As the humanitarian crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border comes more into focus, Trump administration officials insist that there is a “right way” for families fleeing persecution to seek asylum in the United States: Come to an official port of entry. But such families are still finding themselves in a lot of trouble.
Neena Satija
Neena Satija worked at the Tribune from 2013 to 2019. She was an investigative reporter and radio producer for the Tribune and Reveal, a public radio program from the Center for Investigative Reporting. Previously, she was the environment reporter at the Tribune. A native of the Washington, D.C. area, she graduated from Yale University in 2011, and then worked for the New Haven Independent, the Connecticut Mirror, and WNPR/Connecticut Public Radio. She has also been a regular contributor to National Public Radio. As an East Coast transplant she is particularly thrilled with Austin tacos and warm weather.
Posted in
Immigration
Help us find families who have been separated at the border
The Texas Tribune is part of an international project aimed at gathering information about parents and children who have been separated as a result of a recent “zero tolerance” immigration policy. Help us tell their stories.
Posted in
Families Divided
This man waited days to join his family in the U.S. and seek asylum. They asked him to turn back. (audio)
A native of Guatemala who is fleeing persecution struggles to reach his family in the U.S.
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Families Divided
Port Isabel detention center, where immigrants will be sent before reuniting with children, has long history of problems
Federal officials initially said the former naval base would be the main reunification center for separated families, then changed their wording and said children won’t go there “even for short periods.”
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Families Divided
Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn tour shelters housing immigrant children separated from families
The state’s Republican senators reaffirmed their commitment to keeping kids with their parents after they cross the border — so long as future immigration policy better deters people from entering the country illegally.
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Families Divided
On a bridge over the Rio Grande, immigrants seeking asylum wait for a chance to enter the U.S.
Sleeping on the bridge connecting Brownsville with Mexico, a Guatemalan man says he’ll wait as long as it takes to get across and find his wife and children. But federal agents stationed on the bridge have kept him and more than a dozen others from requesting asylum.
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Courts
The government took $41,000 from this Texan at a Houston airport six months ago. They never gave it back.
A nurse from Katy is suing Customs and Border Protection after the agency took the cash from her last October and never charged her with a crime. Advocates say the case shows just how abusive the practice of civil asset forfeiture can be.
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Criminal Justice
Travis County overhauled legal representation for the poor, but lawyers are still overwhelmed
The state has given Travis County nearly $2 million to reform its indigent defense system. But a handful of Austin-area lawyers are still taking on far more cases than experts believe anyone could handle.
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Blocked Out
A decade after Ike, Houston still hasn’t spent tens of millions it got to build affordable housing
When the Houston Housing Authority tried to build in low-income neighborhoods, housing advocates and the feds blocked the projects. When they turned to wealthier areas, neighbors and politicians shot them down. Will anything change once federal money starts to flow after Hurricane Harvey?
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TribCast
That time Oprah beefed with the Texas cattle industry (podcast)
In this special edition of the Tribcast, reporter and producer Neena Satija talks with editor Aman Batheja about his story on Oprah Winfrey’s beef with the Texas cattle industry.