hit the Borderland this week. On Wednesday night, only 20 migrants agreed to move, according to the city's Civil Protection agency.
Las Cruces Sun-News
Family of migrant Guatemalan girl disputes official story of her death
Nery Gilberto Caal Cuz, 29, a Guatemalan migrant who crossed into the U.S. from Mexico with his daughter Jakelin, contends she was well nourished and hydrated before dying in Customs and Border Protection’s custody, contesting official accounts of the 7-year-old’s death.
latimes.com
Doctor seeks justice after U.S. State Department closes clinic
The mood was celebratory, but less than a week later, the clinic would be closed. Nearly everybody in Mexico who applies for an immigrant visa to the U.S. must come to Juárez and the U.S. Consulate – more than 100,000 people every year. There, they all have to undergo medical examinations at approved clinics.
El Paso Inc.
Try later: It's getting tougher for migrants to claim asylum at U.S. ports of entry
Angélica, a grandmother from Mexico, reached for her granddaughter’s hand and moved up the pedestrian walkway on the Paso del Norte International Bridge to the weathered U.S. -Mexico boundary sign that marked the promise of a new life. Angélica, originally from Michoacán, Mexico, was accompanied by a group of journalists and immigrant rights advocates as she traversed the bridge between Juárez and El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday.
NBC News
Mayor used personal email for arena talks
El Paso Mayor Dee Margo appears to have sidestepped the city’s public information rules and state law during negotiations with arena opponents earlier this year. An El Paso Inc. review of 155 pages of emails and documents, obtained from arena opponents and through public information requests, found that at least seven emails sent and received by the mayor from his personal email account were not forwarded to his official city account.
El Paso Inc.
AMLO visits Juárez as violence surges
JUÁREZ, Mexico – Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s visit to El Paso’s sister city kicked off a countrywide discussion about security in Mexico amid one of the worst waves of violence in the country’s history. Obrador, who began his campaign for president in Juárez, launched his first “peace and reconciliation” forum on Tuesday aimed at promoting peace in the country.
El Paso Inc.
First Look at Texas Migrant Children Detainment Center
Migrant children separated from their parents at the border between the United States and Mexico were brought to an encampment at the Tornillo Port of Entry Friday. The U.S. government plans on harboring an estimated 360 children at the port of entry, and that may grow. The encampment is part of an effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to deter migrants from coming to the United States illegally.
NBC New York
Brazil woman at heart of immigration suit relieved by ruling but says battle isn't over
A Brazilian woman and immigrant rights activists say they are happy and relieved that a federal judge has ordered government officials to reunite migrant parents with their children. But they say their battle, on behalf of the woman and other immigrants, is far from over. Jocelyn, 32, is one of two plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging Trump administration immigration policies.
Los Angeles Times
Contracts shed light on city arena deals
Contracts released by the city of El Paso offer a glimpse into the deals it negotiated with property owners in the proposed footprint of the $180 million multipurpose center. The 12 contracts, obtained by El Paso Inc. through a June open records request and later posted on the city’s website, reveal for the first time how much the city intends to pay for 18 properties in the Duranguito neighborhood.
El Paso Inc.

About

Aaron J. Montes

Photography

Videography

Cinematography

Writing

Reporting

Researching

Multimedia journalist Aaron J. Montes lives in El Paso, TX, and a former candidate for the El Paso City Council District 7 seat. He is a former reporter for the El Paso Times as a Watchdog reporter.

He covered local government, immigration and general news for the newspaper. He has participated in collaborations with the USA Today Network and New York Times covering immigration in El Paso and along the southern border.

His reporting during the Aug. 3 mass shooting in El Paso received recognition for individual and collaborative work with the El Paso Times. His contribution to investigative collaborations with the New York Times and USA Today Network also received recognition for coverage of migration issues in 2019.

Before heading to the Times, Montes worked for El Paso Inc., a locally owned business journal. There he wrote about business, international commerce and politics.