Border & Immigration
July 10, 2023
How Cartel Violence Has Reshaped Tejano Identity in South Texas
Many border residents no longer visit their home country, which may help explain the region’s rightward political shift.
44 Articles
Border & Immigration
May 10, 2023
If All the Officers Assigned to the Texas-Mexico Border Stood Side By Side, How Far Apart Would They Be?
Hint: if one of them were Baker Mayfield, he could pass a football to the folks on either side of him.
Politics & Policy
May 8, 2023
Whenever Texans Die in Mass Shootings, Greg Abbott Likes to Talk About Immigration
After the latest bloodbaths in Allen and Cleveland, the governor turned to a familiar playbook of deflection.
Politics & Policy
March 30, 2023
Biden’s Buggy Asylum App Doesn’t Work for Refugees—but It Serves His Political Interests
The administration’s new border policy has slowed the flow of asylum seekers, while frustrating those who are trying to follow the rules.
News & Politics
March 17, 2023
Matamoros Was Once Relatively Safe for Texans. That Seems to Be Changing.
The recent kidnapping of four U.S. citizens in the Mexican border city appears to mark the end of a period of relative peace.
Politics & Policy
March 6, 2023
The Texas Right’s Newest Target: Transgender Juvenile Offenders
A bill would require that detention centers house kids based on the sex listed on their birth certificates, contradicting federal guidelines.
Politics & Policy
March 2, 2023
Fleeing for Your Life? There’s An App for That.
The Biden administration has replaced key elements of our 50-year-old asylum system with “CBP One,” a smartphone application. It looks like the future—but potentially a dystopian one.
Politics & Policy
March 1, 2023
Cars Spun Doughnuts in Austin, And Greg Abbott Got Furious, Fast
Why has the governor lasered in on teenagers doing donuts and causing a ruckus in the capital city?
Politics & Policy
February 16, 2023
What’s Driving the Texas Right’s Campaign Against Transgender Youth and Their Parents
A handful of bills target gender-affirming medical care. Some families have fled the state and others are ready to follow.
Border & Immigration
February 2, 2023
Greg Abbott’s Migrant Busing Scheme is a PR Stunt. It’s Also a Good Idea.
Governor Greg Abbott’s scheme to transport asylum seekers to Democrat-run cities has been called a cynical PR stunt. It is—but if tweaked, it could be a good idea.
Texas Icons
January 17, 2023
How the Texas Rangers Became One of the Most Powerful Forces in the State
Texas’s elite police agency has evolved from a frontier organization to one famed for its expert interrogators. But some high-profile cases have tarnished that reputation.
Border & Immigration
January 9, 2023
In El Paso, Joe Biden Embraces Trump’s Border Policies
The president’s brief trip to the Texas border city Sunday inflamed critics of his immigration policies on both the left and right.
Politics & Policy
December 20, 2022
The Migration Crisis in El Paso Could Soon Grow Worse—Much Worse
The looming disaster has thrown both Governor Abbott’s and President Biden’s failed border policies into sharp relief.
White Hats
December 13, 2022
White Hats, Episode 6: Memorials and Monuments
As Texas Rangers’ 2023 bicentennial approaches, debates around the Rangers’ legacy become urgent again.
White Hats
December 6, 2022
White Hats, Episode 5: Bias Toward Action
How does the Texas Rangers’ legacy as frontier lawmen affect the men and women who wear the badge today?
White Hats
November 29, 2022
White Hats, Episode 4: The Cold Case
The Texas Rangers face a reckoning at the Capitol—and go on to become pop-culture heroes.
White Hats
November 22, 2022
White Hats, Episode 3: La Hora de Sangre
The Mexican Revolution gave the Texas Rangers a new calling. But it also became the darkest chapter in Rangers history.
White Hats
November 16, 2022
The Friendship That Inspired a Myth: Texas Ranger Jack Coffee Hays and Lipan Apache Chief Flacco
The historic partnership became pop-culture lore, but Texas’s broken promises to the tribe illustrated a different reality.
White Hats
November 15, 2022
‘White Hats,’ Episode 2: Ghosts of the Wild West
From Enchanted Rock to Fort Parker to the Guadalupe Mountains, we trace three early Ranger legends that mean very different things depending on whose history you claim as your own.
White Hats
November 15, 2022
‘White Hats,’ Episode 1: Rangers and ‘Rinches’
On the first episode of ‘White Hats,’ we visit the museum that tells the Rangers’ official history, then drive to South Texas to hear about efforts to bring other perspectives into the mainstream.
White Hats
November 10, 2022
Announcing Our New Podcast, ‘White Hats’
Coming November 15, a tale of the Texas Rangers . . . and a battle for the soul of Texas.
Tacos
October 5, 2022
Out of All Mexican Foods, Why Did the Taco Win America’s Love?
Living in a taco-obsessed world and reporting on border issues makes senior editor Jack Herrera’s relationship with the dish complex—and a little frustrating.
Politics & Policy
September 20, 2022
Biden’s New Border Patrol Leader in the RGV Promoted Trump’s Family Separation Policy
Twenty months after the former president left office, those who carried out his administration’s cruelest policy are still in place.
Politics & Policy
August 26, 2022
Will Hispanics in South Texas Vote for Abortion Rights?
The region has long been characterized as adamantly opposed to abortion rights. But the reality is more complicated. And times are changing.
Politics & Policy
August 4, 2022
Almost No One Thought George W. Bush Was the Real Deal. Except Paul Burka.
Even when Bush was a complete political newcomer, Burka could see his potential to change Texas and usher in a yet-to-end Republican dynasty.
Politics & Policy
June 30, 2022
The Supreme Court Rules for Biden Over Texas. But the Dangers for Migrants Remain.
Thursday’s decision won’t stop the border crisis or the kinds of deaths we saw on Monday.
Politics & Policy
June 29, 2022
The Tragedy in San Antonio Was Part of a Historic Migrant Death Crisis
Border crossers are perishing in trucks, in the Rio Grande, in falls from border walls, and in remote locations. And neither Greg Abbott nor Joe Biden has a serious solution.
Politics & Policy
June 23, 2022
A Latina Republican Won in South Texas. So Did a Left-Leaning Latina Democrat.
Victories by Mayra Flores and Michelle Vallejo illustrate the complex crosscurrents at work as the Tejano vote grows and splinters.
Politics & Policy
June 14, 2022
After Years of Victory Laps, the GOP Has Actually Won a Big South Texas Race
Mayra Flores won a special election to serve as the first Republican in the U.S. House from the Rio Grande Valley since 1871.
Politics & Policy
June 10, 2022
When It Comes to Recounts, It’s Not Henry Cuellar’s First Rodeo
The nine-term U.S. congressman from Laredo first came to power after a bitterly contested recount that led some to call the election stolen.
News & Politics
May 26, 2022
Border Patrol Agents Killed the Uvalde School Shooter. But Why Were They on the Scene?
Customs and Border Protection is a ubiquitous presence in many Texas communities, and agents are often first responders.
Politics & Policy
May 25, 2022
Progressives Are Gaining in South Texas, but Henry Cuellar Appears to Have Narrowly Beaten Them Back
Jessica Cisneros’s challenge from the left animated some national Democrats against the nine-term congressman.
Politics & Policy
May 6, 2022
Will the Threat to Abortion Rights Shake Up Texas’s Tightest Primary Runoff?
U.S. House candidate Jessica Cisneros predicts it will, but most national Democratic leaders are standing behind the incumbent, Henry Cuellar.
Politics & Policy
May 3, 2022
When Reality Meets Wedge-Issue Politics at the Border, Politics Wins
Kevin McCarthy’s trip to Eagle Pass laid bare the bipartisan bankruptcy of U.S. policy.
Politics & Policy
April 29, 2022
Are Texas Republicans on the Verge of Winning Hispanic Majorities?
Greg Abbott says yes. New polling tells a different story.
Politics & Policy
April 20, 2022
Greg Abbott Tried to Act Presidentially. He Might Have Run Afoul of the Law.
A legal expert says the governor’s effective blockading of the border could have violated the U.S. Constitution.
Politics & Policy
April 15, 2022
Greg Abbott’s Unintentionally Warm Welcome of Asylum-Seekers
The governor’s move to bus migrants to D.C. may be an attempt to stick it to Joe Biden, but it’s playing out in ways he didn’t anticipate.
Politics & Policy
April 7, 2022
Greg Abbott’s Latest Border Theater
The governor's plans to bus migrants to D.C. and ramp up vehicle inspections at ports of entry have little to do with federal immigration policy.
Politics & Policy
April 6, 2022
A Democratic Congressman’s Gift to the GOP
By chasing an early retirement and triggering a special election, veteran Rep. Filemon Vela of Brownsville has opened up a big opportunity for Republican candidate Mayra Flores.
Texas History
March 14, 2022
A Texas Monthly Editor Stumbles Into the Sordid World of the Massage Parlor King
Greg Curtis’s first story about Sam Corey was supposed to be a colorful human interest piece, but in some ways it was actually the beginning of a heinous murder.
Politics & Policy
March 9, 2022
Latinas Are Pushing a Political Revolution in South Texas—to the Right
Monica De La Cruz, Mayra Flores, and Adrienne Peña-Garza, all from Hidalgo County, hope to flip congressional seats across the region.
Politics & Policy
March 8, 2022
Republicans and Democrats Are Both Claiming Victory Based on South Texas Primary Turnout. Who’s Right?
Trying to use March voter counts to predict results in November, as many politicos have done over the past week, is fraught.
Politics & Policy
January 27, 2022
Is Henry Cuellar’s Political Support Strong Enough to Weather an FBI Raid?
So far, no major backer has publicly abandoned him. But one group has suspended TV ads on his behalf, and a major paper has endorsed his primary opponent.
Politics & Policy
September 13, 2021
Why Democrats Are Losing Texas Latinos
The party assumes people of color will turn the state blue. But most Tejanos consider themselves white. And more are voting Republican.