Rio Grande Valley

A researcher in South Texas is trying to understand what male and female red-crowned parrots communicate to each other. The species is beloved in the Rio Grande Valley, but endangered.

National

This prized parrot is in peril from pet poachers

9:00am December 03, 2021

by John Burnett

The beloved Red-Crowned Parrot, the official bird of Brownsville, Texas, and one of two native parrots in the U.S., faces threats from people stealing nestlings to sell into the pet trade.

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Fisher Industries workers move sections on May 24, 2019 in Sunland Park, N.M., near International Boundary Monument No. 1 where New Mexico, Texas and Mexico come together.

National

His Private Border Wall Enraged Neighbors. Then He Landed $2B To Build Walls For Trump

2:00pm October 14, 2020

by John Burnett

The privately built border wall in Texas teeters on the banks of the Rio Grande with serious erosion problems. The contractor was awarded more than $2 billion in official wall contracts.

Hector Guerra, right and Juan Carlos Sanchez, from El Mariachi Continental, make their way to a funeral service in Donna, Texas on Aug. 21.

A Priest, An Editor And A Mariachi Player Talk Life In The Rio Grande Amid COVID-19

8:45am September 09, 2020

by John Burnett

Their work and lives have been upended in this region devastated by the coronavirus, and where poverty and preexisting conditions like diabetes, hypertension and obesity are prevalent.

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Juliet García, former president of the University of Texas at Brownsville, stands behind the border wall.

Between President Trump's Border Wall And The Rio Grande Lies A 'No Man's Land'

3:53pm February 14, 2020

by John Burnett

Because of worries about flooding, the border wall is often built as much as a mile north of the Rio Grande, leaving thousands of isolated acres between the water and the wall.

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A new section of the border wall is seen in November 2019 south of Donna, Texas. Trump's 576-mile border wall is expected to cost nearly $20 million per mile, which is more expensive than any other wall under construction in the world.

National

$11 Billion And Counting: Trump's Border Wall Would Be The World's Most Costly

7:25am January 19, 2020

by John Burnett

The costs keep piling up for Trump's border wall which has a current pricetag of $11 billion — nearly $20 million per mile. It's more expensive than any other wall under construction in the world.

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A white-tailed deer emerges from the brush. The Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge has some of the richest biological diversity in North America--with 1,200 plants, 300 butterflies, and 700 vertebrates, of which 520 are birds.

National

Border Wall Threatens National Wildlife Refuge That's Been 40 Years In The Making

10:11am January 14, 2020

Construction of the Trump administration's border wall has been slowed by difficulties acquiring private land, so the government is prioritizing construction inside federal nature sanctuaries.

The existing border wall (right) is seen near the construction site of new wall panels south of Donna, Texas, on Nov. 20. There is widespread skepticism on the border that President Trump will get anywhere near the 450 miles of wall he wants by next Novem

National

Acquiring Private Land Is Slowing Trump's Border Wall

9:10am December 20, 2019

by John Burnett

In South Texas, there's skepticism that President Trump will get the 450 miles of wall he wants by Election Day. Construction is behind schedule because of how difficult it is to take private land.

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Good Neighbor Settlement House in Brownsville, Texas, is helping recently released migrants by offering them a meal, shower and some new clothes before journeying up north to await their day in immigration court.

National

Shelters And City Governments Scramble To Help Migrants In The Rio Grande Valley

8:24am April 07, 2019

by Reynaldo Leanos Jr.

The mayor of Brownsville, Texas, was told to expect close to 6,000 migrants released in the Rio Grande Valley this week. A local shelter has been taking in hundreds each day.

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Eloisa Tamez of El Calaboz, Texas, walks along the border wall in her backyard. She took the government to court over surveying her land and over the compensation she received for the land needed for border wall construction.

Rio Grande Valley Landowners Plan To Fight Border Wall Expansion

9:12am March 19, 2019

by Reynaldo Leanos Jr.

A decade ago, dozens of Texas landowners fought the federal government's efforts to build a wall on their land. Those battles are beginning again as new walls are planned for the Rio Grande Valley.

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A performer who goes by Beatrix Lestrange organized and hosted the No Border Wall Protest Drag Show in Brownsville, Texas.

National

Texas 'Dragtavist' Drag Queens Stage Border Wall Protest

10:33am February 26, 2019

by Reynaldo Leaños Jr.

"We'll try to bring joy, positivity, beauty, drag, culture to whatever this is," Beatrix Lestrange said, pointing to the section of the border fence directly behind her.