Observing the Borderlands

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After stints at the McAllen Monitor and as a Lege staffer, Melissa del Bosque worked at the Texas Observer as a staff writer from 2008 to 2018, chronicling life in border communities, investigating the government’s militarization of the region, and telling migrants’ stories. Along the way, she produced some of Texas’ most influential border reporting, including the Hillman Prize-winning “Death on Sevenmile Road,” an exposé of how state police shot at a truck from a helicopter, killing migrants riding in the bed.

Her 2014 four-part series on migrant death in South Texas for the Observer and the Guardian, “Beyond the Border,” won an Emmy and a National Magazine Award. She is the author of Bloodlines: The True Story of a Drug Cartel, the FBI, and the Battle for a Horse-Racing Dynasty, a 2017 book based on her reporting on Zetas cartel money laundering.

Del Bosque, now based in Tucson, Arizona, co-leads The Border Chronicle, a newsletter featuring analysis and on-the-ground reporting about the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, and she also serves as investigative editor for Lighthouse Reports

TO: How did you become a border reporter?

I grew up in San Diego [California], so I grew up at the border. I was always fascinated by the culture and endlessly intrigued by the fact that you can be standing in one country, looking into another country. We’re there, side by side. 

I was at a crossroads in deciding what I wanted to do with my life. I had already been through a creative writing program and I needed to make a living, so I was going to go into journalism, and I really wanted to focus on border journalism. There were border bureaus, and border journalism was actually a thing because of [the North American Free Trade Agreement] being passed [in 1992].

But by the time I became a border journalist, it wasn’t really a thing anymore. It’s more, you’re an immigration reporter—whereas I’ve always seen the border position as incorporating other things like the environment and politics. It’s this amazing beat because it’s local and it’s international. 

What drew you to the Texas Observer

I crossed over to the dark side and started working in politics. I was working for Chuy Hinojosa, the [state] senator from McAllen. I was up there in the Capitol doing environment and health communications. The things that I was seeing happening inside—the legislative process and how the sausage gets made—were awful and mortifying. This is not a reflection on Senator Hinojosa, because he was great, but the process was corrupted by money and influence.

I would always call the Observer, because I knew them. This is when Jake Bernstein was the editor, Dave Mann was there, and Nate Blakeslee was still writing for the Observer. I would call them, totally indignant and enraged by what was happening that week in the Capitol, and I’d be like, “You guys need to get over here and write about this.”

I think they got so tired of me calling that they said, “Well, why don’t you just come and work here?” I took like a $10,000 pay cut and went back to journalism.

What themes have been a constant in the two decades that you’ve reported on the border, and what’s changed? 

I always look at it from the perspective of the person who’s most affected by the targeting, surveillance, and violence. We hear so much from Washington, D.C., and from politicians about how they think the border is insecure. I’m really most interested in how that impacts people in everyday life. What is it like to cross the border in the back of a truck, under a tarp, and then have state police shooting at you from a helicopter? We don’t hear enough of that perspective. It’s not reported on enough, and there are more and more people being impacted and targeted by so-called “border security,” by the surveillance, and the armed people, and the surges.

I listen to The Border Chronicle podcast, and a theme that I’ve heard in several episodes is how what happens at the physical border affects people far beyond the border. Can you talk about that?

I’ve always thought of the border as being the testing ground for the rest of the nation. License plate readers, sensors, and drones are tested at the border—and then they’re rolled out into the interior. We need to pay close attention to what’s happening at the border, because it’s the future. Increasingly, with border externalization—which is sort of like U.S. imperial policy—[the border] gets pushed out into countries all around the world. We have Border Patrol agents who are traveling around the world and training border guards in techniques that they use. There’s surveillance, there’s detention, and all these things that are taught to other countries who are implementing U.S.-centric border restrictions and trying to prevent people from moving north. It’s really a global policy now.

The March 2015 issue in which “Death on Sevenmile Road” appeared.

What were the most consequential stories to you, or your favorite stories that you reported on, at the Observer?

I think Sevenmile Road. That was a really important story because it was so outrageous. First, that [the Texas Department of Public Safety] would think it’s a good idea to train snipers to shoot from helicopters, and shoot out the tires of cars while they’re in pursuit. Then, of course, they didn’t tell local officials that they were doing this, but they did debut it on a cable show. Then when the shooting occurred, they completely blocked any media outlets from getting the video from the helicopter, from getting any of the documents from the investigation, so that we could really decipher what had happened exactly and how these people had died. 

In probably one of the luckiest strokes in my career, I filed a public information request with Hidalgo County, and the district attorney blocked me. But, in the shuffle between the outgoing and the incoming DAs, they forgot to respond to my public information request within the acceptable number of days. I benefited from the dysfunction. They were forced to hand over all the information that they had presented to the grand jury, which had no-billed it. I was able to get the video and all of those documents that way.

What, to you, is the Observer‘s legacy?

The Observer goes after stories that no other outlet in Texas does. I don’t think the Observer is afraid of anything or anybody. They’re not into insider access. They’re not beholden to anyone, and that really gives them the superpower of being able to go after any entity or person, no matter how big they are—which is something that’s so important, that we need more of.

This interview, which is part of the Observer’s 70th anniversary coverage, has been edited for length and clarity. Support for our 70th anniversary interview series has been provided by KOOP Radio in Austin, which permitted its studios to be used for recordings.

Liberty Classical Academy pursuing possible legal action after May Township vote

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Liberty Classical Academy officials say they plan to pursue “all legal remedies” against May Township in order to begin construction of the school’s planned expansion as soon as possible.

The May Town Board voted earlier this month to deny Liberty Classical Academy’s request for a conditional-use permit for a sewage treatment system and stormwater management facilities that are proposed to be located on school property in the township.

The private Christian academy, which serves students pre-K through 12th grade, moved part of its lower-school programming two years ago to the former Withrow Elementary School building in neighboring Hugo. School officials also bought the neighboring 88-acre Zahler farm, which is located in Hugo and May Township.

Liberty officials plan to build an approximately 33,500-square-foot building addition to the existing school and associated parking on the Withrow property. The Hugo City Council in June approved the expansion plans, which will effectively double the size of the school building.

An architectural rendering of Liberty Classical Academy’s plans for an approximately 33,500-square-foot addition to its existing school in Hugo. The school, which serves students from pre-kindergarten through second grade, is located on the former Withrow Elementary School property. (Courtesy of Liberty Classical Academy)

But May Township officials denied the academy’s CUP request “on the basis that it is inconsistent with the terms of a recently passed interim ordinance establishing a moratorium around non-residential, commercial and institutional type uses in the rural residential district,” said Town Board Chairman John Pazlar.

The vote was 2-0. Supervisor Don Rolf abstained; he is an employee of Pope Design Group, the architecture firm assisting the school with the building plans.

The board also directed staff to map out a timeline for the code-revision process to be completed during the moratorium and consider whether the one-year moratorium “could be compressed into a shorter time frame, for example 6 to 8 months,” Pazlar said.

‘Project is not over’

School leaders are disappointed they cannot begin the project this summer as planned, said Rebekah Hagstrom, the academy’s headmaster and founder.

School officials first presented plans for expansion to the May Town Board in May 2023, she said. Six months later, they submitted CUP applications to the Hugo City Council and May Town Board, she said.

“After study and debate, the City of Hugo approved a conditional-use permit for the project in June,” Hagstrom said. “Unfortunately, after five meetings and hours of public discussion, the Town Board denied the school’s conditional use permit, using a moratorium adopted two weeks earlier as its sole justification.”

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“While this was not the desired outcome, the project is not over,” she said. “Liberty purchased the Withrow school building and the land around it several years ago to provide for consolidation and expansion of its Christian school. The school community and donors have generously supported the project, providing resources for design, engineering and traffic studies to satisfy the requirements of the City of Hugo, Town of May, Washington County, Brown’s Creek Watershed District and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.”

Some of the neighbors who live in the area told the Pioneer Press in July that they were worried about the school’s plans for future expansion, citing concerns about an increase in traffic and its proposed subsurface sewage treatment system.

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Today in History: August 19, last U.S. combat troops leave Iraq

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Today is Monday, Aug. 19, the 232nd day of 2024. There are 134 days left in the year.

Today in History:

On Aug. 19, 2010, the last American combat brigade exited Iraq, seven years and five months after a U.S.-led invasion marked the beginning of the Iraq War.

Also on this date:

In 1692, four men and one woman were hanged after being convicted of witchcraft at Salem in the Province of Massachusetts Bay; the story of one of the men, John Proctor, inspired Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible.”

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Today in History: August 16, American music loses two legends


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Today in History: August 14, FDR signs Social Security Act

In 1807, Robert Fulton’s North River Steamboat arrived in Albany, two days after leaving New York on its maiden voyage.

In 1812, the USS Constitution defeated the British frigate HMS Guerriere off Nova Scotia during the War of 1812, earning the nickname “Old Ironsides.”

In 1814, during the War of 1812, British forces landed at Benedict, Maryland, with the objective of capturing Washington D.C.

In 1854, 31 U.S. soldiers were killed after one of the soldiers fatally shot Brule Lakota Chief Conquering Bear, sparking the First Sioux War.

In 1909, Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosted its first automobile race.

In 1934, German voters approved the vesting of sole executive power in Adolf Hitler.

In 1955, torrential rains caused by Hurricane Diane resulted in severe flooding in the northeastern U.S., claiming some 200 lives.

In 1960, a tribunal in Moscow convicted American U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers of espionage. (Although sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, Powers was returned to the United States in 1962 as part of a prisoner exchange.)

In 1980, 301 people aboard Saudia Flight 163 died as the jetliner made a fiery emergency return to the Riyadh airport.

In 2013, South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius was indicted in Pretoria, South Africa, on charges of murder and illegal possession of ammunition for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, at his home on Valentine’s Day 2013; Pistorius maintained he’d mistaken her for an intruder. (Pistorius would be found guilty of murder and sentenced to prison; he was released on parole in January 2024.)

Today’s Birthdays:

Former tennis player & coach Renee Richards is 90.
Actor Jill St. John is 84. Author Jack Canfield is 80.
Rock singer Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) is 79.
Former President Bill Clinton is 78.
Actor Gerald McRaney is 77.
Actor Jim Carter (“Downton Abbey”) is 76.
Former First Lady Tipper Gore is 76.
Rock bassist John Deacon (Queen) is 73.
Actor-director Jonathan Frakes is 72.
Political consultant Mary Matalin is 71.
Actor Peter Gallagher is 69.
Actor Adam Arkin is 68.
Actor Martin Donovan is 67.
Football Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz is 66.
Musician Ivan Neville is 65.
Football Hall of Famer Morten Andersen is 64.
Actor John Stamos is 61.
Actor Kyra Sedgwick is 59.
Actor Kevin Dillon is 59.
Country singer Lee Ann Womack is 58.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is 57.
Country singer Clay Walker is 55.
Rapper Fat Joe is 54.
Olympic gold medal tennis player Mary Joe Fernandez is 53.
Actor Erika Christensen is 42.
Actor Melissa Fumero is 42.
Olympic gold medal snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis (jay-kuh-BEHL’-ihs) is 39.
Author Veronica Roth is 36.
Rapper-TV personality Romeo is 35.
Actor Ethan Cutkosky (TV: “Shameless”) is 25.

Democrats open their convention transformed by Harris’ ascendance but facing lingering questions

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By STEVE PEOPLES, ZEKE MILLER and BILL BARROW

CHICAGO (AP) — A refreshed Democratic Party reintroduces itself to a divided nation this week, having been transformed by the money, momentum, relief and even joy that followed Vice President Kamala Harris ‘ rise to the top of its ticket.

The whiplash of the last month culminates in a convention that begins Monday in Chicago. Above all, the four-day gathering of thousands of activists and party leaders from across the nation is designed to celebrate and strengthen Harris as President Joe Biden’s replacement and boost her campaign to defeat Republican Donald Trump in November.

Just beneath the surface, real questions loom about the depth of Harris’ newfound support, the breadth of her coalition and the strength of her movement. Not even a month ago, Democrats were deeply divided over foreign policy, political strategy and Biden himself, who was holding on after his disastrous debate by suggesting he had a better chance than any Democrat — including Harris — of beating Trump.

The stage is set at the United Center for the Democratic National Convention on August 15, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. The convention will be held August 19-22. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Far from the formality that many modern party conventions have become, this week’s event will bring many Americans their first extended look at Harris and her new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. How the Democrats present Harris and Walz will be critical, especially with Trump launching a weeklong effort to cut into their message.

A potential distraction will be thousands of progressive protesters who are expected to descend upon Chicago to decry the Biden-Harris administration’s support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Harris’ allies are hopeful that the pro-Palestinian protesters will not overshadow the official program, which features a slate of current and former Democratic stars.

“Democrats are walking into that convention enthused, excited and unified,” said one of those stars, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was a finalist to be Harris’ running mate. “And it’s critically important that we prosecute the case against Donald Trump and the chaos that he would bring — and leave that convention even more unified, even more excited, even more enthused for the final 75 or so days of this campaign.”

Shapiro said he welcomed protesters during the convention — “provided the protest is peaceful, provided the protest follows the rules of the community.”

Biden will get his farewell Monday

Part of introducing Harris and Walz will be first giving a graceful exit to the 81-year-old incumbent president, who is slated to deliver the keynote address Monday.

The Democratic Party likely would have been in a far worse state if Biden had continued to cling to the nomination. He faced growing concerns about his mental and physical acuity after struggling to complete sentences at the debate.

Workers drive past a mural of Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris hanging outside of the United Center, site of the Democratic National Convention on August 17, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. The convention will be held August 19-22. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

By deciding to step aside and endorse Harris, the 81-year-old president will instead receive a hero’s welcome in his final turn in the spotlight 52 years after being elected to the Senate from Delaware.

Biden is planning to give a lengthy endorsement of Harris and sharply criticize Trump before he leaves Chicago and makes way for the program to focus on the vice president he chose four years ago.

Trump has tried to inflame tensions over Biden’s exit. He called Biden’s Monday speaking slot “convention death valley,” suggesting that the president would get lower ratings than speakers on other nights. And as he has for weeks now, Trump described the convention itself as “rigged” because is was Biden, not Harris, who won 14 million primary votes and collected delegates state by state.

“She got no votes,” Trump said.

A focus on Harris’ firsts — and an open hand to Republicans

The convention will lean into the party’s potential to make history. Harris vies to be the first woman, the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to reach the Oval Office.

“I wasn’t sure I would see this particular moment in my lifetime, to see a Black woman who is now on the cusp of becoming our next president,” said Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, one of the nation’s highest-ranking Black women elected officials.

Stratton recalled Hillary Clinton’s loss to Trump eight years ago, one in which she lost key battlegrounds even as she led the national popular vote.

Mayor of Chicago Brandon Johnson delivers remarks at the stage unveiling ahead of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center on August 15, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. The United Center will host the DNC, which is officially scheduled to kick off on Monday, August 19 and run through Thursday, August 22. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“I remember back in 2016 when we touched the glass ceiling, and the reaction of Republicans was just to start destroying the rights that got us there,” Stratton said. “This is another chance.”

Harris will aim to use the convention to take a share of credit for what she and Biden accomplished while also trying to show that she recognizes voters want more. Heading into Chicago, she unveiled the initial planks of her policy platform focused on addressing the bite of inflation and the costs of food, housing and childcare.

Democrats will keep abortion access front and center for voters, betting that the issue will propel them to success as it has in other key races since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago.

Every living Democratic president and first lady will appear this week, except for the ailing Jimmy Carter, along with a long list of federal, state and local officials and activists.

It’s set to be a contrast to last month’s GOP convention in Milwaukee, where former President George W. Bush and former vice president Mike Pence, among other well-known Republicans, stayed away from the event given Trump’s antipathy toward them.

Expected to speak this week is former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican who investigated Trump’s actions around the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection and has endorsed Harris.

The presidential race is still very close

With precious few days remaining before early voting begins in some places in September, recent polls show a close race nationally and in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. And polls show Trump still has advantages on how Americans view the two of them on core issues like the economy and immigration.

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Terry McAuliffe, a former Virginia governor and longtime operative who will attend his 13th Democratic convention this week, warned that the euphoria Democrats have about Harris’ ascension could obscure the true state of the campaign.

He noted that the Republican convention in Milwaukee was a veritable Trump coronation, with Democrats consumed by anxiety and uncertainty. Now, it’s Trump who seems to be reeling as he searches for the right message to stop Harris’ rise.

The lesson, McAuliffe said, is never to assume the a campaign is settled and always remember the outcome rests on getting 270 Electoral College votes by winning the right battleground states.

The former president is not ceding this week to Democrats. He will go a different swing state each day — starting with Pennsylvania, followed by Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada by week’s end.

Trump’s campaign has also dispatched high-profile allies to Chicago to host daily news conferences. The lineup includes Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson and Florida Rep. Byron Donalds.

“We have four days of messaging that the country will get to look at Kamala Harris, get to look at Tim Walz. We’ll get to look at their agenda, what they stand for, who we are,” McAuliffe said. “It’s going to be a close election. That’s just where our country is today.”

Whatever happens this week, both sides will be watching with anticipation as Harris writes a new chapter in what has already been a precedent-breaking campaign.

Barrow reported from Atlanta. AP writer Michelle L. Price in New York contributed to this report.