Texas is on track for record turnout in this election after breaking early voting records
After early voting, 57.3% of registered voters in Texas have cast ballots, just shy of the total turnout of 59.4% in 2016. Full Story
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Jeremy Schwartz
Reporter, ProPublica/Texas Tribune investigative unit
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Jeremy Schwartz has been an investigative reporter in Texas for nearly a decade, covering issues including voting rights and border security for the Austin American-Statesman and USA Today Network. His work has resulted in the overhaul of Texas' inspection process for farmworker housing, sparked Congressional investigations of a failed Department of Veterans Affairs research program and uncovered misleading border arrest and drug seizure statistics maintained by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Schwartz won the National Association of Hispanic Journalists' Latino Issues award for his 2017 investigation into the political underrepresentation of Latinos in Texas cities and counties, and the Headliners Foundation of Texas Reporter of the Year award, among other honors. He previously served as Cox Newspapers' Latin America correspondent in Mexico City from 2005 to 2009, and before that, he covered the U.S. Border Patrol and immigration at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
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![Voters wait in line at a polling site at Austin Oaks Church on Oct. 14, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Records show Trump’s border wall is costing taxpayers billions more than initial contracts
As the presidential election nears, a review of federal spending data found modifications to contracts have increased the price of the border wall by billions, costing about five times more per mile than it did under previous administrations. Full Story
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![From left, the existing border wall, and to the right, segments of the first border wall construction in Texas since President Trump took office, near Donna in 2019.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Verónica G. Cárdenas -
Privately built border wall will fail, engineering report says
The report, set to be filed in federal court this week, confirms reporting from ProPublica and The Texas Tribune that found portions of the wall were in danger of overturning if not fixed due to extensive erosion just months after it was built. Full Story
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![The private border wall in South Texas on Aug. 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
Nonprofit that financed a private border wall is now the focus of a corruption case
Investigators say fundraisers for nonprofit We Build the Wall, including Steve Bannon and founder Brian Kolfage, lied to donors and pocketed funds. Trump has tried to distance himself from the group but Kolfage has bragged about their ties. Full Story
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![From left, We Build the Wall founder Brian Kolfage and Donald Trump Jr. during the Symposium at the Wall: Cartels, Trafficking and Asylum event in Sunland Park, New Mexico in 2019.]()
Credit: Mark Lambie/El Paso Times via REUTERS -
This private border wall was already at risk of falling down if not fixed. A hurricane made things worse.
Engineering experts said photos of damage from last weekend’s storms reinforce the idea that building and maintaining a border fence so close to the river poses serious challenges. Full Story
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![Erosion along the privately funded border wall on the banks of the Rio Grande in Mission has accelerated due to Hurricane Hanna. July 28, 2020.]()
Credit: James Hord for The Texas Tribune -
Trump says he disagreed with privately funded border wall. The builder got $1.7 billion in wall contracts from his administration.
President Donald Trump now claims this privately funded border wall in the Rio Grande Valley — touted as the "Lamborghini" of fences — was built to "make me look bad," even though the project's builder and funders are all Trump supporters. Full Story
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![U.S. President Donald Trump during a briefing in Doral, Florida on July 10, 2020.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque -
Eroding private border wall to get an engineering inspection just months after completion
Months after the "Lamborghini" of border walls was built along the Rio Grande, the builder agreed to an engineering inspection of his controversial structure. Experts say the wall is showing signs of erosion that threatens its stability. Full Story
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![Erosion can be seen along the privately funded border wall that was built less than a year ago on June 19, 2020 in Mission.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune/ProPublica -
He built a privately funded border wall. It's already at risk of falling down if not fixed.
Trump supporters funded a private border wall on the banks of the Rio Grande, helping the builder secure $1.7 billion in federal contracts. Now the "Lamborghini” of border walls is in danger of falling into the river if nothing is done, experts say. Full Story
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![Erosion can be seen along the privately funded border wall that was built less than a year ago on June 19, 2020 in Mission.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune/ProPublica -
A Laredo ER spent $500,000 on coronavirus tests. Health officials say they’re unreliable.
A private emergency room owner bought 20,000 rapid COVID-19 tests, but a week later they were seized by the federal government. It's a bitter example of what can go wrong when local governments try to buy supplies on the open market from unknown manufacturers. Full Story
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![In a video posted on social media, boxes of coronavirus tests are unloaded after their arrival from China in Laredo.]()
Credit: Lucas Waldron/ProPublica -
Along the border, the population is high risk for coronavirus, but testing is in short supply
Gov. Greg Abbott promised that all those who need a coronavirus test “will get one,” but near the border tests are scarce, and the death toll is beginning to rise. Full Story
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![Kristen Howell, a licensed vocational nurse, relays patient information to the testing team at the Austin Regional Clinic COVID-19 drive-up testing site in Kyle on March 31, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune