Writing in the Era of Exhibitionist Violence

A longtime border journalist reckons with a democracy under siege.

A National Guard soldier near City Hall in Los Angeles, California on June 8, 2025 after being deployed by the Trump administration against the state’s wishes. (Photo credit by Tayfun Coskun via Getty Images)

Power appeared in Brownsville, Texas with space-age visions made possible through old-fashioned pollution. It arrived in the form of state regulato…