Reporting Texas
News and features from UT-Austin's School of Journalism
byErika Gonzalez and Noemi Castanon
After more than a decade of running a dental clinic in Round Rock, Dr. Maria Teresa Rodriguez began noticing something different among her patients. More patients are arriving with advanced infections after avoiding clinics for weeks. Others are trying to pull their own teeth at home. Families terrified of filling out basic medical forms because they fear it could affect their immigration status.
“People are coming in extremely scared,” Rodriguez said. “And when people are afraid, they stop doing things they never should stop doing.”
Doctors, community clinics and public policy experts say the United States’ increasingly restrictive immigration climate and recent federal changes in public health insurance programs are affecting both immigrant patients and foreign-born physicians working here.
bySamantha Rubin and Oisakhose Aghomo
As NASA prepares for more missions like Artemis ll, public interest in space has spiked again. But alongside the excitement is an uptick in skepticism doubting NASA’s achievements in online conversations. “Anything that has that level of attention… makes itself ripe for conspiracies,” said Asheley Landrum, an Arizona State University journalism and mass […]
byRachel N. Madison
From its origins as a connective Central Texas strip to bustling retail hub to the site of countless indie films, South Congress Avenue has long been one of Austin’s iconic spots. But the street’s fame is taking a toll. Around a dozen of the street’s legacy businesses have relocated or closed their doors entirely over […]
byNoemi Castanon and Max Mazoch
Illene Barrera has taught social studies at Lehman High School in Kyle for nine years. Though the job can be challenging, Barrera has kept a positive attitude while preparing her students for the future.
“My goal for them is to be able to understand the world around them,” Barrera said, “and knowing the history of the country and then how it affects them, hopefully inspires them to be civic participants.”
But the way Barrera teaches is about to change.
