Puente News Collaborative is a bilingual nonprofit news organization, convener, and funder committed to preserving local news as a public good by investing in newsrooms, supporting journalists, and filling critical gaps in reporting across the U.S.-Mexico border.
The collapse of local news
Number of news outlets along the U.S. - Mexico border
Number of news outlets along the U.S. - Mexico border
What Is Happening
Across the U.S., more than 3,200 local newspapers have shut down. Of the 25 counties along the U.S.-Mexico border, nearly half have only one or no newsroom at all.
Why It Matters
With the collapse of local news, communities see a concerning decrease in voter participation, civic engagement, and government accountability reporting, and corresponding increases in community polarization, government waste, and disinformation campaigns.
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Stories from the collaborative
‘Our border is closed’: Inside Trump’s push for zero migrants — and the tunnels defying it
LA Times | September 9, 2026
Steve Fisher
When the Trump administration announced this summer that illegal crossings into the U.S. from Mexico had reached historic lows, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin declared, “Our border is CLOSED to lawbreakers." Even so, the administration continues to pressure both Mexico and U.S. officials to curb illegal immigration further. The crackdown has prompted smugglers to become more creative. Read more
In mass deportation campaign, U.S. sends Mexicans to Guatemala
San Antonio Express-News | September 1, 2026
Georgina Pease
TAPACHULA, Mexico — Just days after U.S. immigration agents detained Daniel Ramirez near his home in Brownsville, the 30-year-old Texas resident found himself shackled to a thinly cushioned seat on a deportation flight with other Mexican nationals. The shackles were the least of the discomforts Ramirez would face. Instead of being expelled to his native Mexico, he and his compatriots were flown to Guatemala City. They were among at least 2,200 deported Mexicans who have been transferred to Guatemala this year as part of the Trump administration's third-country deportation policy. Read more
From cane to dialysis: the kidney crisis that crosses borders
El Pais | August 30, 2026
Mariana Hernandez
By the time Evelyn Morales found out that her brother, Alberto, had been diagnosed with kidney failure in the United States, she already knew the disease well. One of his sisters had died of the same condition four years earlier. Read more
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In the news
Puente News Executive Editor Alfredo Corchado receives the 2026 I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence
In the news
Puente News Executive Editor Alfredo Corchado receives the 2026 I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence
"Alfredo Corchado, executive editor of the Puente News Collaborative, has been chosen to receive the 2026 I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence in recognition of his work directing Puente’s innovative, partnership-driven approach to reporting along both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border."