The trip comes in the midst of planned impeachment proceedings following a violent week at the U.S. Capitol and a week after Department of Homeland Security officials touted the “historic” completion of 450 miles of border fencing during the Trump administration. Read more»

Coronavirus infections continue to rise at migrant detention facilities in towns with limited resources. Some local governments want details on what’s being done to safeguard the public. Read more»

How to deal with, or talk about, foreigners who commit crimes in the United States — the government’s term for them is the politically incorrect “criminal aliens” — has prompted heated calls for vastly different solutions. Read more» 1

Texas lawmakers say that if Congress can't agree on a way to fund the Department of Homeland Security soon, the U.S. will look ridiculous to the world, and the southern border will look tempting to transnational gangs. Read more»

Congress left towns and counties on the Texas-Mexico border hanging last week when it adjourned without sending a supplemental budget measure to the president. The local governments have used their own resources since last spring to care for thousands of immigrants flooding into their communities, and they had hoped Congress would reimburse local taxpayers. Read more»

Lawmakers spent hours earlier debating the merits of a border bill. But CSPAN reported that House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, failed to garner enough support from his GOP colleagues, who argued the measure was not strong enough. Read more»

Proposed legislation to address the surge of unaccompanied Central American children crossing into the U.S. is dividing Texas’ border lawmakers. Read more»

The undocumented immigrants flooding into Texas from Central America don’t often know terms like “deferred action” or “prosecutorial discretion,” White House policies that grant relief from deportation and a possible work permit. But some are still basing their decisions to leave their home countries on misinformation — a rumor that they'll be allowed to live here legally. Read more»

Call it one of the most heralded binational agreements between the United States and Mexico you have probably never heard of. For more than a year, a Mexican customs inspection station has been open at the Laredo International Airport, the only airport in the U.S. where Mexican agents preclear cargo headed south of the border. Read more»

Civil liberties and immigrant rights groups are welcoming the release of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s use-of-force policy and a new directive for U.S. Border Patrol agents as a signal of greater transparency, but those groups — along with some congressmen — argue that more should be done. Read more»

As part of President Enrique Peña Nieto’s economic reforms in Mexico, the federal value-added tax in regions within about 12.5 miles of the border was raised this year to 16 percent from 11 percent, matching the rest of the country. As a result, economists and local government officials in Texas are eyeing millions in additional dollars being spent by Mexican residents who are willing to cross the Rio Grande to save on items from toilet paper to electronics. Read more»

Advocates for immigration reform who balked at a U.S. Senate proposal that adopted a strict border enforcement amendment might soon realize it was the best chance they were going to get. On Wednesday a group of key House Republicans said in a brief statement that they will not support the Senate's measure, opting instead for a series of fixes to what the group calls the country's broken system. Read more»

The Mexican government’s decision to limit the access that U.S. law enforcement agents had under the previous administration should be seen more as an effort to streamline enforcement and not as an affront to its northern neighbor, analysts and lawmakers say. Read more»

The same week Texas Democrats touted the results of a government study that shows border communities are safe, a federal stalemate could shrink the law enforcement build-up that helped make those results possible. Read more»

Former Webb County, Tex., Sheriff Rick Flores was ousted in 2008 by Martin Cuellar, a former DPS lieutenant and brother of Congressman Henry Cuellar. After a brief stint in Arizona, Flores is back — seeking to reclaim the seat as an independent. Read more»