What we’re hearing this week: special ed stipends, NMSU visa revocations, Young Park and I-10 dust crashes

We’re tracking fallout from canceled teacher stipends, investigating student visa revocations at NMSU and continuing our reporting on the Young Park shooting and I-10 dust storms — with your help.

Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News

LAS CRUCES - Each week, we share what stories we’re working on — and what we’re hearing from you. These updates aren’t final reporting. They’re a look behind the scenes at the questions we’re asking, the sources we’re tracking down and the threads we’re still pulling. If something here sparks a thought or hits close to home, we hope you’ll reach out.

Special education stipends

We’re continuing to follow the fallout from the New Mexico Public Education Department’s decision to cancel $5,000 retention stipends for special education teachers — and how it’s affecting teachers here in Las Cruces.

We’ve received responses from NEA-New Mexico and NEA-Las Cruces, both of which say they were blindsided by the decision and are pushing for answers. A union leader told us the stipends were promised during high-stakes negotiations over working conditions and caseloads. Several teachers told us off the record that they had already budgeted for the money — and are now reconsidering whether they can stay in the classroom next year.

We’re still waiting to hear back from Las Cruces Public Schools and the Public Education Department, and will update our reporting as soon as we do.

If you’re a special education teacher — or you work in a school impacted by this change — we’d love to hear from you. Your perspective could help others understand the stakes of this moment.

Student visa revocations

We’ve confirmed that nine international students at New Mexico State University have had their visas revoked in recent weeks. The circumstances remain murky, and the university has released few details, citing student privacy.

NMSU officials say they’re offering support to affected students, but it’s unclear what prompted the revocations — or whether more may be coming.

We’ve submitted Freedom of Information Act requests to both U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the State Department. We’ve also reached out to U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez and Sen. Martin Heinrich for comment. We’ll update our coverage when we hear back.

If you’re a student, faculty member or family member affected by these visa actions, we’d like to hear from you. Your insight could help shed light on a story with far-reaching implications.

Young Park shooting

We’re continuing to follow developments in the criminal cases tied to the March 22 mass shooting at Young Park. As of this week, there have been no major public updates — but we’re keeping close watch on court filings and law enforcement briefings.

We know this story still weighs heavily on many in the community. If you or your family have been affected and want to share your story, on or off the record, you can always reach us privately.

Deadly dust storms on I-10

Why do deadly dust storms keep sweeping across I-10 near the Arizona border — and what can be done to prevent more crashes?

Our founder and editor Damien Willis is digging into those questions as part of a collaborative reporting effort with the Southern New Mexico Journalism Collaborative. The focus: uncovering the root causes of these recurring crashes and examining what agencies are doing — or not doing — to reduce risk.

We’ve spoken with soil scientists, climate experts and transportation officials — and are continuing to gather information. We’re working to understand the role of wind patterns, land management and road conditions in making this stretch of highway especially dangerous.

If you’ve been affected by these crashes or have insights to share, we’d like to hear from you.

Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.