The Border Chronicle Weekly Roundup: January 30
The Border Patrol's long legacy of abuse, and border walls and buoys are killing the Rio Grande. A moving reflection from a border resident on what that means for the US and Mexico.
Border Patrol Nation?
For decades, the Border Patrol has operated with extraconstitutional powers along the U.S.-Mexico divide. Now it’s leading the charge in U.S. cities across the country.
More Than a River
Border Walls and Buoy Barriers Are Killing the Rio Grande. I Have a Front Row Seat.
An Autopsy of the Biden Years at the Border: A podcast with Andrea Flores
For years, Flores has served as an immigration policy advisor to Democrats at the national level, including President Biden. She talks about what went wrong, and what Democrats should be doing now.
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The Border Chronicle Weekly Roundup: January 30
The Border Patrol's long legacy of abuse, and border walls and buoys are killing the Rio Grande. A moving reflection from a border resident on what that means for the US and Mexico.
How New Mexico Learned to Love Its Ephemeral Waters
Rollbacks to the Clean Water Act may have affected the borderlands more than any other region. States are stepping up—but there’s still more to do.
Border Chronicle Weekly Roundup Jan. 16
An art exhibition in Mexico, billions of dollars of CBP spending on private contracts, ICE impunity, and more.
The Nature of Violence
Legado de Fieras, an exhibit by Sonoran artist Miriam Salado, reflects on the natural world and the artifacts of human violence.
A discussion with former agent Jenn Budd on Border Patrol and ICE impunity
Budd has investigated Border Patrol fatalities for years and the agency's efforts to cover up its crimes. Her work is now highlighted in a new documentary "Critical Incident: Death at the Border."
The Border Chronicle Weekly Roundup: January 9
The perspective from Venezuela, Border Patrol and ICE impunity spreads from the border to the interior. Plus, we'll be debuting a new Border Chronicle later this month!
The Trump Corollary: A Q&A with Gabriel Aguirre about Venezuela
An incisive breakdown and analysis of the January 3 attack on Venezuela, and the new yet very old U.S. security strategy of domination behind it.
Environment
How New Mexico Learned to Love Its Ephemeral Waters
Rollbacks to the Clean Water Act may have affected the borderlands more than any other region. States are stepping up—but there’s still more to do.
“Re-envision No More Division”: A Reflective Photo Essay of 2025
Take a photographic stroll in 2025--from Inauguration Day in January to unauthorized cows crossing the Rio Grande in the fall--as we seek a “different way forward.”
Dynamite Blasts and Paradise Lost
One of North America’s Last Pristine Prairies in the San Rafael Valley Will Be Scarred Forever as the Border Wall Advances in Southern Arizona.
A River without Water: A Photo Essay by Eduardo Talamantes
A ferocious drought has struck Chihuahua, leaving its most important river, the Río Conchos, almost dry, and its people in dire straits.
Arts & Culture
The Nature of Violence
Legado de Fieras, an exhibit by Sonoran artist Miriam Salado, reflects on the natural world and the artifacts of human violence.
“Re-envision No More Division”: A Reflective Photo Essay of 2025
Take a photographic stroll in 2025--from Inauguration Day in January to unauthorized cows crossing the Rio Grande in the fall--as we seek a “different way forward.”
“A border / was placed upon / land and dermis”
A Q&A with author Raquel Gutiérrez on art, the apocalypse, Interstate 10, and their new poetry book, Southwest Reconstruction.
How Do You Live in a ‘Disabled Ecology’?
A new exhibition in Tucson commemorates community resistance to the borderlands’ military-industrial complex.
The Border Chronicle Podcast
A discussion with former agent Jenn Budd on Border Patrol and ICE impunity
Budd has investigated Border Patrol fatalities for years and the agency's efforts to cover up its crimes. Her work is now highlighted in a new documentary "Critical Incident: Death at the Border."
This Immigration Judge Loved His Job. But Then He Was Fired: A Podcast with Jeremiah Johnson
Morale is low among judges, says Johnson, as the Trump administration ignores due process and the immigration case backlog grows.
Kafka’s Merry-Go-Round of Hell: A Podcast with Laura St. John
Dive into the delusions of detention and deportation under the Trump administration. The Florence Project’s legal director offers a new way to understand and challenge them.
From Impunity at the Border to Illegal Boat Strikes: A Podcast with Jonathan Blitzer
"The border has always been a laboratory for authoritarian policies. Now they're being unleashed into the interior of the country," he says.
Community
They Grow the Food. So Why Are So Many Going Hungry?
In the Rio Grande Valley, a coalition of farmers, educators, and advocates is reimagining a food system built on justice, not scarcity.
Healing Traditions: How Curanderismo is Reviving Cultural Connection in the Borderlands
Mexican folk medicine is being reclaimed during a time of deep uncertainty in the U.S. political climate.
Humanitarian Aid Is Never a Crime: A Podcast with Scott Warren
How did the first Trump administration crack down on providing water and aid for migrants? And what insights can we gain from that now?
Comunidades se oponen a SpaceX en Tamaulipas
Un grupo ambientalista Mexicano dice que los lanzamientos de cohetes de Elon Musk desde el sur de Texas están matando tortugas, dañando hogares y ensuciando las playas de Tamaulipas con escombros.
Immigration
This Immigration Judge Loved His Job. But Then He Was Fired: A Podcast with Jeremiah Johnson
Morale is low among judges, says Johnson, as the Trump administration ignores due process and the immigration case backlog grows.
Under Trump, DACA Recipients Struggle with New Uncertainty
Living in Trump's Deportation America right now feels like "pure trauma" says a DACA recipient in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas.
Kafka’s Merry-Go-Round of Hell: A Podcast with Laura St. John
Dive into the delusions of detention and deportation under the Trump administration. The Florence Project’s legal director offers a new way to understand and challenge them.
We Just Want the Chance to Stay: Stories from Guatemala and the Borderlands on Climate and Belonging
“That, to me, is what climate adaptation should look like: It’s small cooperatives, youth projects, local entrepreneurship: investments that don’t just protect against storms but nurture belonging."
Border Militarization
“We pay for borders with everything"
An interview with Russ McSpadden about his debut poetry collection, Borderlings.
“Telling the Truth about Immigration”: A Podcast with Isabel Garcia
“What we allow them to do on the border, is what they will do to you.”
La Junta de los Ríos: Reporter’s Notebook from Presidio and Big Bend
It is false that a river is a good political border. It is the opposite. A river attracts, creates, and foments life. This includes bears.
Trump’s Troops and the Border “Learning Lab”
How the Republican-led Operation Lone Star in Texas became Trump’s model for sending troops into Democratic-led cities.
Surveillance
The Tower and the Tarantula: Searching for a New Way Forward 24 Years after 9/11
A reflection on the development of a border war machine, its imposition, its fragility, and the necessity of finding another way.
Upside-Down World: Climate Change and the Border-Industrial Complex in the Trump Era
Climate displacement and border enforcement--two dynamics trending distinctly upward--are on a collision course.
Reporter’s Notebook: Observations and Photos from the Border Security Expo
DHS secretary Kristi Noem explaining what's to come in an address to border industry representatives: “We can go in, take you out of your home, and deport you out of this country.”
A Tour of the Sales Floor at the Border Security Expo in Phoenix
The Border Chronicle's Todd Miller does a live video tour of vendors promoting their products to the Department of Homeland Security.
Politics
Under Trump, DACA Recipients Struggle with New Uncertainty
Living in Trump's Deportation America right now feels like "pure trauma" says a DACA recipient in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas.
From Impunity at the Border to Illegal Boat Strikes: A Podcast with Jonathan Blitzer
"The border has always been a laboratory for authoritarian policies. Now they're being unleashed into the interior of the country," he says.
“Telling the Truth about Immigration”: A Podcast with Isabel Garcia
“What we allow them to do on the border, is what they will do to you.”
Economy
They Grow the Food. So Why Are So Many Going Hungry?
In the Rio Grande Valley, a coalition of farmers, educators, and advocates is reimagining a food system built on justice, not scarcity.
As AI Data Centers Target the Water-Scarce Borderlands, New Mexico Invests in Desalination
Meanwhile, community members worry about stealth approval processes and a lack of transparency.
Can the Water Resiliency Fund Help Revive the Endangered Rio Grande?
“It’s billions of dollars to focus on this, and this is all hands on deck," says Jesse Hereford, a NADBank official.
Weekly Roundup
The Border Chronicle Weekly Roundup: January 30
The Border Patrol's long legacy of abuse, and border walls and buoys are killing the Rio Grande. A moving reflection from a border resident on what that means for the US and Mexico.
Border Chronicle Weekly Roundup Jan. 16
An art exhibition in Mexico, billions of dollars of CBP spending on private contracts, ICE impunity, and more.
The Border Chronicle Weekly Roundup: January 9
The perspective from Venezuela, Border Patrol and ICE impunity spreads from the border to the interior. Plus, we'll be debuting a new Border Chronicle later this month!