The Border Chronicle Weekly Roundup: March 27
A year of military buildup on the border, walling off the Rio Grande Valley, and Caroline Tracey's debut book launch in Tucson.
The Border Chronicle Podcast
Audio Feature: "La Jaula de Oro", Trump's ICE Raids Cast a Shadow of Fear in the Rio Grande Valley
Intensified ICE raids have turned South Texas' Rio Grande Valley into a “Golden Cage,” trapping migrant families in fear and isolation.
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Audio Feature: "La Jaula de Oro", Trump's ICE Raids Cast a Shadow of Fear in the Rio Grande Valley
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Since January 2025, the Trump administration has dramatically ramped up migrant workplace raids — mobilizing ICE and Homeland Security Investigations to detain thousands of undocumented people nationwide as part of a push to deport millions before Trump’s term ends.
In Texas, home to some 1.7 million undocumented workers, mixed-status families in the Rio Grande Valley are caught between the Mexican border and interior checkpoints—an inescapable trap that has compounded their fear and anxiety amid daily raids.
In this audio feature, Pablo De La Rosa speaks with border residents to explore what life looks like under the constant threat of arrest and deportation.
Read next
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.
Inside Trump’s Plan to Finish Walling Off the Rio Grande Valley
Even sites once protected by Congress, including a butterfly refuge and a historic church, are slated for fencing funded by the “one big beautiful bill”—while the river itself is transformed by a floating barrier.
What’s Next?
An immigration judge fired by the Trump administration searches for meaning at the southern border.
“Whoever Saves a Life, Saves a World”: On the Death of Carlos Spector, El Paso Immigration Attorney
He saved numerous lives by winning Mexican asylum cases that many said would be impossible to win.