New Project ‘Bordering on Insecurity’ Follows Stories Along The Border

The first story in a year-long continuing investigation by the Texas Tribune rolled out today.

By Rhonda FanningFebruary 9, 2016 2:54 pm,

Today the Texas Tribune launched their latest reporting project, Bordering on Insecurity. Jay Root, a reporter at the Texas Tribune, says the year-long project will focus on a different series of stories that will roll out every quarter.

“Honestly it started as a political conversation,” Root says, “because all of the (presidential) candidates were talking about immigration and border security.”

Root says what he calls the “overview” story came out today, tackling the topic of “criminal aliens,” the government’s term for immigrants, including both official residents and undocumented people, who commit crimes in Texas.

What you’ll hear in this segment:

– Why the first subject of criminal immigrants is a sensitive topic

– How often these cases come up and what has happened with some of the more high-profile cases, including one in San Francisco

– What percentage of Texas prisoners are immigrants and how that reflects the population as a whole

– The difference between immigration and the notion of “border security”