State and federal agencies are ramping up efforts to find and seal off underground cartel tunnels. In early 2025, authorities uncovered a sophisticated tunnel system in El Paso used to smuggle people, drugs, and weapons. Now, the Texas General Land Office (GLO) says it’s stepping up surveillance across the border to locate any additional tunnels. Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham says her office is expanding its role in border security.

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Edward R. Murrow Award–winning podcast Immigration Crisis: The Fight for the Southern Border takes you to Eagle Pass, where razor wire and shipping containers still line the Rio Grande. Emmy-winning investigative journalist Yami Virgin then speaks with Texas Tech Professor Jeffrey Corn about whether the U.S. has gone too far and what happens when border security collides with the Constitution. Edited by Paul Sanchez.

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A new federal operation called Operation River Wall has been launched by the U.S. Coast Guard, as part of a broader border initiative following President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency. This effort involves deploying over 100 boats and hundreds of personnel to patrol a 260-mile stretch of the Rio Grande to interdict drug smugglers and deter illegal crossings.

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Texas Border Watch is following major new developments along the U.S.–Mexico border, where federal officials are expanding “smart wall” technology, warning of cartel-linked bounty threats, and coordinating National Guard deployments from multiple states.

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From the pre-dawn streets of San Antonio to the front lines of federal immigration enforcement, “Immigration Crisis: The Fight for the Southern Border” takes listeners inside an exclusive ride-along with ICE agents as they carry out daily operations. This gripping episode offers an unfiltered look at how enforcement works, and the human stories behind every decision. The Edward R. Murrow Award winning podcast is hosted and produced by journalist Yami Virgin and recorded and edited by Paul Sanchez. 

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The federal government is offering $2,500 to certain unaccompanied migrant children who agree to self-deport and return to their home countries, according to a Department of Health and Human Services memo obtained by NBC News.

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Edward R. Murrow Award–winning host Yami Virgin with editor Paul Sanchez digs into the border battle over Rio Grande buoys and the return of Cocaine Cowboys 2.0 as cartels shift back to cocaine smuggling.

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Mexico has activated emergency controls following the discovery of a new screwworm case in cattle, marking the closest occurrence to the U.S. border since the outbreak began last year.

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Host Yami Virgin and reporter Jordan Elder dig into the border wall’s new look, and Congressman Tony Gonzales shares an update from Texas’ 23rd District, the largest border district in the country, stretching more than 800 miles from El Paso to San Antonio. It sits at the heart of the immigration debate, touching key crossing points and communities directly affected by border policy.

Edited by Paul Sanchez.

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We rode along with Border Patrol on the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass to get a firsthand look at how much has changed along this stretch of the border. In this week's Texas Border Watch, we share with you what we saw on that tour from a perspective most people don't typically get to see.

Eagle Pass was previously the epicenter of illegal border crossings, not just for Texas, but for the entire country. At the height of the surge, thousands of migrants crossed there every day, filling a field in Shelby Park as they waited to be processed.

Today, the scene is dramatically different. As we pushed off from the bank and toured the stretch of river, all was quiet. Border Patrol agents say that silence speaks volumes.

They told us they can now patrol the river for miles without seeing a single migrant attempting to cross — something they say was “unheard of” just a couple of years ago.

Watch this week's Texas Border Watch for a full look at that tour and our full interview with Deputy Chief Patrol Agent Milton Moreno.

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