Governments along the Texas-Mexico border took a hard line to limit the spread of the new coronavirus. Police were key to the public health response, resulting in hundreds jailed and nearly 2,000 people ticketed.
Investigations
The Texas Tribune’s investigative journalism dives deep into the policy and political decisions that matter most to Texans. Read the latest — and most ambitious — work from our newsroom and the investigative team we share with ProPublica.
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The Texas Tribune-ProPublica Investigative Unit
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.
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Coronavirus in Texas
This loan company was founded to help Latino immigrants. It has sued thousands of low-income Latinos during the pandemic.
A monthslong investigation revealed that Oportun Inc. routinely uses lawsuits to intimidate a vulnerable population into keeping up with high-interest loan payments — even amid COVID-19.
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The Texas Tribune-ProPublica Investigative Unit
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.
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Coronavirus in Texas
This Silicon Valley-based lender sued thousands of Texans during the pandemic. It stopped when we started asking questions.
The company didn’t say exactly how many pending lawsuits it would drop in Texas and elsewhere, but it confirmed that “several thousand cases” would be impacted.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott is limiting enforcement of COVID-19 orders, but many cities already took a lax approach
Texas cities and counties have dramatically different interpretations of the state’s COVID-19 emergency orders. Complaint data from a dozen cities shows that disparate approaches to enforcement, particularly among businesses, have been incredibly common.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Officials knew coronavirus could spread at the Houston Rodeo and proceeded with the event anyway
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the city’s largest annual event, attracting 2.5 million people and generating nearly $400 million. But officials pushed forward with this year’s 20-day event until there was a positive coronavirus case from community spread.