3 dead, more than 200 rescued in South Texas after severe storms cause flooding
Homes were inundated with water and cars were abandoned across the Rio Grande Valley region. Full Story
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Berenice Garcia is a regional reporter covering the Rio Grande Valley. She works at the Tribune as a corps members with Report for America. She previously covered local government, crime, healthcare and general assignments for The Monitor in McAllen where she was born. Though she's spent the majority of her life in the Valley, she traveled east to attend New York University where she studied journalism and politics. While there, she interned at the New York Daily News, the Daily Beast and NBC News. When she’s not working, she enjoys fighting for her life at the gym. Berenice is based in McAllen.
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![A crowd of vehicles lay stranded on frontage road in front the McAllen Convention Center during a downpour on Thursday, March 26, 2025, in McAllen, Texas.]()
Credit: Joel Martinez/The Monitor via AP -
FEMA wants the names and addresses of migrants helped by Texas nonprofits and local governments that got federal grant money
A letter sent this week claims the grant recipients, including many Texas cities and counties, may have illegally “induced” undocumented immigrants to enter the country. Full Story
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![Migrants walk from a DHS tent facility in front of the McAllen bus station to Catholic Charities RGV Humanitarian Respite Center on April 22, 2021.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate panel sends message to Trump: Get our water from Mexico
Farmers and elected officials told a Senate committee Monday that the lack of water is becoming dire, with little relief in sight. Full Story
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![Water marks are seen on the dam gates and concrete at the Falcon Dam in Starr County on Aug. 18, 2022. This area of the reservoir is normally under water, but because of an extended drought, water levels have been below 20% full since earlier this year. The Falcon Dam was dedicated by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Mexican President Adolfo Ruiz Cortines in 1953.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Why a Rio Grande Valley hospital is helping to feed its patients
As the Edinburg facility and others seek to assist people experiencing food insecurity, state lawmakers have more than a dozen bills that could tackle Texas’ food deserts. Full Story
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![Evangelina Yzaguirre, a cancer patient at DHR, receives food aid from the hospital food pantry program.]()
Credit: Ben Lowy for The Texas Tribune -
Why two border counties are joining Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star after migration slows
The counties hope to access state money to help pay for some criminal justice work, such as prosecuting drug cases and overtime. Full Story
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![City lights in Mexico are seen in the background as migrants are registered by border patrol agents after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico in Roma, on March 5, 2022.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Adrees Latif -
South Texas bakery owners housed undocumented workers next to business before ICE raid, feds allege in hearing
Before federal agents arrested them, the couple who runs the bakery in Los Fresnos said they “knew this would happen one day,” a federal agent testified at court hearing. Full Story
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![A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement badge.]()
Credit: Lucy Nicholson/REUTERS -
ICE arrests South Texas bakery owners accused of hiring undocumented workers
Federal immigration agents raided the Los Fresnos bakery and detained eight workers before filing charges against the two owners. Full Story
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![Abby's Bakery in Los Fresnos.]()
Credit: Social media -
Texas migrant shelters are nearly empty after Trump’s actions effectively shut the border
The shelters began seeing fewer people dropped off by customs and border agents following former President Joe Biden’s executive order limiting some asylum claims. Full Story
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![Jose Alfredo Ledezma, 35, of Honduras, holds a folder next to his wife and daughter outside of Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen on Aug. 2, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Spring forward? Maybe not in Texas as lawmakers mull ending daylight saving time.
Lawmakers here and in Washington have long debated ending the practice of changing the clocks twice a year. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol on Feb. 1, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
“A lot of fear going on”: Texas immigrant community on edge during Trump’s first weeks
Across the state, immigrants and their loved ones are changing their daily habits as the Trump administration orders at least 1,200 daily arrests of undocumented people. Full Story
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![People gather at Memorial Park in El Paso on Jan. 29, 2025 to protest ICE raids and deportations.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune