Business on the border a concern for those in the Rio Grande Valley
It has been nearly six months since the trucker-blockade at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge in response to Governor Greg Abbott’s additional inspections. Alicia Barrera is back in the Rio Grande Valley to see what's changed since the order was lifted.
Migrant encounters at the border are higher today than they were before Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star began
The number of migrant encounters at the Texas-Mexico border has climbed from 109,456 in March 2021, the month the mission began, to 116,976 in August — a failure of Abbott’s office’s stated desire to “stop this revolving door and deter others considering entering illegally.”
El Paso scrambles to move migrants off the streets and gives them free bus rides as shelters reach capacity
One Venezuelan couple slept on a sidewalk after a perilous trip through seven countries with their baby. After two days in El Paso, they boarded a city-funded charter bus to New York City.
Bexar Sheriff to investigate migrants ‘lured’ into flight from San Antonio to Florida, Martha’s Vineyard
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said Monday that his office will launch an investigation into who was behind the recruitment of nearly 50 migrants in San Antonio to be flown on a charter plane to Florida and Massachusetts.
Fight over border security escalates after governors send migrants to Kamala Harris’ home and Martha’s Vineyard
The latest moves by Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this week have triggered outrage among immigration rights’ groups and Democrats who have accused the Republicans of engaging in human trafficking and treating migrants like “human cargo” to score political points.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office calls Gov. Greg Abbott’s migrant busing strategy “racist”
Abbott late Wednesday announced Chicago would be a new destination for migrants bused from Texas in his strategy to draw attention to the influx of people at the southern border. Chicago leadership welcomed the migrants “with dignity and respect.”
“Thanks, and God bless you”: Asylum-seekers allowed to enter U.S. after “remain in Mexico” ends
Two weeks after a federal judge allowed the Biden administration to end the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols, U.S. judges are beginning to allow migrants to stay in the country as their asylum claims are pending.
ACLU calls on feds to investigate Abbott’s policy transporting migrants back to border
In July, Abbott authorized state law enforcement to transport migrants to ports of entry. It’s unclear how and why migrants are being detained, raising civil rights concerns and questions about whether the state is overstepping federal authority.
Man charged in deadly tractor-trailer incident in San Antonio pleads not guilty
One of the men facing federal charges in connection with the tractor-tractor incident on the city’s Southwest Side in June that resulted in the deaths of 53 people pleaded not guilty Thursday, according to the US Magistrate’s Office.
Smugglers and scouts outnumber sheriff’s deputies in counties like Brooks
It’s an operation that Brooks County sheriffs deputies say knows no time and has no bounds. Smuggling of migrants can happen in backroads or in high traffic areas. Reporter Alicia Barrera and photojournalist Sal Salazar take you to areas where migrants are often loaded up to be smuggled across the nation.
KSAT’s Alicia Barrera goes inside tractor-trailer to experience dangers migrants often face at hands of smugglers
Rescue simulations at border aimed at providing better understanding of dangers as crossings of migrants don't slow down. Over the weekend, Border Patrol Del Rio apprehended more than 2,500 migrants.
What does Operation Lone Star look like miles away from the border?
Operation Lone Star has helped fund the miles of concertina wire and militarization along the U.S. border. But how are funds invested in communities more than 80 miles north of the border? Reporter Alicia Barrera and photojournalist Sal Salazar visit Brooks County for a closer look.
Texas troopers are causing car chase fatalities and racially profiling drivers under Abbott’s border crackdown, complaint claims
Two civil rights groups have expanded their request for a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into Operation Lone Star, citing evidence of risky pursuits and more frequent traffic stops of Hispanic drivers.
A 14-year-old went to Texas to help his family build a bigger house in Guatemala. Now his family is burying him.
Juan Wilmer Tulul Tepaz was one of the 53 migrants who died after being trapped in a tractor-trailer in San Antonio. His body was returned to his village, which has buried several youths who left to seek better lives in the U.S.
Gov. Greg Abbott empowers state authorities to return migrants to border crossings
Immigration law enforcement is a federal responsibility. Abbott appears to be testing the limits of state authority by empowering state law enforcement to bring migrants to the ports of entry — stopping short of using state resources to expel migrants from the country.
Gov. Greg Abbott spends an additional $30 million on Operation Lone Star to aid local governments
Abbott announced that his already $4 billion border mission would provide grant funding for cities and counties, following a press conference by some local officials calling on the governor to take more drastic action to secure the border.
A free ride or de-facto deportation? Was it legal for a Texas sheriff to drive migrants to the border?
Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe said at a news conference Tuesday that following a wreck “a couple of days ago,” federal authorities wouldn’t take custody of four suspected undocumented immigrants until they had been checked out by a doctor. Coe said the four people weren’t hurt and had declined medical attention, and he didn’t want to take up “four or five hours” of his deputies’ time waiting for them to be examined.
‘We’ve got work to do’: Bexar County sheriff attends virtual meeting with White House officials to address humanitarian crisis
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar spoke to White House officials on Wednesday after penning a letter asking for more resources and action following the migrant tragedy in San Antonio that claimed 53 lives.
Justice Department is investigating Texas’ Operation Lone Star for alleged civil rights violations
The Department of Justice is investigating alleged civil rights violations under Operation Lone Star, a multibillion-dollar border initiative announced last year by Gov. Greg Abbott, according to state records obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.
Supreme Court rules Biden administration can end “remain in Mexico” policy, sending case back to a Texas court
The Trump administration created the Migrant Protection Protocols, also called “remain in Mexico,” in 2019 before the Biden administration canceled it in 2021. The ruling sends the case back to a Texas federal court.