Ecosystems near Texas-Mexico border ‘choking’ from efforts to stop migrants

Greg Abbott, the state governor, has deployed fences, razor wires and buoys along the Rio Grande, demolishing the environment

The leafy trees on Magali and Hugo Urbina’s 350-acre orchard next to the Rio Grande river in Eagle Pass, Texas, should be bursting with pecans this time of year. Instead, most are barren.

The Urbinas blame the clouds of dust kicked up by Texas officials in trucks and ATVs after the state government in recent months put fencing and roads along the riverbanks in a contentious effort to deter migration from Mexico, just across the river.