Reporting Texas
News and features from UT-Austin's School of Journalism
byErika González and Noemi Castanon
Elizabeth Mazariegos flips through her folder full of school reports, letters of recommendation and college documents, feeling worried. “I never thought I could get this far, and now I feel all my effort is disappearing overnight. It’s like everything I achieved is not enough,” said Mazariegos, a 31-year-old Guatemalan who has lived in the United States for two decades.
For years, the U.S. policy of Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, protected immigrants who came here as children and allowed Mazariegos to study, work and plan a stable future. Now, that path has become more uncertain as both the state and federal governments clamp down on immigrants.
On June 5, Texas repealed the Texas Dream Act, a law that since 2001 had allowed undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates and to have access scholarships and loans.
byErika González
During the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport continued operations — but the control tower felt the impact. With fewer air traffic controllers available, every decision became more critical and the pace of work intensified, controllers say. Even after the shutdown ended, risks of ground delays and controller fatigue remain.
byIsabel Neumann
A new public-art initiative aims to beautify Austin while providing employment for the city’s growing unhoused population.
“The goal is to turn the library garage site into a city-funded program for unhoused people,” said Tiffany Kowalski, director of project and artist management for Raasin in the Sun.
bySamantha Rubin
Just after sunrise, blue-shirted ambassadors step into the stream of students along Guadalupe Street trading greetings, answering questions and keeping eyes on the stretch long known as The Drag.
“In a nutshell, what we’re doing here is hospitality-heavy,” Kevin Morris Sr. said during a recent morning walk-along. “That’s why we’re always talking and vibrant. It’s about visibility.”
The West Campus Ambassador Program was created to address the gap between West Campus’ rapid redevelopment and its lagging safety and beautification efforts
