In Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, a push for residents to lose weight and curb diabetes
In Brownsville, the city and local hospital have helped residents lose more than 23,000 pounds since 2008. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5cf13eaff1c4d07612ca6197a11ff8d5/0121%20RGV%20Health%20GVC%20TT%2006.JPG)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/profiles/2024_Berenice_Garcia_FULL_2x3.jpeg)
Berenice Garcia is a regional reporter covering the Rio Grande Valley. She works at the Tribune as a corps members with Report for America. She previously covered local government, crime, healthcare and general assignments for The Monitor in McAllen where she was born. Though she's spent the majority of her life in the Valley, she traveled east to attend New York University where she studied journalism and politics. While there, she interned at the New York Daily News, the Daily Beast and NBC News. When she’s not working, she enjoys fighting for her life at the gym. Berenice is based in McAllen.
Latest Contributions
-
![Pedro Mego, a medical doctor specializing in treating peripheral artery disease and helping patients prevent the need for limb amputations, poses for a photo at his clinic in Mission on Jan. 21, 2025.]()
Credit: Gabriel V. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
Some Texas business leaders are apprehensive about Trump’s pledged deportations
“We wouldn’t survive” without undocumented workers, one South Texas produce business owner said. By one estimate, 8% of Texas’ workforce lacks legal status. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9f9df5d8e38e56397be7f883cd61490a/1230%20Migrant%20Workers%20SB%20TT%2009.jpg)
![Construction workers building homes in far west San Antonio on Dec. 10, 2024.]()
Credit: Scott Stephen Ball for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton sues NCAA over transgender athletes’ participation in women’s college sports
The attorney general is accusing the organization of misleading fans by allowing transgender college athletes in women’s sports. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f5fdb1dff4d6fd788cba66ebaefe08d0/Paxton_GOP_Convention_2018_BD_TT.jpg)
![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to delegates at the Texas Republican Convention in San Antonio on June 15, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Retiring U.S. Rep. Kay Granger discloses “health challenges” after congressional absences
The Fort Worth Republican’s last vote in Congress was in July. She did not seek reelection this year. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2c4178f98df86b6104b9cbdcaf27c496/Kay%20Granger%20REUTERS%20TT%2001.jpg)
![U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, sits in the House Chamber during a second round of voting for Speaker of the House, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023.]()
Credit: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
Texas’ citrus industry — once an agricultural powerhouse — is on the brink of disaster
A hurricane and winter freeze devastated the South Texas industry. A lack of water is preventing a full recovery. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6cca819d7145fcce018c6747182f1528/1216%20RGV%20Citrus%20MG%20TT%2018.jpg)
![Grapefruit trees at Lone Star Citrus Growers groves in Mission on Dec. 16, 2024.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
South Texas groups sue TCEQ for temporarily allowing SpaceX to discharge industrial water without a permit
In the lawsuit, the groups accuse TCEQ of exceeding its authority by allowing the discharges. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9c7951496cbbc4585b251debcf7306d7/SpaceX%20Super%20Heavy%20REUTERS.jpg)
![SpaceX's Starship lifts off from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight before exploding, near Brownsville on April 20, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Joe Skipper -
Trump’s promise of mass deportation throws undocumented Texans into fear, uncertainty
As Republican Texas leaders show support for Trump’s mass deportation plans, undocumented people — some who have lived in America for decades — are weighing their options amid mounting fears. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/be008255d4258dc296a70bff874cdf1f/1216%20Undocumented%20Texans%20DR%2007.JPG)
![DALLAS, TX - DECEMBER 16, 2024: A Dallas-resident, 41, co-founder of a nonprofit organization, at his office in Dallas, Texas on Monday, December 16, 2024. The resident was born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico and migrated to the United States when he was seven-years-old. He was a DACA recipient until it expired and he didn’t reapply in time. CREDIT: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune -
“The best time to prepare”: Migrant rights group warns undocumented Texans to plan for deportations
Groups are urging the state’s estimated 1.6 million undocumented migrants to prepare financially and make plans for their loved ones if they’re detained. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a8ba3e5b4e1ef5cdc3d420a7f2285f44/12006%20LUPE%20Info%20MG%20TT%2012.jpg)
![Attendees listen to LUPE staff members during an information session to prepare people for the incoming Trump administration's deportation plans on Dec. 6, 2024, in San Juan.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
SpaceX wants to turn its Texas launch site into a city
Citing all the work the company has put into the region, employees are requesting a special election in Cameron County to incorporate a city. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6ff0414260c6be4cb356dfbb7138b7a4/SpaceX%20Brownsville%20MGO%20TT%2001.jpg)
![The Starbase letters at SpaceX's Boca Chica Brownsville facility on Oct. 20, 2021. The SpaceX facility has become a popular destination for tourists.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
A South Texas lawmaker's 15-year fight for a Rio Grande Valley law school
Advocates say a law school in one of the state's poorest regions would exponentially help communities with legal aid. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bcc21eda0cf4b19753e9516da23e2862/0824%20Inside%20Interim%20RGV%20Lawmakers%20JG%2001%20TT.jpg)
![Armando Martinez speaks during the Inside the Interim with RGV Lawmakers Event in Edinburg on Aug. 24, 2022.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune