Border & Immigration
January 21, 2013
DREAM Act Could Mean Billions For Texas
If Congress passes the DREAM Act, the total economic impact for Texas could top $66 billion by 2030.
Border & Immigration
Reporting and commentary on immigration and the Texas-Mexico borderlands
Politics & Policy
January 21, 2013
Vocal Border Fence Opponent Dead at 63
Texas officials are mourning the untimely passing of Chad Foster, the former Eagle Pass mayor who became the face of border communities straddling the two nations.
Border & Immigration
January 21, 2013
Perry Pens Border Security Op-Ed
Writing in the Austin American-Statesman, the governor says the U.S. is "through the looking glass in terms of border policy," and revives talk of forbidding so-called "sanctuary cities."
Border & Immigration
January 21, 2013
Rick Perry Calls Obama Administration “Nixonian”
The governor discussed "Fast and Furious," the Texas DREAM Act, and his "vulture capitalist" critique of the Republican presidential nominee with CBS News's Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation.
News & Politics
January 21, 2013
Texas Republicans Cross a Border
In a huge departure from its past stances on immigration, the Republican Party of Texas came out in favor of a heavily regulated guest worker program in its 2012 platform.
News & Politics
January 21, 2013
¿Dewhurst Habla Español Mas Mejor Que Cruz?
UPDATE: The Lite Guv says he never really "challenged" Ted Cruz to debate en español, but the Senate candidates are now scheduled to spar in English twice.
Border & Immigration
January 21, 2013
Is Cartel Violence Getting Too Close to the Border?
A gunbattle in Piedras Negras, which killed a Mexican police officer, prompted American officials to close two bridges in the city. This comes less than a month after an El Paso woman was hit by a stray bullet shot from Juárez.
News & Politics
January 21, 2013
How Safe is Mexico?
For a third straight year, the Texas Department of Public Safety advised vacationers to stay away from the country, but a Mexican ambassador says the warning has a "clear-cut political agenda."
Border & Immigration
January 21, 2013
Life in the “Deadliest Place in Mexico”
The Texas Observer's Melissa del Bosque traveled to the Juárez Valley, where the murder rate is 1,600 people killed per 100,000 inhabitants, to report on the violent drug war gripping the region.
Border & Immigration
January 21, 2013
Texas is Getting Its Own Navy
Walker, Texas Admiral, anyone? DPS will launch six gunboats on the Rio Grande to fight drug trafficking.
Border & Immigration
January 21, 2013
Depressing New Documentary about Juárez Plays in Texas
The film 8 Murders a Day focuses on El Paso's sister city, which has seen 10,000 drug war-related murders since 2007.
Border & Immigration
January 21, 2013
Dick Durbin Shares Joaquin Luna’s Story on Senate Floor
The Illinois senator told the teen’s tragic story to inspire his colleagues to pass the DREAM Act.
Border & Immigration
January 21, 2013
An Unnamed Source Calls Teen’s Motivation for Suicide into Question
Joaquin Luna’s family said he killed himself last week out of despair over his immigration status, but others say the suicide was unrelated to that.
Border & Immigration
January 21, 2013
Cartel Beheads Another “Blogger” in Nuevo Laredo
This is the fourth victim since September to be targeted by the Zetas for using blogs and social media to spread news about cartel violence.
News & Politics
January 21, 2013
Today in Perry: RedState Backs Off, Cain’s “Turn in the Barrel”
Perry ally throws in the white flag, we learn the origination of the phrase “turn in the barrel,” and the governor tweets about foreign policy.
Border & Immigration
January 21, 2013
Dead Line
As the Mexican drug cartels have waged war along the border, they have also developed a disciplined approach to managing the press.
Border & Immigration
January 21, 2013
Ghost Town
Inside the vicious cartel war in northern Mexico—and one family’s struggle to survive.
Border & Immigration
January 20, 2013
Wall of Confusion
So much for the border fence.
Border & Immigration
January 20, 2013
Immigration—A Special Report
Depending on who you are and how you feel about immigration and cultural change, the image on this page is either no big deal, mildly provocative, or highly controversial. The original painting on which it’s based, American Gothic, by Grant Wood, is one of the most famous in the world.
Border & Immigration
January 20, 2013
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Illegal Immigration (But Didn’t Know Who to Ask)
What’s the deal with the border fence? Are green cards really green? How many undocumented immigrants live in Texas? Any more questions?
Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
Business as Usual
Who’s the toughest opponent for Republicans who want to crack down on illegal immigration? Other Republicans.
Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
A Q&A With Nate Blakeslee
The Democrats will most certainly fight the Republicans over immigration reform legislation this session, but the Republican’s biggest opponents are powerful interests within their own party. Nate Blakeslee talks about grassroot efforts, tea party champions, and why immigration has become one of the most important issues facing our state.
Border & Immigration
January 20, 2013
My Tío, the Saint
Meet Toribio Romo, the patron saint of immigrants.
Border & Immigration
January 20, 2013
A Q&A With David Dorado Romo
Not everyone can claim to be related to a certified saint, but David Dorado Romo can. The author and El Paso native traveled to a tiny town in the Mexican state of Jalisco to learn more about his father’s second cousin, Santo Toribio Romo, and discovered some interesting things about
Border & Immigration
January 20, 2013
Soldiers of Misfortune
For as long as the U.S. military has patrolled the border in search of drug smugglers, there has been the possibility that an innocent civilian would be killed. The government insists the chance is worth taking. Tell that to the family of Ezequiel Hernandez, Jr.
News & Politics
January 20, 2013
Access Denied
Why the closing of a footbridge to Mexico is bad for Candelaria.
Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
The Desert of the Dead
While politicians and bureaucrats endlessly debate the best ways to secure our borders, undocumented immigrants are dying to get into America—literally.
News & Politics
January 20, 2013
Tony Garza
“As Texas moves toward majority Hispanic status, the Republicans are going to have to do less shouting, less shorthand, and less sloganeering and court the Latino community in a way that’s relevant to Latino individuals—whether on education, taxes, or job creation.”
Border & Immigration
January 20, 2013
Coming to America
Television journalist Jorge Ramos, the author of the book Dying to Cross, on immigration reform and being called the “voice of the voiceless.”
News & Politics
January 11, 2013
Texas Republicans Moderate on One Thing: Immigration
After a few hardline moves in 2011, the Texas Republican Party may be returning to its moderate stance on immigration policy.
Border & Immigration
November 8, 2012
Shooting from DPS Helicopter Spurs Outrage
Last month, state troopers in a Texas Department of Safety helicopter shot two Guatemalan men who were hiding in the back of a pickup truck near the border. The national media takes note.
Border & Immigration
October 16, 2012
More Border Cameras to Be Installed
The Texas DPS just received $225,000 to put more cameras on private properties along the Mexican border.
Border & Immigration
September 10, 2012
Tamaulipas Receives Fourth of All Deportees from U.S.
Drug gangs track and kidnap many deportees returning to Mexico, hoping that family members who remain in the U.S. will cough up the ransom they demand.
Border & Immigration
July 10, 2012
Details About Shooting of Matamoros Man Still Emerging
How did a thirty-year-old Mexican man end up dead on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande in Matamoros?
Border & Immigration
May 29, 2012
How to Speak Spanish and Get Free Pizza
The Dallas-based Pizza Patrón chain has received criticism for its June 5 promotion giving a free pizza to anyone who orders in Spanish. But how hard is that, really?
Border & Immigration
May 9, 2012
Juárez Death Toll Surpasses 10,000
Earlier this week, the drug war claimed the city's 10,000th victim.
Border & Immigration
April 30, 2012
Caring for Children Stopped at the Border
Several temporary shelters have cropped up around Texas to house a recent unexplained influx of unaccompanied minors crossing into the United States.
Border & Immigration
March 1, 2012
Home Run
A jogging path along the Rio Grande was a treasured, secret place—until it became part of the front lines in a war I still don’t understand.
Border & Immigration
February 17, 2012
Is the Border a War Zone?
Valley farmers posting videos to ProtectYourTexasBorder.com say there is increased violence in the area, but critics find the stats don't back up this claim.
Border & Immigration
January 25, 2012
Nacogdoches Embraces Burmese Refugees
When refugees from Myanmar moved to the small city to work for Pilgrim's Pride, residents practiced good Texas hospitality and made efforts to bridge the cross-cultural divide.
Politics & Policy
January 24, 2012
Fewer Americans Concerned About Illegal Immigration
More Americans are worried about tax fairness and "moral breakdown" than illegal immigration, a new national poll finds.
Border & Immigration
January 5, 2012
Oblivious ICE Officials Deport American Teenager to Colombia
Authorities shipped Jakadrien Turner, a fourteen-year-old from Dallas, off to South America even though she's an American citizen who doesn't speak Spanish.
Border & Immigration
December 12, 2011
Boquillas Crossing to Reopen
For many in this remote part of Texas, the crossing is convenient, but detractors fear the port entry could compromise security.
Border & Immigration
December 1, 2011
Living With the Border Fence
The border fence cuts through a Valley farmer's property, upending his family's life.
Border & Immigration
November 29, 2011
Family: Immigration Challenges Drive Teen to Commit Suicide
An eighteen-year-old aspiring engineer in Mission killed himself last week, because he feared his immigrant status would prevent him from attending college.
Border & Immigration
July 31, 2011
Minor Emergency
Drug gangs in Mexico are increasingly turning to American teenagers to smuggle their loads across the border. What can be done?
News & Politics
October 31, 2010
In Our Backyard
The faces—and voices—of eighteen Texans who are living the debate over illegal immigration.
News & Politics
October 31, 2010
Back to the Future
A trip through South Texas in search of the ghosts of borders past—and a vision for what comes next.
News & Politics
October 31, 2010
The Immigration Dinner Party
We invited four lawmakers who disagree vehemently on the subject and a couple of experts to keep things friendly. Pull up a chair for a round of table talk you won’t soon forget.
News & Politics
October 31, 2010
Point of Border
The job of most editors, myself included, is to delight, entertain, surprise, and inform their readers. The majority of the time, when it comes to choosing a cover story, we try to keep the emphasis on the first three, since the other job of most editors, myself included, is to