The Republican U.S. senator praised Trump’s border initiatives and said fully securing the border should take priority over changing immigration law.
Berenice Garcia
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.
Posted in
Immigration
Trump administration to add 500 miles of migrant-deterring buoys along Rio Grande
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced plans to expand on Texas’ controversial floating barrier during a Wednesday visit to the Rio Grande Valley.
Posted in
Congress
U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz wants legal status for migrant workers in struggling construction industry
South Texas builders said a growing number of ICE arrests at construction sites have made it difficult for work to continue.
Posted in
Health care
The Rio Grande Valley among Texas regions most impacted by expiring health insurance subsidies
In the Rio Grande Valley, 98% of ACA enrollees received an advanced premium tax credit that lowered their monthly payments. Those subsidies will decrease Jan. 1.
Posted in
Economy
“Construction can’t continue”: South Texas builders say ICE arrests have upended industry
More than 300 people attended an impromptu meeting that industry leaders in the Rio Grande Valley hosted to draw attention to the chilling effect ICE arrests have had on construction.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Texas Democratic candidates unite in the Rio Grande Valley to court Latino voters
State Rep. James Talarico faces an uphill battle in his U.S. Senate bid while 15th Congressional hopeful Bobby Pulido aims to flip the district, but he must first win his primary.
Posted in
Economy
Texas’ plan to stop a parasitic fly from destroying its cattle population is far from complete
Texas lawmakers heard conflicting reports on the state’s readiness to fight the New World Screwworm, which is approaching the southern border.
Posted in
Politics
Islamic group sues after Gov. Greg Abbott directs DPS to investigate them
The CAIR Legal Defense Fund and another group claim the governor’s proclamation identifying them as terrorists “is defamatory and finds no basis in law or fact.”
Posted in
Politics
A year after Donald Trump won the Rio Grande Valley, South Texans navigate changes big and small
Residents in the southernmost part of Texas want to remind themselves — and the nation — that the region is more than a political battleground. It’s their home.
Posted in
Politics
Cruz, Cornyn push new retaliatory legislation that blocks U.S. water from going to Mexico
The bill is the latest effort from the Texas delegation that demands the U.S. get tougher with Mexico for failing to honor a 1944 treaty that in part governs Rio Grande water.