In this episode of the Edward R. Murrow Award winning podcast Immigration Crisis: The Fight for the Southern Border, Emmy winning journalist Yami Virgin and photojournalist and editor Paul Sanchez examine how wealth and investment influence legal immigration.

As debate grows over high dollar visa pathways, supporters say these programs create jobs and boost the economy, while critics question fairness and access.

Yami speaks with immigration attorney Abteen Vaziri, an Iranian American who came to the U.S. as a political refugee and now works with the EB-5 visa program, which allows immigrants to pursue a green card by investing in U.S. businesses that generate American jobs.

The episode explores who benefits from investment driven immigration and what it means for the future of U.S. immigration policy.

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This new waterborne barrier doesn’t look the same as the buoys Texas installed near Eagle Pass in 2023. The state’s buoys are about 2,000 feet of spheres, with discs separating them. They cover roughly 2,000 feet in the Rio Grande. The federal government’s new design of buoys is more cylindrical and appears to be more closely linked, and they will stretch significantly farther.

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Are Texas gangs and organized crime groups now operating under the direction of Mexican cartels? One Texas lawman says yes. Goliad County Sheriff Roy Boyd testified before lawmakers in Washington, D.C., laying out what he described as cartel-controlled drug networks operating in Texas—particularly connected to the Gulf Cartel and distribution of cocaine.

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State and federal agencies are ramping up efforts to find and seal off underground cartel tunnels. In early 2025, authorities uncovered a sophisticated tunnel system in El Paso used to smuggle people, drugs, and weapons. Now, the Texas General Land Office (GLO) says it’s stepping up surveillance across the border to locate any additional tunnels. Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham says her office is expanding its role in border security.

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Edward R. Murrow Award–winning podcast Immigration Crisis: The Fight for the Southern Border takes you to Eagle Pass, where razor wire and shipping containers still line the Rio Grande. Emmy-winning investigative journalist Yami Virgin then speaks with Texas Tech Professor Jeffrey Corn about whether the U.S. has gone too far and what happens when border security collides with the Constitution. Edited by Paul Sanchez.

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A new federal operation called Operation River Wall has been launched by the U.S. Coast Guard, as part of a broader border initiative following President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency. This effort involves deploying over 100 boats and hundreds of personnel to patrol a 260-mile stretch of the Rio Grande to interdict drug smugglers and deter illegal crossings.

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Texas Border Watch is following major new developments along the U.S.–Mexico border, where federal officials are expanding “smart wall” technology, warning of cartel-linked bounty threats, and coordinating National Guard deployments from multiple states.

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From the pre-dawn streets of San Antonio to the front lines of federal immigration enforcement, “Immigration Crisis: The Fight for the Southern Border” takes listeners inside an exclusive ride-along with ICE agents as they carry out daily operations. This gripping episode offers an unfiltered look at how enforcement works, and the human stories behind every decision. The Edward R. Murrow Award winning podcast is hosted and produced by journalist Yami Virgin and recorded and edited by Paul Sanchez.

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