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“Mourning Land that Leaves” analyzed how land in Alaska is vanishing due to flooding, erosion, and permafrost thaw. Some Native villages along the Western coast are having to relocate to major cities, immensely different from their traditional way of life: themargin.us/features/mou...

“Licensed to Contaminate” found that city, state, and federal agencies have enabled migrants in Tacoma, Washington, to be held in a detention center atop toxic waste for more than 20 years. Thousands of complaints were filed, and many kept hidden—until now: themargin.us/features/lic...

Our most recent story, “Deserted at the Border,” revealed how Arizona's farmworker and mining communities could have federal funding stripped away at a time when they face deadly heat and water shortages: themargin.us/features/des...

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🔗 Read the full story, “Deserted at the Border” in collaboration with Arizona Luminaria: themargin.us/features/deserted-at-the-border

And now, more than 60% of colonias are set to lose their only federal funding. Not because conditions have improved, but because nearby cities have grown too large to qualify for the dollars under a bureaucratic rule written thirty-five years ago.

🔗 Read the full story, “Deserted at the Border” in collaboration with Arizona Luminaria: themargin.us/features/deserted-at-the-border

And now, more than 60% of colonias are set to lose their only federal funding. Not because conditions have improved, but because nearby cities have grown too large to qualify for the dollars under a bureaucratic rule written thirty-five years ago.

By Olga Loginova and @cacuella.bsky.social with @azluminaria.org

🔗 Read the full story, “Deserted at the Border” in collaboration with Arizona Luminaria: themargin.us/features/deserted-at-the-border

The Margin visited eight colonias in Arizona. Interviews with 48 residents, local and state officials, nonprofits, researchers, and healthcare providers revealed that all are concerned that compounded stressors to which residents of colonias are exposed are leaving them in harm’s way.

Many lack basic infrastructure such as running water, paved roads, and reliable medical care.

Figueroa lives in one of many colonias, typically unincorporated settlements along the southern United States border, home to more than 1 million people. Most of these communities were established by migrant workers who came into the U.S. during waves of labor migration.

Many lack basic infrastructure such as running water, paved roads, and reliable medical care.