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Articles on US-Mexico border

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Elon Musk and Texas congressman Tony Gonzales stand in front of a group of South American migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. (Twitter/Tony Gonzales)

Unpacking Elon Musk’s convoluted U.S.-Mexico border visit

Elon Musk’s visit to the U.S.-Mexico border played into false tropes that paint asylum seekers as dangerous criminals.
The Rio Grande, viewed from the Zaragoza International Bridge between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Vianey Rueda

The Rio Grande isn’t just a border – it’s a river in crisis

When the Rio Grande figures in US news reports, it’s usually in relation to stories about immigration, drug trafficking or trade. But the river is also an important water source – and it’s shrinking.
This booking photo provided by Fulton County Sheriff’s Office shows Donald Trump on Aug. 24, 2023, after he surrendered and was booked at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta. Trump is accused of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters in a desperate bid to keep Joe Biden out of the White House. (Fulton County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Trump indicted in Georgia: Why do his supporters remain loyal?

Those who support Donald Trump unconditionally have not wavered. Their support encompasses numerous groups and reasons, but first and foremost, they believe Trump gives them what they want.
Buoy barriers are shown in the middle of the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 18, 2023. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Federal government is challenging Texas’s buoys in the Rio Grande – here’s why these kinds of border blockades wind up complicating immigration enforcement

Setting up buoys in a section of the Rio Grande is more likely to result in migrants seeking pathways elsewhere, rather than deterring migration altogether.
In an aerial image taken on May 12, 2023, a border wall and concertina wire barriers stand along the Rio Grande river between Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, left, and El Paso, Texas. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Title 42 didn’t result in a surge of migration, after all – but border communities are still facing record-breaking migration

When host communities unexpectedly receive large numbers of migrants, the influx can tax local services – and relations between migrants and residents.
A makeshift memorial where a tractor-trailer was discovered with 53 dead migrants inside, near San Antonio, Texas, June 29, 2022. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

Crossing the US-Mexico border is deadlier than ever for migrants – here’s why

A 1994 US policy was supposed to deter migration by securing popular access points. Instead, it drives people to enter the US by more hazardous means, such as being crammed in hot tractor-trailers.
A Spanish-language sign warns migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border against explsing themselves to the dangerous elements in the desert. David Howells/Corbis via Getty Images

More migrants are dying along the US-Mexico border, but it’s hard to say how big the problem actually is

The number of migrants dying while trying to cross the US-Mexico border is at an all-time high. But these figures are still likely an underestimate.
Unaccompanied immigrant minors wait for Border Patrol processing after they crossed the Rio Grande into Roma, Texas, April 29, 2021. John Moore/Getty Images

This is what happens to child migrants found alone at the border, from the moment they cross into the US until age 18

A record 95,079 child migrants had arrived alone at the US’s southern border by July this year. The US is legally responsible for these children, but it is struggling to give them adequate care.
Honduran and Cuban migrants cross the Rio Grande River on the U.S.-Mexico border, June 26, 2019. Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Cuba’s economic woes may fuel America’s next migrant crisis

The dire conditions that brought waves of Cubans to the US in the 1980s and 1990s are again escalating on the communist island, provoked by Trump-era sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. Border Patrol detains tens of thousands of the families and children who try to cross U.S. borders every year. AP Photo/Julio Cortez

The situation at the US-Mexico border is a crisis – but is it new?

Children and families have been fleeing to the US in rising numbers for nearly a decade. So why is the current situation at the US-Mexico border being viewed as something new?
Unaccompanied minors wait to see a Border Patrol agent after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into Texas on March 25, 2021. John Moore/Getty Images

4 reasons why migrant children arriving alone to the US create a ‘border crisis’

Unaccompanied minors pose a humanitarian challenge for Biden, as they did for Trump and Obama. There are no quick fixes to child migration and many vexing complications, says an immigration scholar.

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