| Official Name: | Fabens, Texas |
| Settlement Type: | Census-designated place |
| Mapsize: | 250x200px |
| Image Map1: | ElPaso County Fabens.svg |
| Mapsize1: | 250px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Texas |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | El Paso |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Total Km2: | 11.26 |
| Area Land Km2: | 11.20 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.06 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 7498 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | Mountain (MST) |
| Utc Offset: | -7 |
| Timezone Dst: | MDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -6 |
| Elevation Ft: | 3632 |
| Coordinates: | 31.505°N -106.15°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP codes |
| Postal Code: | 79836 & 79838 |
| Area Code: | 915 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 48-25032[1] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 2408099 |
Fabens is a census-designated place (CDP) in El Paso County, Texas, United States. The population was 8,257 at the 2010 census.[2] It is part of the El Paso Metropolitan Statistical Area. The ZIP Codes encompassing the CDP area are 79836 and 79838.[3]
Fabens is the birthplace of jockey Bill Shoemaker.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 11.26km2, of which 11.2sqkm is land and 0.06sqkm, or 0.52%, is water.[2]
Fabens is approximately southeast of El Paso along the Rio Grande and Interstate Highway 10. Most visitors only stop for short periods of time to eat at one of the several restaurants or stay overnight in the hotel.
The city name of Fabens comes from attorney George Wilson Fabens, who worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad. He was the assistant land commissioner for the Southern Pacific Lines in Texas and Louisiana. As the railroad was being built, new towns were named after railroad officers.
In April 1972, Fabens served as a location for the filming of the Sam Peckinpah film The Getaway.
Dr. Angus Treece owned Fabens Hospital and served the Fabens community for twenty three years before he died on September 9, 1963. He was fifty seven when he died. Dr. Treece also owned the Sunrise Medical Clinic in El Paso.[4]
In 1964, Dr. Francisco Vilorio became the owner of Fabens Hospital. He died on January 24, 2019.[5]
On February 17, 2005, Fabens was the nearest location to a border incident that made national headlines, when Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean were convicted and sentenced to prison terms of eleven and ten years, respectively, for shooting Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, an undocumented immigrant and alleged drug smuggler who was unarmed when he was shot. Aldrete-Davila was given immunity for his testimony and sued the Border Patrol for $5 million for violation of his civil rights.[6]
Ramos and Compean had their sentences commuted by President George W. Bush during his last full day in office on January 19, 2009, although they did not receive a pardon for their convictions. They were released from prison on March 20, 2009, and in December 2020 President Donald Trump pardoned them for their crimes.[7]
| White (NH) | 149 | 1.99% | |
| Black or African American (NH) | 6 | 0.08% | |
| Asian (NH) | 1 | 0.01% | |
| Some Other Race (NH) | 10 | 0.13% | |
| Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH) | 17 | 0.23% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 7,315 | 97.56% | |
| Total | 7,498 |
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,043 people, 2,147 households, and 1,874 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2179.8sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 2,279 housing units at an average density of 617.7sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the CDP is 74.01% White, 0.57% African American, 0.80% Native American, 0.02% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 21.73% from other races, and 2.86% from two or more races. 96.16% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.[9]
There were 2,147 households, out of which 55.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% were married couples living together, 23.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.7% were non-families. 11.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.75 and the average family size was 4.07.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 39.3% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 15.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $18,486, and the median income for a family was $20,451. Males had a median income of $17,432 versus $16,354 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $6,647. About 41.2% of families and 43.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 49.4% of those under age 18 and 40.0% of those age 65 or over.[10]