Tag Archives: colonias
The Flood Next Time
In the floodplain of the Rio Grande, Trump's wall threatens to inundate communities on both sides of the border.
by Gus Bova May 6, 2019 In July 2008, the U.S. Department of Justice shelled out $12,000 for a 1.71-acre strip of land along the Rio Grande’s north bank i...Read More
In the Rio Grande Valley, New Citizens Turn Out to Vote for the First Time
A nonprofit in Brownsville is seeing more immigrants signing up for citizenship classes this year, and more exercising their new right to vote.
Fifty-one-year old Sandra Cantu had never voted before today. Originally from Matamoros, Mexico, Cantu has lived for the last 30 years in Brownsville, just over...Read More
How Disaster Recovery Overlooks the Poor
Texas’ recent plan for allocating $5 billion in federal disaster recovery grants neglects the poorest people harmed by Hurricane Harvey, activists say.
Early in his career, David Hall came to see the Rio Grande Valley’s most impoverished communities as an important prism for viewing Texas’ civil rights stru...Read More
Eye on Texas: ‘Normal Life’ in a Border Colonia
400,000 Texans live in 'colonias,' unincorporated border communities that often lack basic services.
San Antonio photographer Michael Cirlos captures a scene in the colonia of Pueblo Nuevo in December's Eye on Texas photo feature....Read More
Will State Leaders Keep South Texans Safe from Zika Virus?
Women in South Texas colonias are particularly vulnerable, public health advocates say.
Zika virus is headed for Texas. The question now: Will the state dedicate funds needed to keep the most susceptible Texans — South Texas Latinas — healthy?...Read More
Holding Back the Flood
For activists in the Valley’s colonias, success looks like a drainage ditch.
For activists in the Valley’s colonias, success looks like a drainage ditch....Read More
The Next 60: Agenda for a New Texas
“I have never heard of or seen in my 80 years watching Texas a more empathy-dead, society-wide INJUSTICE than the refusal of...tens of billions in Medicaid money.”
An idea can change society, and being the people, we have lots of ideas. Let’s look, too, for more good, young new leaders and also some not so young. ...Read More
Advocates: Legislation Would Roll Back Tough Colonia Regulations
Manuela Luna’s colonia near Mercedes, Texas is no suburban paradise. Spanish Palms, a small low-income community of 25 people, lacks paved roads, but at least...Read More
Postcards: Life In a Colonia Called ‘The Ranch’
Cuevitas is one of several thousand colonias in South Texas—impoverished communities where many people live without proper sanitation, electricity or running ...Read More