As 2026 begins, El Paso finds itself managing growth amid uncertainty.
Local leaders point to accomplishments that reflect a vibrant, resilient community. At the same time, many worry that external forces – from political volatility to shifting trade policy – could reshape local priorities in the year ahead.
As 2025 came to a close, El Paso Inc. reached out to leaders and asked for brief answers to two questions:
– What was your organization’s top accomplishment in 2025?
– What is your top concern for 2026?
Ten leaders in philanthropy, media, medicine, banking, sports, law enforcement, government and economic development responded. Their answers are lightly edited and presented in alphabetical order.
Top accomplishment: Securing Meta’s $1.5 billion artificial intelligence data center – the largest single private investment in El Paso’s history. The Borderplex Alliance collaborated on this effort with city, county and state partners, including El Paso Water and El Paso Electric.
Meta’s investment will create more than 3,000 direct and indirect jobs in the near term and generate tens of millions of dollars in new revenue for local public schools, the city, the county and University Medical Center. This state-of-the-art data center positions our region as a leader in technology and artificial intelligence.
Top concern: The uncertainty surrounding the 2026 USMCA review is concerning. The trade agreement’s continued success is vital for our binational economy. It supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across El Paso, Juárez and Las Cruces and drives billions in cross-border commerce.
Any weakening or failure to renew the USMCA on favorable terms would deliver a devastating blow to our manufacturers, logistics firms, families and our region’s future competitiveness.
Top accomplishment: In 2025, FBI El Paso participated in the first-of-its-kind Homeland Security Task Force, or HSTF, which coordinates law enforcement efforts to crush violent crime.
FBI El Paso and Homeland Security Investigations lead efforts with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to target cartels, foreign terrorist organizations and transnational gangs whose list of crimes includes homicide, kidnapping, human trafficking, extortion and drug smuggling.
The El Paso HSTF was the first to bring “foreign terrorist organization” charges against the CNJG Cartel, and the arrests of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García and Joaquin “El Chapito” Guzman Lopez.
FBI El Paso made our community safer through numerous national operations, including Operation Restore Justice, targeting child sexual abuse offenders, and Operation Summer Heat, apprehending violent criminal offenders and fugitives with our law enforcement partners.
Top concern: In 2026, we will continue to crush violent crime and defend the homeland. FBI El Paso will expand its hiring initiative to encourage El Pasoans to view the FBI as a place to make this world better with unlimited opportunities and an amazing career.
Top accomplishment: We are extremely proud of a new initiative KVIA launched to elevate businesses on both social media and broadcasting. It’s called “7 in the City.” Reporter Isabella Martinez is highlighting these gems all over the borderland – El Paso, Las Cruces and Juárez. It’s helping us deliver fresh storytelling on a new medium while introducing our news product to a different audience. The segments are a lot of fun!
We’re also carving space for the segments on broadcast, putting them in front of a traditional audience. It’s working great for the featured businesses and for us. We are creating new content for new audiences, and it’s exciting.
Top concern: The volatility of the advertising market is a big challenge. We saw several clients try going all digital, only to come back to broadcast. We all know audiences are more fragmented, given the different ways to consume content, but we believe broadcast is still the most effective way to reach people. It’s the biggest piece of the pie! Those pressures on the industry are inspiring us to be more customer-focused and creative than ever.
Top accomplishment: In 2025, the city strengthened its financial position. Nationally recognized budget reports and 18 community budget meetings reinforced long-range planning, transparency and public trust in how we use taxpayer dollars. This foundation supported core services and neighborhood investments.
Top concern: Looking to 2026, however, the city faces growing pressure from state and federal mandates, the possible loss of key grants, rising costs, aging infrastructure and increasing equity expectations. These challenges will require difficult choices and continued transparency to keep services strong and the budget stable.
El Paso district attorney
Top accomplishment: I am most proud of how many cases our office resolved this year. I don’t think most El Pasoans fully comprehend the dire straits our local criminal justice system was in from 2021 through 2024. What folks heard reported in the media was only half of it.
When I was sworn in on Jan. 1, 2025, there were more than 300 inmates who had been in the El Paso County Jail for over a year awaiting a trial. We had nearly 1,000 felony cases pending from 2021 or older. Justice delayed is justice denied – for victims, defendants and the community.
Nowhere was that more evident than with the Walmart prosecution. When I took office, the case was coming up on its sixth anniversary.
While I personally believe in capital punishment in general, in this case specifically, as I met with the victims’ families and survivors individually, it quickly became evident that the clear majority of them wanted the case resolved as expeditiously as possible. As many of them delivered their impact statements, it was such a profound and moving experience.
Top concern: Heading into 2026, my top concern is confronting driving while intoxicated in our community. All too often, I hear from my constituents that they are afraid to drive at night, especially during the weekends. That is unacceptable. None of us enjoy seeing so many car crash videos or mugshots on social media each weekend.
Addressing the persistent DWI epidemic will require a multifaceted approach. We need El Pasoans to show up to jury duty, be opena to listening to the evidence and decide how they want this offense punished in our community.
In addition to addressing DWIs in court after they are caught, we all need to do our part to proactively prevent them from happening. If you know or see a family member or friend who engages in that behavior, please intervene before someone gets hurt.
President and CEO, WestStar Bank
Top accomplishment: As we close out 2025, WestStar is proud to serve the region as the only locally owned bank in El Paso. We will close out 2025 with about $3.1 billion in total assets and $2.3 billion in total loans. We remained focused on providing capital and deposit services for the Borderplex. Finally, we are the largest bank by deposits in El Paso for the second year in a row.
Top concern: Our 350 team members remain committed to providing the highest level of client service in the region. Interest rates are projected to come down even further in 2026. This should help small businesses and homebuilders in our area. We remain cautious and mindful of the changes occurring in the economy due to the uncertainty of the tariffs. Overall, the economic future of the Borderplex looks positive.
Top accomplishment: One of our biggest accomplishments for the year was expanding the Puente News Collaborative. We were published in 26 publications in the Americas. We worked with the MacArthur Foundation to secure almost $3 million over the next three years, including some work with El Paso Matters, for journalism along the border and telling El Paso’s story, which has been a real need for decades.
Growing up, I always felt that El Paso and the border got a bad rap in the national news. A doctoral candidate at UTEP did a study looking at the past six years of news coverage of the area and looked at key words, and he found 89% of the coverage of the U.S.-Mexico border was negative, so now I know that we have been misrepresented.
So we’re reporting on all the aspects of the U.S.-Mexico border. There’s more to cover than Mexico as a security threat to the United States, and we are telling the stories of the border from the border.
Top concern: Lately, we’ve been spending a lot of time trying to house people, feed the hungry and support nonprofits that have lost federal funding. The foundation in the first three quarters of this year has already put out about $20 million in grants and projects, and we expect that to rise next year to offset some of the missing funds from the federal government.
I know our community of nonprofit organizations is weaning itself off the federal government, but the cuts have come arbitrarily and quickly. We are going to continue to stand up for human rights and democratic rights, and make sure we are supporting the people of this community in a positive way.
Top accomplishment: The El Paso County Attorney’s Office helped to deliver over $155 million in county general obligation bond projects, on time and within budget. Our team provided expedited in-house legal support, including contract development and cost analysis.
For the first time in years, our office led the legal strategy on some of the county’s most complex and high-profile projects.
This included applying specialized legal expertise to negotiate and structure deals that support El Paso’s investment in parks, infrastructure, water and wastewater systems, and road improvements.
Top concern: My primary concern in 2026 is driven by the continued uncertainty and arbitrary decisions at both the state and federal levels, which will significantly impact local governments.
This dynamic will place increased pressure on local budgets and planning due to shifting mandates.
Two pending cases from 2025 are poised to reshape the county’s criminal justice system.
In Garza vs. Paxton, the El Paso County Attorney’s Office and the 34th Judicial District Attorney’s Office are challenging onerous and overbroad reporting requirements imposed by the Texas Attorney General that mandate the turnover of sensitive case files without adequate restrictions.
Additionally, the SB 4 case from 2023, which creates a new state offense for border crossings, a matter under federal jurisdiction, remains unresolved. If implemented, this law would strain jail operations and divert already strained and critical law enforcement resources to immigration enforcement, not local safety initiatives that have ensured that El Paso remains one of the country’s safest communities.
Athletic director, University of Texas at El Paso
Top accomplishment: The UTEP women’s volleyball team won its first-ever Conference USA regular-season title. The Miners are expected to earn a second consecutive at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The UTEP women’s rifle team continues to set school records and has earned a top-10 national ranking.
We ended our fiscal year 2025 with a record $12 million fundraising total.
Top concern: Continued support from our constituents will be critical as we prepare to join the Mountain West Conference on July 1, 2026. Since I arrived at UTEP nearly eight years ago, the fans have asked, “When are we going to get into the Mountain West?”
We now have that opportunity, and we’re going to be aligned in a league that better fits us geographically. This is a big deal as we will renew old rivalries with programs like Air Force, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV and Wyoming.
We will need the El Paso community to join us in an exciting new era of UTEP Athletics.
Top accomplishment: In 2025, the El Paso County Medical Society achieved several significant milestones.
A major area of progress was the Business of Medicine initiative held in September 2025, which expanded resources to help local physicians navigate practice management, regulatory changes, artificial intelligence and financial sustainability, which will all enhance patient care delivery.
Additionally, the Border Health Conference brought together medical leaders, policymakers and public health experts from across the U.S.-Mexico region. The conference focused on shared challenges – including infectious disease surveillance, cross-border care coordination and community health disparities – while promoting collaborative solutions to meet the needs of our community.
The “El Paso Physician” television program, first aired in 1997, continues to provide trusted, locally produced health information to the community.
Top concern: Looking ahead, 2026 brings several pressing concerns.
Physician shortages, mounting administrative burdens and financial pressures on independent practices threaten patient access.
The rapid integration of AI raises questions of workflow, ethics and data security, while ongoing public health challenges require sustained attention.
Would you like to share your organization’s top accomplishment and concern? Email editor Robert Gray at rsgray@elpasoinc.com.