The personal, financial, and environmental costs of a border wall in Big Bend, locals revive opposition after Trump's announcement of a refinery in Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley fights back after ICE shooting and raids, plus The Border Chronicle is seeking new paid subscribers!
“We love Big Bend the way it is. It does not need to change. We do not feel any danger, and we don’t want it to look like other places. And nothing makes a person who lives out here more mad than the idea of looking at a damn fence.”
Environmental advocates and residents say the long-proposed refinery threatens air quality and public health in a region already ringed by heavy industry.
Water, climate change, and the right-wing disinformation ecosystem...the Border Chronicle founders discuss what should be on everyone's radar when we talk about the borderlands.
The U.S.-Mexico border is the most talked about region in this year’s presidential election. So far, most of the media coverage is about which candidate scored the most political points during his appearance in a border community, and who is the toughest on border security. But what does real security look like from the perspective of a border community? If the Rio Grande dries up because of climate change and overuse, what good is a 30-foot wall, especially when, as in the case of El Paso, much of your access to the river is south of that wall?
In this podcast, Todd and Melissa get into real border issues that remain unaddressed in this year’s presidential election. And they talk about some of the biggest stories at the U.S.-Mexico border—including a new investigation, Smoke and Lies, which Melissa worked on with news outlets Lighthouse Reports, La Verdad in Ciudad Juárez, and El Paso Matters in Texas, as well as Todd’s reporting on climate change and water scarcity in the borderlands. We hope you’ll give it a listen and leave a comment on what you think are the most pressing issues facing the borderlands.
“We love Big Bend the way it is. It does not need to change. We do not feel any danger, and we don’t want it to look like other places. And nothing makes a person who lives out here more mad than the idea of looking at a damn fence.”
Environmental advocates and residents say the long-proposed refinery threatens air quality and public health in a region already ringed by heavy industry.
ICE raids and detentions, together with a high-profile killing, have led Rio Grand Valley residents to mobilize—including even some local Republicans.
Walking from a blasted mountain top--a planned site for new border wall construction--to a makeshift military camp along the border in a remote part of southern Arizona led to a tense yet revelatory moment.
Independent news, culture and context from the U.S.-Mexico border.
