“Barely adequate.” “Haphazard at best.” That’s how investigators describe the quality of care at immigrant detention centers all over Texas.
Immigration
In-depth reporting on border issues, policies, communities, and the impact of immigration across the state, from The Texas Tribune.
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Demographics
Detaining Care, Part One: Mental Hell
The physically disabled and suicidal detainee was put in an isolated cell without her crutches. She was strip-searched and denied feminine products. For days, she slid around on the floor, covering herself and the cell in menstrual blood. When inspectors came out to investigate, they found a facility poorly equipped to provide mental health treatment to its 1,500 detainees.
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Demographics
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
KBH resigns herself to staying in the Senate, Grissom investigates the broken border, Ramshaw outs IT contractors who make gigabucks from state agencies, Hu gives Hutchison and Perry the Stump Interrupted treatment, the new head of the Foresenic Science Commission faces his critics, Stiles posts a searchable database of fines levied by the state ethics commission, and Hamilton discovers the consequences of party switching (none): The best of the best from November 9 to 13, 2009.
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Demographics
Broken Border, Part Six: The Gaps
For many who call the border home, all the guns, all the money, all the technology, and all the police badges have done little to address the problems that make their lives insecure.
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Criminal Justice
Broken Border, Part Five: Safer?
In some places, the governor’s border security efforts have led to a reduction in crime — in rural counties, for instance, where there aren’t many people and there wasn’t much crime to begin with. But in large urban counties like El Paso and Webb, it’s a different story.
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Demographics
On the Records: Redact Much?
The Texas Public Information Act allows agencies to redact information for security and privacy reasons. The Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition decided redact just about everything they possibly could on the invoices they sent me.
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Demographics
Broken Border, Part Four: Who’s Watching?
The Web site where you can view border cameras isn’t getting the predicted traffic, calling into question the program’s law enforcement impact.
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Demographics
TribBlog: Sharp, Valley legislators push for veterans health care
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Sharp and state Reps. Ryan Guillen and Veronica Gonzales fired off a letter today to the two Republican Texas senators asking them to find money to boost health care funding for Rio Grande Valley veterans.
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Demographics
On the Records: Srsly, Border Patrol? Srsly?
The mildly pleasant woman who answered the phone explained to me that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Freedom of Information Act office does not accept requests electronically.