US Fish & Wildlife plans to transfer 712 acres of Boca Chica habitat to Elon Musk to expand SpaceX's dangerous and unnecessary rocket launch activities. We submitted over 3,000 public comments opposing this last night before the deadline. Read our press release sotxejn.org/2026/04/01/p...

The Trump administration is moving ahead with a new border security project in the Rio Grande — not a wall of steel or concrete, but a floating barrier of linked buoys. Read More👉 ebx.sh/yrWKgX

New today: “The Department of Homeland Security is not being clear intentionally about what their plans are, what they’re deploying in the region, and so it’s up to us in the community to track and document and report on it. This is how we fight back.”

Trump’s $1 billion offshore wind buyout is legally dubious — but may not be the last deal of its kind to come out of the White House.

Trump touted a "first new U.S. refinery in 50 years" at Port of Brownsville. The air permit was approved under Biden; the project dates to 2017. Local residents and environmental groups are already protesting over pollution and health risks. Read the Full Story🦂🔗:

A construction contract was awarded March 18, using money from the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” to build wall through the National Butterfly Center and the Santa Ana refuge, among other once-protected sites. New from Michael Gonzalez, copublished with @theborderchronicle.bsky.social:

I'll be speaking on a panel at the UT Austin conference on April 24, discussing climate change issues in the Rio Grande Valley. There are many other great panels as well. RSVP & info: lifeafterempire.com

A ton of attention has been paid to the $75 billion that ICE got for mass deportations. Less attention has been paid to the $46.6 billion that CBP got for border barriers, which will now apparently include these hideous orange things running along 500+ miles of the Rio Grande.

Story out now in @insideclimatenews.org insideclimatenews.org/news/2303202...

There is little transparency b/c the feds waived contracting & enviro. laws. “They are creating a law-free zone along the border,” a Laredo lawyer told me. “The problem for the country is that if people become comfortable with that then it’s coming your way.”

The federal government plans to install 536 miles of massive, cylindrical buoys in the Rio Grande to prevent unauthorized crossings. The buoys could cost upwards of $3 billion, at a moment when crossings are at record lows. (photo by Michael Gonzalez)

Experts say the outcome of the Prairieland "Antifa" case will give the Trump administration the green light to take a more aggressive stance against left-wing activity and further politicize the use of domestic terrorism laws. www.texasobserver.org/prairieland-...

The Brownsville community has been fighting this proposed oil refinery for many years now & we won't give up. Community members legally challenged the air pollution permit with TCEQ for this proposed oil facility years ago with the Environmental Integrity Project

Border communities urged officials to condemn deadly buoys in the Rio Grande. Most officials haven't responded to our letter. We will protest against these murder buoys in Brownsville on Feb 26. Press release -> sotxejn.org/2026/02/19/p...

"The Brownsville area suffers from crumbling infrastructure due to inadequate funding, mishandling of city resources, and various forms of exploitation. ... Climate change impacts, such as flooding and extreme heat, make it worse." From @bekahbot.bsky.social deceleration.news/disaster-kit...

Member of neo-Nazi group tied to acts of violence and hate crimes across the US (in 2017, a member murdered Heather Heyer in Charlottesville at a white supremacist rally) is unmasked as a federal security contractor.

This is 18-mo-old Amalia waving to me when she was detained. She was hospitalized with a respiratory infection while at ICE’s Dilley facility for immigrant families. She’s one of dozens of detainees who I spoke to via video and phone calls, letters and an in-person visit. 🧵1/

9-year-old Maria Antonia Guerra from Colombia was detained on her way to Disney World. She told me when I met her that what was supposed to be a 10-day dream vacation to the park’s Halloween celebration turned into a 100+ day nightmare at Dilley. 6/

NEW: ProPublica went inside the detention center for immigrant families in Dilley, Texas. Children held there told us about the anguish of being ripped from their lives in the United States and the fear of what comes next.

“It is absolutely disgusting for our public officials to consider signing non-disclosure agreements with corporations, especially the Eneus Data Center, which the community clearly opposes,” - South Texas Environmental Justice Network Stop Data Centers!! myrgv.com/local-news/2...

Omg! Local San Antonio news is at a protest in Dilley, Texas at the Family Prison where Liam Ramos is being held. Y'all I'm crying so hard. These young people are so brave. I'm guessing most are from San Antonio. Absolutely clear video proof that the cops were the only violent actors here.

Our latest episode of Anywhere but Washington is from Minneapolis. We observed ICE’s racial profiling during traffic stops in the suburbs, embedded with neighborhood watch groups, spoke to folks at a GOP gubernatorial forum, and spent time with Somali-American community leaders:

If ICE is emboldened to carry out extrajudicial killings of American citizens in broad daylight, imagine what's happening to the tens of thousands of people being held in makeshift detention camps across the US without cameras, attorneys and organizers

ICE is sending these kids to the concentration camp in Dilley, Texas, where they're preparing to have so many children that they're opening a new school there. They're actively hiring teachers now. I reported on it last month. We have to get people out of there.

Liam is one of four Columbia Heights, MN school district students who have been taken by ICE in the last two weeks, the school district said. Liam's teacher: “He is so kind and loving, and his classmates miss him. He ... just brightens the room. All I want is for him to be back here and safe.”

New from me and @tristanl.ee with a bit of help from @wileydcope.bsky.social: We identified companies in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that are operated either by members of Patriot Front or individuals with multiple connections to Patriot Front www.texasobserver.org/revealed-fou...

DHS Noem visited Brownsville to spew racist propaganda. CBP's comment period to install 500 miles of deadly buoys in the Rio Grande. DOW installs razor wire in Peñitas. DOW Hegspeth in Brownsville. 2 weeks of border militarization in the Rio Grande Valley, TX. Statement: sotxejn.org/2026/01/09/s...

We oppose the installation of death-trap buoys in our river because they are unnecessary & will seriously injure or kill people. These buoys would also cause irreparable damage to the river habitat. We urge electeds @BTxRGV to condemn these buoys & demand their immediate removal.

Three SpaceX rockets exploded unexpectedly last year – twice raining down debris over busy airspace. “It literally looked like the sun coming out,” one passenger said. Such midair scrambles could become more frequent as launches increase, experts say. www.propublica.org/article/spac...

New: I spoke to Rice University Latin American Studies Professor Luis Duno-Gottberg and @sdonziger.bsky.social about the history of U.S. oil adventurism in Venezuela and the role Chevron is set to play in Trump's blood-for-oil imperial venture. www.texasobserver.org/houston-oil-...

Yes, this is a war for oil, Exxon & other U.S. oil corps are direct beneficiaries. Like all wars for oil, there are other objectives as well, with regime change in Cuba certainly high on the Trump administration's list, accomplished via cutting off oil flows from VZ. www.reuters.com/world/americ...

Venezuela has massive oil reserves (estimated the largest, but also tough to extract), but this isn't just about VZ's oil. VZ threatened the entire region's oil, particularly Guyana, which also happens to be Exxon & Chevron's largest biggest newest easiest pot of oil in the world after TX Permian.

By me: It’s easy to feel powerless about climate chaos. Here’s what gives me hope - my swan song for @theguardian.com, at least for now www.theguardian.com/environment/...

SpaceX will keep approaching state & fed agencies to try to occupy more of our sacred, pristine coastline inch by inch. We in South Texas will fight back at every step because this colonizer must be stopped.

Today, we SUED the regulator, FERC, for approving Rio Grande LNG & the Rio Bravo Pipeline. This methane gas facility would be the biggest polluter in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas earthjustice.org/press/2025/t...

🚨Pam Bondi just ordered the FBI to compile a list of American "extremists" and to establish a bounty fund to reward tipsters, per DOJ memo leaked to me: www.kenklippenstein.com/p/leak-fbi-l...

a big new one from me: I profiled a group of neighbors in west texas who have become the face of the abandoned well problem in the heart of oil country for @motherjones.com - an unlikely group of former industry workers and ranchers who are fed up with how Big Oil won’t clean up its messes:

Today, the US Department of War is working with masked contractors to install border militarization buoys in the Rio Grande River. This is just the start; the Trump Admin plans to eventually install 17 miles of deadly "murder buoys" to maim people in this part of our river. Pics by me:

Sharing this hilarious video of someone yelling "Fuck you" at Congressman Henry Cuellar on the streets of Laredo, TX.

I'm here, I'm queer, I belong in Texas, too. thebarbedwire.com asked me to take a moment to introduce myself, and why our state needs reporters like me, and media where we can see our stories reflected. This one starts when I'm just 13 years old...

The new city of Starbase is suing Texas AG Ken Paxton over his office’s ruling that it must release public information requested by a media outlet in the Rio Grande Valley. bit.ly/3LWQgaw

AP finds a secretive Border Patrol intelligence program detains Americans for “suspicious” travel. Critics call it mass surveillance.

Where's the US news report about this? Someone placed signs on Matamoros, Mexico's beach near the US-Mexico border & SpaceX launchpad, declaring it a "restricted area" in accordance with directives issued by the Secretary of Defense. www.hoytamaulipas.net/notas/605347... www.gob.mx/sre/prensa/n...

Farm workers are proud to stand in solidarity with Starbucks workers. Los campesinos se enorgullecen de solidarizarse con los trabajadores de Starbucks. #NoContractNoCoffee

Absolutely disgusting. Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, has his own company town in the poorest community in the country, the Rio Grande Valley, TX

NOW: A small group of protesters briefly blockaded the entrance to the Tesla Gigafactory in Austin to demand shareholders reject a $1T pay package for the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. The blockade dispersed after a Travis Co. Sheriff threatened to arrest protesters without any official warning.

Alejandro Juarez was mistakenly deported to Mexico despite a pending court hearing, @nytimes.com reports. On Sept. 20, we tracked an Eastern Air Express flight from Newark, NJ to Harlingen, TX — we believe this was the plane carrying Mr. Juarez prior to his wrongful removal to MX.

Arnoldo Bazan, a 16-year-old U.S. citizen, was beaten, choked, and subjected to racial slurs by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Houston, who did not identify themselves before tackling him and his father to the ground.

Australian company announces lithium refinery plans at the Port of Brownsville “The timing is ideal to establish a foothold in Texas,” the company chairman said www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/ne...

While Menijivar was held at the Corley facility facing possible deportation, another detainee sexually assaulted him twice with the help of an accomplice, he said in an official complaint and in interviews with me this year, and other media in 2017: www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...