On this last day of 2010 we revisit the story taking place in Ciudad Juarez, in Mexico. It's a story that we've been sad to return to repeatedly, not just this last year, but over the last four years. Yesterday we heard reports of four more dead in the longstanding Mexican drug war between drug cartels and border troops. Gunmen believed to be linked to the cartels killed four police officers and a doctor in coordinated attacks around the nearby city of Monterrey.
Life-long resident Jesus Ochoa has fond memories of growing up in El Paso, Texas. But he isn't optimistic about 2011; he says living on the border with Mexico is an increasingly scary existence, and is upset at the failure of President Obama and Congress to pass the so called "Dream Act." Ochoa joins us to talk about his hometown and its continuing challenges in the new year.
Jesus Ochoa, 75, was born in El Paso, Texas, where he has lived nearly all his life. As a young boy, he recalls stuffing his pockets with a $5 bill, picking up his friends and heading just a few miles south to Juarez, Mexico. Every Saturday, he visited the neighboring city to get a haircut, get his shoes shined and eat mariscos (seafood). When he graduated from high school, Juarez was where he and his classmates went to celebrate - something he calls a "rite of passage" for kids in his school.