Skip to main content

Asylum-seeking families and children made up nearly half of July border crossings: “This is young mamas and daddies trying to save their families”

Migrant crossings on the U.S.-Mexico border reached a 21-year high in July. This video takes you to the epicenter: Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, where more crossings are happening than in any other region in the country.

Republish

In Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, border crossings have surged in recent months. They reached a 21-year high in July, with 212,672 encounters reported by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

In crowded shelters and on the streets of small border towns, Texas Tribune reporter Lauren Santucci meets migrants seeking asylum and hears from community leaders who are on the front lines of what has become a heated political battle between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration. But the rhetoric doesn’t always match the reality on the ground.

Join us Sept. 20-25 at the 2021 Texas Tribune Festival. Tickets are on sale now for this multi-day celebration of big, bold ideas about politics, public policy and the day’s news, curated by The Texas Tribune’s award-winning journalists. Learn more.

Texans need truth. Help us report it.

Independent Texas reporting needs your support. The Texas Tribune delivers fact-based journalism for Texans, by Texans — and our community of members, the readers who donate, make our work possible. Help us bring you and millions of others in-depth news and information. Will you support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation of any amount?

Support independent Texas news

Become a member. Join today.

Choose an amount or learn more about membership.

$20 $25 $50 Other
Donate now

Information about the authors

Lauren Santucci’s staff photo

Lauren Santucci

Multimedia Fellow

Learn about The Texas Tribune’s policies, including our partnership with The Trust Project to increase transparency in news.

Explore related story topics

Immigration Greg Abbott