You might think a town that is almost 90 percent Latino would be fighting to keep an old immigration detention center closed. But many are desperate for it to reopen. The story of Raymondville, Texas, shows that life near the border is more complicated than outsiders might think.
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Delays in reunifying separated families underscore the chaos in the immigration system and the hardened stance that migrant advocates now face. Immigration courts are becoming more adversarial as a result.
Read moreImmigration court judges have a bench-side view of the stresses already placed on the system. The Monitor’s Texas bureau chief interviewed former and current judges about the effects of the Trump administration’s changes.
Read moreLiving on the border means living with things most Americans don’t, and to live with them without batting an eye. Recently, though, those tensions of border life feel as if they’ve been dialed to 11 – and even a beloved sports event isn’t providing a respite.
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As US communities shift away from fossil fuels, cities and towns are grappling with the challenge of just how much they can rely on renewable energy. Denton, Texas, aims to show the way.
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With the Ogallala Aquifer in a state of “managed depletion” in many parts of Texas, farmers are adapting what they grow and how they water it. Scientists are researching new drought-resistant crops and more efficient irrigation technologies. The overall picture, however, is of a water-poor region that is only going to keep losing water. With a century of economic, political, and cultural investment in agriculture, farming in the Panhandle isn’t likely to go extinct. But as farmers scratch their way through this year’s drought, they know it will be even tougher for their children and grandchildren.
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Conservationists hope that the iconic birds can encourage a rare, ecologically-friendly approach to coastal development in a time of mounting human and environmental pressure on coastlines around the world.
Read moreEven as it became apparent that a bombmaker had exploited modern fondness for online shopping to invoke terror, US law enforcement used emerging social dynamics, including Americans’ growing comfort with surveillance cameras, to protect the public.
Read moreTuesday’s primaries brought a show of enthusiasm among Democrats in the Lone Star State not seen in years. But it still may not be enough for them to win a single statewide race.
Read more“Colonias” have become a defacto solution to the nation’s affordable housing crisis in Texas — with 500,000 Texans choosing to live in the impoverished, informal communities despite the deficiencies. Is their very presence a moral blot on a rich nation’s conscience? Or are they a defacto affordable housing solution that should be more formalized and regulated?
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