Author

Melissa del Bosque

Melissa del Bosque is Co-founder and Executive Director of The Border Chronicle. Melissa has written about the U.S.-Mexico border since 1998 for various media outlets, including ProPublica, The New Yorker, The Guardian, The Texas Observer, and The Intercept.

Her work has been recognized with numerous U.S. and international journalism awards, including a Gabo Award and the Internacional Rey de España de Periodismo award, as the U.S.-Mexico investigations editor for Lighthouse Reports. In 2020, del Bosque received the RFK Human Rights Journalism Award as part of a ProPublica group reporting project “Inside the Border Patrol.” In 2016, she received the Hillman Prize for her investigative feature “Death on Sevenmile Road” about the militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border. In 2015, del Bosque’s four-part series with The Guardian on migrant deaths in South Texas won an Emmy and a National Magazine Award. 

Del Bosque is also the author of Bloodlines: The True Story of a Drug Cartel, the FBI and the Battle for a Horse-Racing Dynasty. She has a Master’s in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master’s in Public Health from the Texas A&M School of Rural Public Health, and a Bachelor’s in poetry and Creative Writing from San Francisco State University.

In her spare time, Melissa loves to travel, spend time with her family, and explore the Sonoran Desert.

Melissa's Latest Articles

Inside the Sentinel Surveillance Tower in Ciudad Juárez: A Podcast with Investigative Journalist José Olivares

Torre Centinela, a Mexican surveillance hub that will share intelligence with U.S. and Texas law enforcement is slated to open soon. Olivares discusses his investigation on Torre Centinela and the private corporation running it.

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The Border Chronicle Weekly Roundup: May 8

Todd witnesses a border security spending frenzy at the annual Border Security Expo in Phoenix, a Q&A with the author of a new book on El Paso's importance to U.S. history and immigration, and much more!

Inside the “National Defense Areas”: A Podcast with Investigative Reporters Sonner Kehrt and David Roza

With more than 40 percent of the U.S.-Mexico border now under military authority, we discuss our Border Chronicle/The War Horse investigation examining this unprecedented expansion of federal power and its impact on border communities.

The Border Chronicle Weekly Roundup:April 24

Border barriers on the river could be fatal during floods, say Laredo landowners, a reflection on desert narratives and the U.S.-Mexico border, and become a sustaining member of The Border Chronicle today, get some cool, new merch, and help us hold those in power accountable.

Exclusive Documentary Short Premier: What Do Argentina’s Disappeared Have to Do With Unidentified Migrants on the U.S.-Mexico Border?

A Q&A and exclusive screening of a documentary short by award-winning filmmaker Bernardo Ruiz.

The Border Chronicle Weekly Roundup: April 10

We've got new merch! Pedro Rios documents the gradual walling off of Friendship Park in San Diego, and Amy Juan on long-distance running and resilience for the Tohono O'odham plus more from across the borderlands.

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The Border Chronicle Weekly Roundup: April 3

A critical DNA database to identify missing migrants vanishes, the US military is closing off the border to Americans, and lots of border wall news.

A War Zone, Minus the War: One Year Into the Military Buildup of the U.S.-Mexico Border

An investigation into how President Trump’s emergency declaration along the southern border expanded military power, blurred legal lines, and helped spread the use of military-grade technology.