Perla Trevizo
I’m a reporter with the ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigative unit and focus on border and immigration issues.
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Contact me, by email or securely on Signal, with tips about the role Texas is currently playing in immigration enforcement and the impact of policies on both sides of the border.
What I Cover
I’m currently covering how policy changes in Washington play out on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, particularly as they relate to Texas.
My Background
I’ve covered the border and immigration for more than 15 years from nearly a dozen countries and across the United States, including in Tennessee and Arizona.
Since I joined ProPublica in 2020, my colleagues and I have investigated Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature multibillion-dollar border operation. Our reporting showed that many of the arrests had no connection to the border. I’ve also reported on how U.S. policies led to one of the deadliest incidents in a Mexican immigration detention center, and on how a private wall built in South Texas by a company backed by the Trump administration was at risk of falling down if not fixed. President Donald Trump tried to distance himself from the project after our reporting.
Following a deadly winter storm in Texas, I partnered with NBC News to expose how failures at every level of government had contributed to the “biggest epidemic of CO poisoning in recent history.” Our reporting led to a push by the Consumer Product Safety Commission for new mandatory safety rules to crack down on carbon monoxide poisonings and sparked an investigation by the Houston Fire Department into a delayed response to a 911 call from a house where two people died.
I was part of the team that was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for coverage of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Recognitions for my work also include Texas’ top award for investigative reporting two years in a row and an Edward R. Murrow award. I was also a finalist for a Livingston Award for Young Journalists.
A Pro-Gun, Anti-Abortion Border Sheriff Appealed to Both Parties. Then He Was Painted as Soft on Immigration.
In Del Rio, Texas, like in other majority Latino communities, immigration is high on voters’ minds and is disrupting long-standing political allegiances.
Biden Was Warned U.S. Border Policies Made Tragedy Inevitable. Then a Deadly Fire Broke Out.
A year ago, 40 men were killed in a detention center fire in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. A ProPublica-Texas Tribune examination shows that landmark shifts in U.S. border policies helped sow the seeds of a tragedy.
Texas’ Governor Brags About His Border Initiative. The Data Doesn’t Back Him Up.
Arrests of U.S. citizens hundreds of miles from the border. Claiming drug busts from across the state. Changing statistics. We dug into the data Texas leaders use to boast about Operation Lone Star, and it raises more questions than answers.
The Trump Administration Keeps Awarding Border Wall Contracts but Doesn’t Own the Land to Build On
The government’s strategy of awarding contracts before acquiring titles to land in Texas has led to millions of dollars in costs for delays. Things could get even more complicated if President-elect Joe Biden stops border wall construction.
El gobierno de Trump sabía que la gran mayoría de los venezolanos enviados a la prisión de El Salvador no había sido condenada por crimen alguno en EE.UU.
Los registros del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de EE.UU., revelan que más de la mitad de los 238 deportados estaban catalogados sólo como infractores de las leyes de inmigración y no tenían prontuario criminal alguno en Estados Unidos.
Trump Administration Knew Vast Majority of Venezuelans Sent to Salvadoran Prison Had Not Been Convicted of U.S. Crimes
Homeland Security records reveal that officials knew that more than half of the 238 deportees were labeled as having no criminal record in the U.S. and had only violated immigration laws.
Trump Is Spending Billions on Border Security. Some Residents Living There Lack Basic Resources.
The president has reportedly urged Congress to pass $175 billion for border security. But residents of Del Rio, Texas, and Douglas, Arizona, say their basic needs — like safe drinking water and hospital access — aren’t being met.
From Lollapalooza to Detention Camps: Meet the Tent Company Making a Fortune Off Trump’s Deportation Plans
The privately held company Deployed Resources has made billions running tent detention facilities to hold immigrants entering the U.S. at the border. Now it is cashing in again on Trump’s plan to hold immigrants before deportation.
La presión de Trump sobre países y organizaciones internacionales debilita las protecciones para solicitantes de asilo
Las medidas de la administración para expulsar a los solicitantes de asilo a terceros países pone a la Organización Internacional para las Migraciones en el centro de una política que los críticos consideran ilegal.
Trump’s Pressure on Countries and International Organizations Erodes Protections for Asylum-Seekers
The administration’s moves to expel asylum-seekers to third countries put the International Organization for Migration at the center of a policy critics have called illegal.
Trump Is Sending Migrants From Around the World to Guantanamo. One Mother Speaks Out About Her Son’s Detention.
The Trump administration detained Yoiker Sequera at Guantanamo Bay for almost two weeks before he was deported to Venezuela. His mother reflects on finding out her son had been sent to the infamous prison and the effects it had on her.
Mother Speaks Out Against Trump’s Detention of Her Son at Guantanamo
Yoiker Sequera was among nearly 200 immigrants the Trump administration has flown to the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Sequera’s mother, Angela, reflects on finding out her son had been sent to the infamous prison.
U.S. Claims Immigrants Held at Guantanamo Are “Worst of the Worst.” Their Families Say They’re Being Unfairly Targeted.
ProPublica and The Texas Tribune have identified nearly a dozen immigrants who have been flown to Guantanamo Bay. Government officials have refused to release the names of detainees or provide details about the crimes that landed them in detention.
Four Years in a Day
ProPublica and The Texas Tribune took a snapshot of the blitz of executive orders President Donald Trump has signed since taking office, by tallying nearly three dozen from his first day.