Reporting Texas
News and features from UT-Austin's School of Journalism
byErika Gonzalez
Four months after leaving the family detention center in Dilley, Kelly Vargas’ 6-year-old daughter still wakes up at night asking about “the bad ICE men.” Vargas, a Colombian mother who had lived in New York for more than a year before being detained in late 2025, is now trying to rebuild her life in Bogotá, Colombia. But the effects have stayed with her.
“She doesn’t forget,” Vargas said, adding that her daughter often asks, “Mom, do you remember when we were in jail?”
For nearly two months at a family detention center in Dilley, 70 miles south of San Antonio, mother and daughter lived through what Vargas described as constant illness and fear, including repeated sickness and long nights without sleep. Others in Texas have described similar experiences. Immigration detention centers have drawn growing attention as advocates, lawyers and medical professionals say problems with health care, crowding and oversight are affecting people held in custody.
byAJ Muonagolu
With around 13 clinics in Austin alone, ketamine clinics are rising as an alternative to traditional psychotherapy. Increasingly, Texans are exploring psychedelic therapy in hopes of treating depression, anxiety or other chronic mental health issues. But experts worry about ketamine being used as a one-size-fits-all approach to psychiatric care because of concerns over safety and […]
byMax Mazoch
Whitney Lauderdale has loved the beauty of the Texas Hill Country for as long as she can remember. It was the place that captured the heart of her grandfather, who purchased the 28-acre Comal County property Lauderdale lives on, and one that she hopes to pass to her two children.
“This is where we plan on spending our forever,” Lauderdale said.
It’s idyllic. But Lauderdale worries it may not be in years to come.
In the past year, Comal County residents were shocked to learn a new permit for a wastewater treatment facility had been proposed for a development in Fischer in the northern part of the county.
byMikhelia Williams
In Italy, they call it Texani style.
In New York City, cowboy boots walk runways and concrete sidewalks.
The Western look has traveled far from Texas. The weirder development is that Texas may no longer own it.
On a midafternoon on South Congress Avenue, the look is everywhere.
