Border Report

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Texas lawmakers heard competing approaches Thursday for how to combat the New World screwworm, as federal officials defended the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s current eradication strategy while private sectors urged the state to invest in alternative sterile fly production methods. Sterile flies are used to disrupt the reproduction cycle of the screwworm. The hearing, chaired by state Rep.

McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — New border wall construction is starting soon at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, which will shut down a section of the popular eco-tourist facility starting next week.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (Border Report) — A string of giant orange cylindrical buoys now line the Rio Grande for miles in South Texas as part of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s “Smart Wall” waterborne barrier system that the agency says is effective in keeping out illegal immigration from Mexico. Border Report located sections of the buoys this week while traversing the rural and rugged terrain and muddy trails south of Brownsville.

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — The Tohono O’odham Nation is suing the federal government to stop it from building a border wall and using its water for the construction. The lawsuit names as defendants Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, and U.S. Border Patrol Chief Rosario Vasquez. The lawsuit says the Trump administration officials directed the construction of the border wall without consent.

The Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday the government can’t criminally prosecute a man for possessing a firearm simply because he regularly smoked marijuana, rejecting the government’s comparison to the disarmament habitual drunkards in the founding era. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that it violates his right to keep arms under the conservative justices’ expanded Second Amendment test. It requires gun control measures be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Hoes were a hot topic at the federal courthouse in Brownsville last week. Francisco Javier Palafox Jr., a man in his 40s from Brownsville, told Border Patrol he planned to visit “his friends and hoes.” When they searched his car, however, agents found three packages of cocaine. “He did reference he was going to go to Portland (Texas) to meet some friends and hoes,” Raymondville police Det.

Posted: Jun 18, 2026 / 01:01 PM CDT Updated: Jun 18, 2026 / 01:01 PM CDT EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — A Mexican woman accused of attempting to “sell” her newborn baby has been deported. According to KTVI, police responded to St. Joseph Hospital in January 2024 in Lake St. Louis after receiving information that a woman who had just given birth was attempting to give it up. When officers arrived, a second woman claimed to be the child’s mother.

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to correct the date that the Obama Presidential Center will open to the public. We regret the error. CHICAGO (WGN) – The Obama Presidential Center is about to open its doors. The nearly 20-acre campus, located in the city’s Jackson Park neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, will celebrate its opening with a star-studded ceremony on Thursday. It will then open to the public on Friday.

(The Hill) — Former Presidents Joe Biden, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are set to attend the opening of the Obama Presidential Center, according to a new report. The Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday that the three presidents intend to be at a ceremony to commemorate the center’s opening, a source familiar with the event told the outlet. Former first ladies Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton and Jill Biden will also be in attendance, per the Sun-Times.

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A joint public safety initiative aims to reduce criminal trespass and unlawful shooting near Doña Ana County International Jetport in Santa Teresa. According to a news release from Doña Ana County, the initiative — joined by The Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, New Mexico State Police and the Sunland Park Police Department — aims to combine public education with targeted enforcement efforts.