Tag Archives: Rio Grande Valley
Immigrant Workers in Texas Could Fill Farm Vacancies, but They’re Trapped in the Valley
Immigration checkpoints are keeping undocumented immigrants in South Texas while farmers in other parts of the state are desperate for labor.
For the last two years, Bernie Thiel has watched yellow squash rot in his farm fields outside of Lubbock. The crops weren’t diseased, and they weren’t ravag...Read More
Santa Ana’s Last Stand?
Wildlife biologist Ken Merritt lost his job trying to save the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge a decade ago. Now the “jewel” of the national wildlife refuge system is under threat again.
Ken Merritt, 65, knows what it’s like to stand between a threatened wildlife habitat and a border wall. In 2007, the Bush administration wanted to construct a...Read More
Trump Administration Preparing Texas Wildlife Refuge for First Border Wall Segment
If the levee wall is constructed, it will essentially destroy the refuge, a federal official told the Observer.
For at least six months, private contractors and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials have been quietly preparing to build the first piece of Pres...Read More
Call Them Refugees
As political leaders argue over the crisis at the Texas-Mexico border, local communities and nonprofits carry the weight.
Busy obsessing over border security, Texas have ignored the humanitarian crisis in the Rio Grande Valley, leaving cash-strapped charities to do the work....Read More
Hundreds Gather to Remember the 1966 Texas Farmworkers’ March
The 491-mile walk led to the first statewide minimum wage and effectively launched the farmworkers’ movement in Texas.
Austin demonstrators recreated part of 1966's 491-mile march for better farmworker conditions, which effectively led to the state's first minimum wage....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
Texas Relents on Birth Certificates for Children of Undocumented Immigrants
In a settlement, Texas has been forced to clarify which forms of ID it'll accept from undocumented parents who say they were denied their kids' records....Read More
La Frontera Fund Joins Texas’ Growing Circle of Volunteer-Led Abortion Access Groups
The volunteer-led South Texas group will help abortion patients who need to travel to and from the Rio Grande Valley for their procedures....Read More
Rotten Apples in Donna ISD
Corruption that led to the indictment of two Donna school board members roils the border town they served.
“It’s embarrassing — that’s what it is,” said school board member Efren Ceniceros, who worked as a coach and teacher for 30 years before retiring. “...Read More