Colonias

Alex Hannaford's disturbing Atlantic article on colonias along the border is essential reading--there are thousands of Latino migrants living in substandard developing world conditions within the borders of the United States. This is especially true in south Texas, a part of the nation seemingly forgotten about by most Americans. When we talk about Texas, how often are we talking about the border region? Yet this is a densely populated area that is growing quickly and is the key to future Democratic gains in Texas.

These are people who often lack running water, basic sanitation, and sturdy housing, not to mention decent schools and health care. This is unacceptable in the United States. Yet states like Texas and Arizona, dominated by governments who couldn't care less about the conditions of immigrant labor, do very little to fix these problems.