🧱🚰 Billions Spent on Border Security While Border Residents Lack Water, Hospitals, and Basic Infrastructure
🗳️ Mayra Flores to Challenge Embattled Democrat Henry Cuellar in Texas 28th District Race 🇺🇸 💔📰 Houston Landing to Shut Down Amid Financial Struggles Despite $20 Million in Initial Funding
🧱🚰 Billions Spent on Border Security While Border Residents Lack Water, Hospitals, and Basic Infrastructure
Anjeanette Damon, ProPublica, and Perla Trevizo, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica.- As President Donald Trump pushes for an additional $175 billion in border security spending, many residents in U.S.-Mexico border communities still lack essential services such as clean drinking water and hospitals. In Del Rio, Texas, families haul water to survive, while in Douglas, Arizona, residents must airlift children to distant hospitals. Despite multibillion-dollar investments in National Guard deployments, state-funded border walls, and security grants, persistent poverty and underfunded infrastructure plague these areas. Community leaders say the focus on immigration enforcement overshadows urgent needs like water access, healthcare, and road maintenance. For some, the juxtaposition of new barriers rising beside neighborhoods without running water illustrates a stark imbalance in government priorities. Residents and local officials warn that while border militarization delivers short-term boosts to regional economies, the long-term neglect of core services is deepening inequality in vulnerable, majority-Latino regions.
🗳️ Mayra Flores to Challenge Embattled Democrat Henry Cuellar in Texas 28th District race 🇺🇸
Katharine Wilson, The Texas Tribune.- Former GOP Rep. Mayra Flores, who made history as the first Mexican-born woman in Congress, announced her bid to unseat Democrat Henry Cuellar in Texas' 28th District in 2026. Her campaign comes as Cuellar awaits trial on federal bribery and corruption charges linked to alleged payments from foreign entities. Flores, 39, previously served six months in Congress after a 2022 special election win but lost in 2022 and 2024 to Democrat Vicente Gonzalez. She has now switched districts to challenge Cuellar, saying she’s fighting for “justice, opportunity, and unity.” Shortly after launching her campaign, Flores was briefly hospitalized but has since been released and is recovering. Meanwhile, the GOP has marked Cuellar’s seat as a key target for the 2026 midterms.
💔📰 Houston Landing to Shut Down Amid Financial Struggles Despite $20 Million in Initial Funding
Katharine Wilson, The Texas Tribune.- Houston Landing, a nonprofit newsroom launched in 2023 with over $20 million in seed funding, will cease operations by mid-May due to financial challenges and an inability to generate sustainable revenue. The board described the closure as a “difficult but necessary” decision, despite the outlet’s impactful journalism covering Houston’s diverse communities. Discussions are underway with The Texas Tribune, which may launch a Houston initiative as part of its expanding local news network. Houston Landing’s legacy includes policy impact, bilingual reporting for the Latino community, and community engagement. The closure highlights the ongoing crisis in local journalism, even for well-funded startups. The Tribune’s CEO, Sonal Shah, said they aim to build a “sustainable model” that learns from the Landing’s efforts. Founded after a two-year study on Houston’s news gaps, the Landing’s work touched many lives. CEO Peter Bhatia thanked staff and supporters for their commitment to truth and accountability.
🚧🇺🇸 Otay Mesa East Border Project Gets $150M Grant, Drops Green Mandates, Construction to Begin Fall 2025
Alexandra Mendoza, The San Diego Union-Tribune.- The long-awaited Otay Mesa East border crossing between the U.S. and Mexico secured a $150 million federal grant, greenlighting construction to begin in fall 2025. The new agreement eliminates previous Biden-era environmental mandates, such as EV charging stations, which the Trump administration deemed unrelated to border security. The $1.3 billion project will feature state-of-the-art inspection facilities for commercial and passenger vehicles and is expected to open by the end of 2027. Toll revenue—shared equally with Mexico—aims to guarantee a 30-minute border crossing and generate $3.7 billion over 40 years for both countries. Additional funding includes $192 million from California and $271 million in bonds. The project, in development for two decades, faced delays due to pending federal agreements but is now moving forward under a revised bipartisan strategy. Officials say final agreements should be in place within weeks to launch the project fully.
⚖️📉 California to Sue Trump Over Tariffs, Citing Overreach and Economic Damage to State Economy
Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times.- California Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to announce a lawsuit Wednesday challenging President Donald Trump’s authority to impose international tariffs without congressional approval unilaterally. The state argues that Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act exceeds presidential powers, especially as tariffs aren’t authorized under the law’s emergency provisions. The lawsuit comes amid growing concerns over economic fallout in California, which engaged in $675 billion in two-way trade last year and faces potential billions in lost revenue. Tariffs targeting imports from top partners—Mexico, Canada, and China—have rattled industries statewide, from farmers to small businesses. The lawsuit marks Newsom’s first direct role in legal opposition to Trump, previously led by State Attorney General Rob Bonta, who called the tariffs “illegal” and harmful to Californians. The suit could force congressional votes on tariffs, politically pressuring Republicans before the 2026 midterms.
🚨🛑 Activists Warn LAPD Data Sharing Enables ICE Access, Undermining Sanctuary Protections in Los Angeles
Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times.- Immigrant rights activists rallied Tuesday outside LAPD headquarters, warning that the department’s information-sharing practices expose immigrant communities to federal enforcement despite Los Angeles’ sanctuary policies. In a letter to the Police Commission, groups like Stop LAPD Spying Coalition alleged that LAPD surveillance tools—license plate readers, body cams, and shared databases—effectively provide Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with indirect access to data. Organizers say even routine traffic stops can result in biographic information flowing to fusion centers used by federal authorities. They criticized a disconnect between Mayor Karen Bass’s 2024 sanctuary order and LAPD practices. The department maintains its Special Order 40, which prohibits arrests for immigration status alone, but exceptions remain for serious crimes. Activists cited a February ICE raid in South L.A. where LAPD officers were present. LAPD says they only directed traffic, but critics argue the department is complicit. Chief Jim McDonnell’s prior record with ICE as sheriff has reignited scrutiny.
🌴💸 Darien Gap Migration Collapse Cripples Jungle Economy as Trump Cuts Asylum Access
Megan Janetsky and Matías Delacroix, Associated Press.- The once-thriving jungle economy along Panama’s Darien Gap has collapsed after President Donald Trump slashed asylum access in early 2025, drastically reducing migrant flows. Villa Caleta and other Indigenous communities, which saw economic booms from ferrying migrants northward, are now grappling with severe income loss and food insecurity. Residents like Luis Olea, who once made $300 a day as a boat pilot, are returning to subsistence farming but face long delays before seeing returns. At the migration’s peak, up to 3,000 people crossed the Darien Gap daily, injecting millions into isolated economies. Now, only a handful of migrants pass through each week. Makeshift businesses once supporting travelers have shuttered, and the port town of Lajas Blancas sits empty. Experts warn that the region’s dependence on migration revenues—and the sudden halt—may plunge impoverished communities into deeper hardship, with some now eyeing illegal gold panning for survival.