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.
Rio Grande Valley
The Rio Grande Valley sits along the Texas-Mexico border, where agriculture, trade and a rapidly growing tech sector shape daily life. The region includes communities such as McAllen, Brownsville and Harlingen. The communities are on the front lines of some of the state’s most consequential immigration and border-policy debates.
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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.
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Running Out: Texas’ Water Crisis
Texas’ congressional delegation wants Trump to punish Mexico for missing key water deadline
The state’s citrus industry is at risk, farmers say, after Mexico failed to deliver water it owes Texas as part of a 1944 treaty.
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Environment
A new South Texas data center will rely on untapped renewable energy
The new data center will work directly with a nearby windfarm to use energy the windfarm can’t send to the state’s electricity grid.
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2026 Texas Elections
In South Texas, Allred and Talarico compete for Latino voters by vowing to fight for working class
The two leading Senate Democratic candidates have made it a point to spend time along the border early in the cycle, a sign of the region’s importance in 2026.
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Public Education
South Texas students have a new chance to taste the race for space
In the shadow of SpaceX, Rio Grande Valley students will have a chance to build their own rockets and launch them 11,000 feet in the air, under a program that hopes to spark interest in aerospace jobs
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Economy
Starbase will take partial control of beach near Elon Musk’s SpaceX launch site
The deal between the new South Texas city and Cameron County mirrors a similar agreement with South Padre Island and requires a plan to combat beach erosion.
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Politics
As Republicans make gains in the Rio Grande Valley, Democrats are fighting among themselves
A faction of Hidalgo County Democrats has raised concerns over how the party is spending money and blocking the group from doing business for several months.
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Environment
Environmental laws waived to build border wall in Texas wildlife refuge
Advocates say there’s no national security justification for building a wall through a Rio Grande Valley wildlife refuge that provides habitat to ocelots and other endangered species.
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Economy
U.S. will build sterile fly factory in Texas to stop screwworm from devastating livestock industry
Mounted patrol officers, known as tick riders, who typically patrol the southern border to protect cattle from fever tick, will also now serve as the first line of defense against screwworm.
