mexico

Talk of deportations from President-elect Donald Trump and other elected officials have left many people scared, especially those who have deep roots in the country and have built lives, businesses and have children who were born here.

Peyote, a cactus that contains mescaline, a hallucinogen, grows naturally in South Texas and northern Mexico. It is sacred to many Indigenous people, playing a central role in their ceremonies, spiritual practice and medicine.

The Colorado River Delta is almost entirely dry, but environmentalists are hoping they can keep getting water to restore habitats after a U.S.-Mexico agreement expires in 2026.

The U.S. government announced water cuts will preserve the status quo on the Colorado River. Meanwhile, states, tribes and others are negotiating how they will share river water after 2026, when guidelines governing the river expire.

States tasked with deciding the Colorado River's future have submitted competing proposals for how to manage the river's water. Environmental groups and tribes are also trying to shape the conversation.

The idea to build a pipeline from the ocean to fill dying saline lakes isn’t new. But the feasibility (and potential cost) is the biggest hiccup.

“We are finally able to do an event like this,” said Karlysue Pereyra, a third-generation mariachi. “Five, six, eight years ago, maybe we wouldn’t have been able to.”

Federal officials said Tuesday they will ease water cuts for Western states reliant on the Colorado River next year. Bountiful snowfall and rain last winter pulled much of the region out of drought this spring and raised water levels at key reservoirs.

More questions than answers are surfacing at a conference in Las Vegas about what to do about projected shortages of Colorado River water relied upon by seven U.S. states, Native American tribes and Mexico.

Colorado River tributaries serve relatively small portions of northwest and southwest New Mexico. But the basin’s water is essential for the state’s largest city: Albuquerque.

A small fraction of the Colorado River manages to reach Northern Mexico to irrigate its fields and provide for the daily needs of millions of residents. That supply is now more at risk than ever.

During the past two decades, pressure has intensified on the river as the driest 22-year stretch in the past 1,200 years has gripped the southwestern U.S. As water levels plummet, calls for reduced use have often been met with increased population growth.