by Matthew Holloway | Sep 3, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Xin Lui, a Chinese national and former U.S. resident, was convicted in Nevada in 2022 of involuntary manslaughter and child abuse after throwing her three-month-old baby from a second-story window. An immigration judge has since ruled her removable, and she will be deported from the United States.
Xin, who served a 48-month sentence in connection with her two-felony conviction, was arrested by Yuma Sector Border Patrol Agents working together with Las Vegas law enforcement authorities last month after her sentence was reduced to probation, according to Chief Patrol Agent (CPA) of the U.S. Border Patrol Tucson Sector Sean McGoffin.
McGoffin wrote in a post to X, “As a result of her felony convictions, Lui was subject to removal under 8 USC 1227. On Tuesday, an immigration judge found Lui to be removable/inadmissible and ordered her removed to China, revoking her LPR status.”
Reporting on the crime differed slightly from border patrol’s account, with the Las Vegas Review-Journal reporting that the baby, Stanley Shah, was thrown from a second-floor staircase and was fatally injured after striking the tile floor below on Sept. 1, 2020.
According to KLAS, Xin pleaded guilty by reason of insanity in January 2022. The outlet cited an initial arrest report, which described a woman saying Xin had intentionally dropped her baby from the second floor to the first, and the baby was not breathing. Family members later told Las Vegas Metropolitan Police that she suffered from depression, suicidal and homicidal ideation, and that they had tried to hire a nanny to care for Stanley.
Additional reporting from the Las Vegas Sun indicated that Xin had allegedly told a friend that she attempted to smother her son but “woke up” when she heard him crying and stopped. Xin was a stay-at-home mother, and her husband worked.
Xin’s husband had reportedly hired a babysitter and taken his wife for medical treatment after noticing her hands would shake and she would lapse into a “daze” when the baby cried. Although medication and the babysitter seemed to improve her condition, Xin reportedly started having disturbing visions and nightmares, refused food, and was unable to sleep. On September 1st , after the babysitter placed Stanley in his crib and left to wash his clothes in the bathroom, Xin reportedly took the baby from his crib and dropped him from the stairwell.
Stanley was found unresponsive on the floor below, having sustained a severe head injury with no pulse. He was transported to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Ethan Faverino | Aug 27, 2025 | News
By Ethan Faverino |
The U.S. Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector has established a National Defense Area within its area of operations to boost security along the southern border and address illegal cross-border activities.
The designated zone, neighboring the Roosevelt Reservation along the Barry M. Goldwater Range and the Cabeza Prieta Wildlife Refuge, aims to enhance border protection and mitigate environmental damage caused by illicit activities.
The National Defense Area authorizes military personnel to temporarily detain individuals who unlawfully enter the restricted zone.
Detainees will be transferred to U.S. Border Patrol agents and may face criminal charges for violating defense property regulations, unauthorized entry onto military property, and illegal entry, in addition to removal proceedings.
Clear signage has been posted throughout the National Defense Area to warn that unauthorized entry is prohibited under federal regulations.
The signage reads:
“WARNING
RESTRICTED AREA:
This Department of Defense property has been declared a restricted area by authority of the commander in accordance with the provisions of the directive issued by the Secretary of Defense, pursuant to the provisions of Section 21, Internal Security Act of 1950.
UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY IS PROHIBITED
All persons and vehicles entering herein may be detained and searched. Photographing or making notes, drawings, maps, or graphic representations of the area or its activities are prohibited unless specifically authorized by the commander. Any such material found in the possession of unauthorized persons will be confiscated.”
This initiative mirrors similar National Defense Areas established in Texas and New Mexico, designed to curb illicit drug and human smuggling while reducing environmental degradation caused by cross-border foot traffic, litter, and vehicle activity.
The Yuma Sector’s National Defense Area demonstrates a continued commitment to defend the southern border, protecting national security, and preserving the region’s natural resources.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Terri Jo Neff | Apr 4, 2022 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials across the southwestern U.S. border are preparing for an unprecedented number of non-U.S. citizens crossing into the country in May, thanks to a recent White House announcement about Title 42.
One of those officials is Chris T. Clem who took over in late 2020 as chief of the USBP’s Yuma Sector, a 181,670 square mile area along the 126 miles of U.S. / Mexico border between California’s Imperial Sand Dunes and the Yuma – Pima county line.
Clem brought 25 years of agency experience with him, including time with the El Paso Sector. But nothing could prepare him for the challenges he and his team would experience just one year later.
In early December 2021, Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls declared a state of emergency after USBP Yuma Sector agents apprehended 6,000 people in five days. It was the same number of apprehensions the Sector made in an average month, and many others were able to get past the overwhelmed agents.
On one weekend in mid-December, Clem announced more than 2,600 undocumented non-U.S. citizens (UNCs) had been encountered . There have also been multiple water rescues the last few months from the Salinity Canal, which has a swift current and steep banks putting agents at great risk.
While the current apprehensions in Yuma Sector are no longer breaking records, Clem’s agents have continued to stop UNCs from getting into the country. Many have been violent criminals, such as Omar Martinez-Gomez, a Mexican national arrested in March after it was determined he had been convicted of aggravated assault domestic violence for strangling his pregnant girlfriend.
Also apprehended last month was Carlos Enrique Naranjo Angel for illegally entering the U.S. after agents discovered Angel, 48, was previously convicted of sexual conduct with a child age three or under.
But come May 23, all bets could be off if the Biden Administration follows through on threats to lift Title 42 authority at the border. Title 42 of the U.S. Code has, since the 1890s, given federal public health officials power to take extraordinary measures during a pandemic to limit the introduction of communicable diseases.
Former President Donald Trump, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, invoked the authority in March 2020 as a way to slow COVID-19 at the U.S.-Mexico border by permitting border officials to deny entrance to anyone trying to enter the country. Reports show that more than 1.7 million people have been turned away under Title 42 authority.
The recent decision to forgo Title 42 was made after “considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19 such as highly effective vaccines and therapeutics,” the CDC stated. Now, federal, state, and local officials fear the number of UNCs trying to get into the U.S. along the entire southwestern border will jump from about 7,000 per week to that many or more per day.
U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema has called on President Joe Biden to not end the Title 42 directive until a “firm, workable plan” is in place. Doing so without a comprehensive plan will put Arizonans as well as immigrants at risk, the Senator said.
Last month, the Chief and Sinema took part in a virtual roundtable with federal and non-governmental organizations to discuss solutions to the border crisis. Clem also spoke with Sinema about the resources which will be needed to manage the flow of immigrants.
“I’m grateful for Chief Clem’s work in keeping Arizona communities safe, and I will continue working with him and all of our partners on the ground on identifying solutions to strengthen our border security and ensure migrants are treated fairly and humanely,” said Sinema, Chair of the Senate Border Management Subcommittee.
USBP is part of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is now headed by former Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus. In turn, Magnus reports to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
