Do you have questions about the recent buoy debacle on the Rio Grande? Our reporting has you covered, plus an important new hire at The Border Chronicle, and our new project Wall Watch.
As floodwaters swept hundreds of one-ton border buoys downstream, international bridges closed, commerce slowed, and officials struggled to get answers from DHS about a project advancing despite local opposition, environmental concerns, and treaty questions.
Hundreds of massive orange buoys staged for a controversial DHS floating barrier project broke free near Eagle Pass and are now drifting toward Laredo, threatening bridges, commerce, drinking water supplies and downstream communities.
Budd has investigated Border Patrol fatalities for years and the agency's efforts to cover up its crimes. Her work is now highlighted in a new documentary "Critical Incident: Death at the Border."
I’ve been speaking with Jenn Budd for years about Border Patrol crimes, impunity and how the agency could be (and should be reformed.) But both Democrats and Republicans have refused to demand oversight and accountability for the highly politicized agency.
Border Patrol and its paramilitary culture are now very much in control of the ICE & Border Patrol occupations in various cities in America. We talk about what this means for the investigation of Renee Good’s murder in Minneapolis by an ICE agent, and what that means for Americans as these occupations continue. We also talk about the many years of fatal shootings at the southern border, and the fact that not a single agent has been successfully prosecuted for lethal force.
We also discuss previous efforts at reform and what can be done to hold the agents accountable for their crimes.
You can learn more about Jenn’s work in this important documentary “Critical Incident: Death at the Border” which is out now on HBO Max. You can also listen to our 2022 podcast with Jenn about her memoir “Against the Wall: My Journey from Border Patrol Agent to Immigrant Rights Activist” about her time as an agent in the Border Patrol and her transformation into an activist and one of the fiercest critics against the agency.
Additional context mentioned in our discussion:
In February, the country broke an ominous record: over 68,000 people were being held in detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, more than ever before.
Border Chronicle founders, Todd and Melissa, talk about how law enforcement surveillance, high-speed chases instigated by Border Patrol, unwarranted searches and seizures, and other heavy-handed policing that border communities have endured for decades has now moved into the interior of the country.
This conversation, hosted by Todd Miller, about a great borderlands adobe brick building project is going great, until Jacques Servin—of the political performance artist trickster and activist troupe called the Yes Men—fails to grasp the meaning of the term "border security."
Gabriela Rangel, executive director of Tucson’s Museum of Contemporary Art, was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. As a
Independent news, culture and context from the U.S.-Mexico border.
