“Migrant Lockdowns” Are the New Active-Shooter Drills in the Rio Grande Valley
When undocumented immigrants venture near campuses, many schools institute security protocols. But criminal acts by migrants aren't common.
Politics & Policy
December 22, 2021
A Southwest Texas Paper Folded. A Conspiracy-Spewing Facebook Streamer Took Its Place.
After the ‘Del Rio News-Herald’ shuttered last year, Frank Lopez Jr., who broadcasts as “US Border Patriot,” found a national audience.
Politics & Policy
October 29, 2021
Kinney County Has Embraced Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star Like Nowhere Else. It’s Fueling the Hysteria of Some Locals.
No county in Texas has arrested more migrants under the governor’s plan to crack down on the border, and it’s created a judicial crisis.
Border & Immigration
October 21, 2021
Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz on the Crisis in Texas and Why Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star Concerns Him
The Del Rio–raised law enforcement official chatted with ‘Texas Monthly’ about the situation in his hometown and immigration enforcement across the state.
Border & Immigration
September 18, 2021
The Biden Administration Says It’s Repairing Levees. Some South Texans Say It’s Building a Border Wall.
Barriers reminiscent of the Trump era are sprouting up in Hidalgo County.
Politics & Policy
July 27, 2021
Greg Abbott’s Border Fence Is Rising in Bits and Pieces
Local officials in South Texas are scrambling to figure out what the governor is building in their communities.
News & Politics
June 24, 2021
“When Do They Leave?”: Border Residents Bear the Latest Surge of DPS Troopers
Governor Greg Abbott has sent a thousand state cops into Texas border communities to combat smuggling. But many locals complain that they are more of a nuisance than an effective crime-fighting force.
Politics & Policy
April 21, 2021
A Section of Trump Border Wall in South Texas Cost $27 Million a Mile. It’s Being Foiled by $5 Ladders.
“Ladders and walls go together like peas and carrots,” says one McAllen Border Patrol agent.
True Crime
May 29, 2019
Her Daughter Was Disappeared in Mexico. Despite Cartel Death Threats, She’s Determined to Find Her.
After Josefina De León’s daughter went missing in the Mexican State of Tamaulipas in 2012, she was determined to find her. Seven years later, she hasn’t given up.
News & Politics
April 19, 2017
Before the Flood
The border cities of Tamaulipas brace themselves for the wave of deportees Donald Trump has promised to send their way.