An expanding definition of "terror" ignites a more bellicose extension of the U.S. border abroad. A history of labor and mining and community written on borderlands' gravestones. And The Border Chronicle in Douglas and with Amy Goodman this coming week.
Just what did U.S. officials at the Border Security Expo earlier this month say about U.S. foreign policy, border extension, and a revival of the war on terror?
Mining operations have been in the center of borderland labor conflicts for more than a century. These photos tell the moving story of one such town, through its cemetery.
Many are turning to Mexican folk healing in the borderlands in this uncertain era, and Cabeza de Vaca reincarnated as a cactus? An irreverent, surreal documentary perfect for our times.
Welcome to this week’s Border Chronicle roundup where we feature our work at The Border Chronicle and highlight important news from across the U.S.-Mexico border region.
This is Melissa del Bosque, cofounder of The Border Chronicle along with Todd Miller. Last week both Todd and I were out of the country, taking a break from the insanity of the U.S. news cycle. We left last Friday’s roundup in the capable hands of Caroline Tracey, our wonderful environmental and arts&culture reporter.
For the last year, we’ve had the great honor of working with Caroline and Pablo de la Rosa, who is based in South Texas. It’s not easy covering almost 2,000 miles of border. Todd and I started The Border Chronicle in 2021 and for three years we were the sole writers for the newsletter and podcast. Caroline and Pablo have allowed us to expand our coverage and bring greater depth to our work across the region. We want to continue getting better and bigger as we approach our fifth year in 2026.
This is why we have big plans for transition and expansion in 2026, which we will reveal as we get closer to the end of the year.
But first we need you! Our reporting is almost entirely supported by our paid subscribers. On Oct 3, we reported that The Border Chronicle lost several paid subscribers due to churn, which is usually expired credit cards, people deciding not to renew, or simply forgetting to renew. We want to send a big thanks to those subscribers who came to our aid — especially two wonderful subscribers — who responded with generous donations to make up for our losses in subscription revenue. We greatly appreciate your support! It’s a huge morale booster during these dark times when fact-based journalism reported by humans is being attacked by billionaire-run tech companies and the Trump administration.
If you’re a free subscriber who listens to our podcast and reads The Border Chronicle, we would greatly benefit from your paid support now as we transition into a more robust media outlet in 2026. We want to keep Caroline and Pablo on staff and also make other key staff hires to expand our community engagement and coverage. If you value our independent work at the border, a paid subscription is just $6 a month or a discounted $60 a year, to support our reporting at The Border Chronicle.
Yes! I want to support The Border Chronicle’s fact-based, independent reporting at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Not ready to subscribe? You can also send a donation via PayPal to The Border Chronicle.
Thank you so much for reading and have a good weekend!
Melissa
Pablo De La Rosa
Caroline Tracey
An expanding definition of "terror" ignites a more bellicose extension of the U.S. border abroad. A history of labor and mining and community written on borderlands' gravestones. And The Border Chronicle in Douglas and with Amy Goodman this coming week.
The Trump Administration is destroying sacred sites for more border wall, a podcast on a new investigation into the massive surveillance tower opening in Ciudad Juárez, plus more events and news from the borderlands.
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!
Happy May Day! An audio deep dive into the National Defense Areas and a human rights archeologist speaks on the politics of haunting and border deaths.
Independent news, culture and context from the U.S.-Mexico border.
