When Texas Regulates Camps but Not Guns: A Comparative Policy Response to Two Child-Centered Tragedies, by Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D. May 23, 2026

When Texas Regulates Camps but Not Guns: A Comparative Policy Response to Two Child-Centered Tragedies

by

Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

May 23, 2026

July 24 is always a special day for me and my husband because it is our
anniversary. It is a day I want to reserve for gratitude, love, memory, and the life we have built together. But this date now also carries additional significant meaning. 

Every year, as July 24 approaches, my mind is pulled back to May 24, 2022, the date of the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were killed and at least 17 others were physically injured (Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, n.d.). Lamentably, joy and grief now share space in the same part of our hearts and calendar.

Source: KXXV Facebook

That grief returned again as I and others observed how the State of Texas responded to another tragedy involving children: the catastrophic Guadalupe River floods and the deaths connected to Camp Mystic. In all, I should note, 134 people lost their lives in this horrific tragedy (Shalvey, 2025).

Nothing about this comparison should be read as minimizing the pain of the flood victims’ families. Those children, counselors, parents, and surviving loved ones deserve every protection, every answer, every dollar of relief, and every serious reform Texas can provide. As a consequence, Camp Mystic will remain closed this Summer (CBS Texas, 2026).

Source: Instagram

But the contrast between the two state responses is difficult to ignore.

After the July 4, 2025 flooding, Texas moved quickly and concretely to regulate youth camps. Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1, known as the Youth CAMPER Act; Senate Bill 1, known as the Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act; and Senate Bill 3, which created financial support for early-warning sirens in flash-flood-prone areas (Office of the Texas Governor, 2025c).

Source: Office of the Governor

These were not merely symbolic gestures. The laws require youth camps to adopt and annually update emergency plans, train staff, orient campers, notify parents of floodplain risks with signed acknowledgment, and share emergency plans with local emergency services (Office of the Texas Governor, 2025c). The laws also authorize enforcement through inspections, complaint investigations, license suspension, or license denial (Office of the Texas Governor, 2025c).

Most notably, Texas placed direct restrictions on where youth camps may house children. The Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act prohibits the Texas Department of State Health Services from licensing youth camps with cabins in FEMA-designated floodplains, with limited exceptions (Office of the Texas Governor, 2025c). In plain language, Texas said that some camp operations must change because the risk to children was too great.

That is a serious governmental response. It regulates an industry. It imposes burdens. It changes operations. It restricts what camps may do in the name of child safety.

And that is precisely why the Uvalde comparison hurts (e.g., Valenzuela, 2022).

After Uvalde, Texas did act in some ways. The Legislature passed school-safety measures, including House Bill 3, which required school districts to determine the appropriate number of armed security officers and generally ensure at least one armed security officer is present at each campus during regular school hours, subject to a good-cause exception when funding or qualified personnel are unavailable (Texas Legislature, 2023). Later, House Bill 33, the Uvalde Strong Act, addressed active-shooter preparedness, emergency-response coordination, reporting, training, public-information requirements, and school-safety equipment such as breaching tools and ballistic shields (Texas Legislature, 2025).

Source: Fox KDFW

Those measures matter. But they largely regulate the school environment and the emergency response after a threat exists. They do not meaningfully regulate access-to-the-weapon pathway as a preparatory response that Uvalde families repeatedly asked lawmakers to confront.

One of the clearest examples was the effort to raise the minimum age to purchase certain semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. That proposal, championed by Uvalde families and advocates, stalled in the Texas Legislature (Serrano, 2023). So, while Texas was willing to restrict summer camps after children died in a flood, it was not willing to impose a comparable restriction on young adults’ access to certain firearms after children were murdered in a classroom.

That is the painful contradiction. After the Guadalupe River flood, Texas regulated the setting that contributed to the deaths. After Uvalde, Texas regulated doors, officers, training, response plans, and security tools—but not the firearm access issue that many grieving families identified as central to prevention.

The financial response across both tragedies also reveals a complicated picture. In Uvalde, the state announced a Family Assistance Center to help affected families and community members access crime-victim services, death benefits, counseling, funeral services, transportation, childcare, spiritual care, and other support (Office of the Texas Governor, 2022a). 

The state also announced an initial $5 million investment to establish a long-term Family Resiliency Center in Uvalde County for psychological first aid, crisis counseling, behavioral-health services, and related support (Office of the Texas Governor, 2022b). Separately, the Robb School Memorial Fund was established to support victims’ families, teachers, and the Uvalde community, including help with health care, travel, and funeral expenses (Office of the Texas Governor, 2022a).

Source: Fox KDFW

But those supports are not the same as full restitution. Nor are they the same as accountability. 

In April 2025, Uvalde city leaders approved a $2 million settlement for the families of the 21 people killed at Robb Elementary, described by the Associated Press as the first financial resolution from the many lawsuits following the attack (Vertuno, 2025). That settlement also included nonmonetary measures such as enhanced police training, expanded mental-health services, an annual May 24 day of remembrance, and a permanent memorial (Vertuno, 2025). Even so, other lawsuits remained pending, including actions against Texas state police officials and others (Vertuno, 2025).

For the Guadalupe River flood victims, financial relief has also appeared as a patchwork rather than a single, clear state restitution package. Governor Abbott joined the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country in announcing more than $40 million in long-term housing relief following the July 4 floods in Kerrville (Office of the Texas Governor, 2025b). 

He also appeared with the Vaqueros del Mar Texas Flood Relief Fund as $25,000 checks were presented to families affected by the catastrophic Hill Country floods, particularly those who suffered severe storm damage or lost homes (Office of the Texas Governor, 2025a). Meanwhile, families of Camp Mystic victims filed lawsuits alleging negligence and failure to evacuate; later reporting noted multiple suits seeking more than $1 million each in damages (Runnels, 2025, 2026).

So, in both tragedies, affected families have faced a mixture of public aid, private donations, insurance-backed settlements, and ongoing litigation. But money after death is not justice by itself. Relief funds can help families survive the aftermath. Settlements can acknowledge harm. Lawsuits can pursue accountability. But no payment can replace a child, a teacher, a counselor, or the future that was stolen.

The deeper issue is prevention.

Texas has now shown that when children die, the state can move beyond condolences. It can pass laws. It can regulate an industry. It can restrict dangerous placements. It can require emergency planning, training, warning systems, inspections, and licensing consequences. The Guadalupe River flood response proves that Texas knows how to turn grief into regulation.

Source: KSAT.com

The question is why the same kind of regulatory courage has not been appliedto gun access after Uvalde.
Again, this is not an argument against the camp-safety laws. 

Those reforms were necessary. Children should not sleep in cabins where flood danger is ignored. Parents should know whether a camp sits in a floodplain. Staff should be trained. Emergency plans should be real, reviewed, and enforceable.

But children should also be safe in classrooms. Parents should not have to beg lawmakers to consider firearm-access restrictions after their children are murdered. Families should not have to watch the state regulate cabins more directly than guns.

Both tragedies demanded compassion. Both demanded financial support. Both demanded accountability. Both demanded prevention.

Texas responded to the Guadalupe River flood by saying: camps must change.

After Uvalde, Texas still has not been willing to say with equal force: gun access must change, too.

That is the contradiction I cannot stop thinking about. And every time the 24th comes around, I remember Uvalde's grief and how love and loss can live side by side. But public policy should not stop at mourning. It should protect the living.

References

CBS Texas. (2026, May 1). Camp Mystic will not reopen after withdrawing 2026 license following hearing over deadly floods [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQi3voPG3m4

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. (n.d.). Critical incident review: Active shooter at Robb Elementary School. U.S. Department of Justice. https://cops.usdoj.gov/uvalde

Office of the Texas Governor. (2022a, May 27). Governor Abbott provides details on state resources available to Uvalde community impacted by Robb Elementary School tragedy. https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-provides-details-on-state-resources-available-to-uvalde-community-impacted-by-robb-elementary-school-tragedy

Office of the Texas Governor. (2022b, June 1). Governor Abbott announces $5 million investment to establish long-term Family Resiliency Center in Uvalde County. https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-5-million-investment-to-establish-long-term-family-resiliency-center-in-uvalde-county

Office of the Texas Governor. (2025a, August 9). Governor Abbott gives Strait to the Heart funds to Hill Country flood victims. https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-gives-strait-to-the-heart-funds-to-hill-country-flood-victims

Office of the Texas Governor. (2025b, August 21). Governor Abbott, Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country announce over $40 million in long-term flood relief funding efforts. https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-community-foundation-of-the-texas-hill-country-announce-over-40-million-in-long-term-flood-relief-funding-efforts

Office of the Texas Governor. (2025c, September 5). Governor Abbott signs Texas summer camp safety bills into law. https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-signs-texas-summer-camp-safety-bills-into-law

Runnels, A. (2025, November 10). Parents of flood victims suing Camp Mystic for negligence. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/10/texas-floods-kerr-county-camp-mystic-lawsuit/

Runnels, A. (2026, February 6). Family of still-missing camper sues to shut down Camp Mystic. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2026/02/06/texas-hill-country-camp-mystic-lawsuit-negligence/

Shalvey, K. (2025, July 15).Texas flooding updates: Death toll reaches 134, search continues for missing, ABC News. https://abcnews.com/US/live-updates/texas-flooding-live-updates/?id=123729682

Serrano, A. (2023, May 23). Gun safety advocates see signs of progress in first session after Uvalde shooting even though raise-the-age bill stalled. The Texas Tribune. https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2023/05/23/gun-safety-advocates-see-signs-of-progress-in-first-session-after-uvalde-shooting-even-though-raise-the-age-bill-stalled/

Texas Legislature. (2023). H.B. No. 3, 88th Legislature, Regular Session: Enrolled version. https://legiscan.com/TX/text/HB3/2023

Texas Legislature. (2025). H.B. No. 33, 89th Legislature, Regular Session: Enrolled version. https://legiscan.com/TX/text/HB33/2025

Valenzuela, A. (2022, May 30). Remembering Uziyah Sergio Garcia (August 13, 2011 ~ May 24, 2022) of San Angelo, Texas. https://texasedequity.blogspot.com/2022/05/remembering-uziyah-sergio-garcia-august.html

Vertuno, J. (2025, April 23). Uvalde leaders approve $2M for Robb Elementary families in first settlement over 2022 attack. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/uvalde-texas-2022-school-shooting-million-settlement-06c2477186c48edcb4fe5f8ffe2a4f0b

Hope Drenched in Grief: Search Efforts Falter Amid Texas Floods as Abbott Pushes Controversial Redistricting, by Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

Hope Drenched in Grief: Search Efforts Falter Amid Texas Floods as Abbott Pushes Controversial Redistricting

by 

Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

The haunting stillness in Kerrville, Texas, is pierced only by the sound of rising water and the quiet desperation of those still searching—volunteers and loved ones who return each day to the water’s edge, their hope growing thinner and grief more palpable. It is hard to imagine the unimaginable, the unthinkable.

Posts on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube reveal this quiet, anguished desperation. Faces drawn with weariness, voices tired, as they scan the murky currents not just for signs of the missing, but for answers—any fragment that might stitch together the unbearable silence left in the flood’s wake. Their sorrow is etched in the way they move, in the long pauses between breaths, in the small rituals of waiting. This is not the chaos of crisis—it is the slow ache of unresolved loss, of hearts suspended between fear and finality—never an enviable space to inhabit.

More than 100 souls remain missing, swept away by the devastating July Fourth flood—many of them small children from Camp Mystic.

Along the banks of the Guadalupe River, scattered debris and makeshift memorials bear silent witness to lives lost and unaccounted for. Entire families vanished as trailer after trailer was consumed by the merciless waters. One trailer was found in an astonishing 27 feet beneath the surface, buried in gravel—a grim marker of the river’s unforgiving fury.

Volunteers and officials alike are weary, hearts heavy with the weight of uncertainty and the unbearable burden of loss. The river that once drew people to this idyllic region for peace and recreation has turned into a site of mourning, a place where grief is etched with crosses, green ribbons, and white flowers into a sacred, makeshift memorial that doubles as a solemn reminder of lives forever changed and futures forever lost (Angueira, Nathan, & Vertuno, 2025)

As sorrow lingers in the Hill Country, Texas lawmakers are set to convene a special legislative session beginning July 21 (Governor of the State of Texas, 2025)—ostensibly to tackle flood-related challenges such as improved warning systems, emergency communications, and disaster relief funding. However, the session carries a sharp political edge: Governor Abbott has also inserted mid-decade congressional redistricting—a move widely seen as answering President Trump’s call to redraw districts in the GOP’s favor (Klibanoff & Serrano, 2025).

Critics argue that cramming this dual agenda into a single special session is profoundly ill-timed. The optics are troubling, to say the least. God forbid they "Uvalde Kerrville"—with delayed response, deflected blame, and political distractions—while families still wait by the river, desperate for answers. Time will tell. We can only hope.

References

Angueira, G. A., Nathan, L. & Vertuno, J. (2025, July 14). The search for those missing in catastrophic Texas floods resumes in some areas after pause for rain. https://apnews.com/article/texas-flooding-guadalupe-river-search-6537e610a0789eae05189d9bd3bd3fe2 

Governor of the State of Texas. (2025, July 9). Proclamation calling the first called session of the 89th Legislature. Retrieved from https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/press/PROC_first_called_session_89th_legislature_FINAL_2pm_UNSIGNED_DRAFT_07-09-25.pdf

Klibanoff, E. & Serrano, A. (2025, July 9). Gov. Abbott orders special session on Hill Country flooding, redistricting, THC and unfinished GOP priorities https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/09/abbott-special-session-texas-redistricting-flooding-thc-abortion-pills/

The search for those missing in catastrophic Texas floods resumes in some areas after pause for rain

Emergency crews have suspended their search for victims of catastrophic flooding in central Texas amid new warnings that additional rain will again cause waterways to surge. The Associated Press’ Gabriela Aoun Angueira reports from the scene.

By GABRIELA AOUN ANGUEIRA, NADIA LATHAN and JIM VERTUNO
Updated 11:44 PM CDT, July 14, 2025

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — For a second straight day, rain forecasts hampered the search Monday for people still missing after deadly floods pummeled Texas, as officials made plans to drain reservoirs in the search for victims and lowered the number of people they said remain missing.

While some official crews resumed the search along the Guadalupe River in and around Kerrville in Kerr County, others held off or were ordered to stop because of worries about the forecast and the possibility of more flooding.

A man surveys debris and flood damage along the Guadalupe River, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

And local officials, who have faced mounting scrutiny over a perceived lack of action and warnings ahead of the July Fourth storm that killed at least 132 people, complained they have received threats to their safety.

The first pause in search efforts due to the weather came Sunday in Texas Hill Country, where the soil is still primed for enhanced water runoff.
The number of missing

At a news conference Monday, state officials said 101 people remain missing, including 97 in the Kerrville area. The other four were swept away in other counties.

That is a significant drop from the more than 160 people officials had previously said were unaccounted for in Kerr County alone, with 10 more missing in neighboring areas. State officials did not immediately respond to emailed requests for clarity on the big change in the number of missing.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott suggested it has been difficult to pin down a number. Campers, residents or people who registered at RV parks or hotels are easier to account for, he said. Others may have been reported missing by a friend, family member or coworker.

“Even though we are reporting 97 people missing, there is no certainty that all 97 of those people were swept away by the storm,” Abbott said.

‘Trailer after trailer after trailer’ swept away

Texas Hill Country is a popular destination for tourists where campers seek out spots along the river amid the rolling hills. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said during a commissioners’ meeting Monday that it’s been difficult to determine exactly how many tourists were in the area when the flooding occurred.

“We’ve heard accounts of trailer after trailer after trailer being swept into the river with families in the them. Can’t find the trailers,” Kelly said. “It’s what we don’t know. We don’t know how many of them there are.”

Kelly said he’d been told of one trailer that was found “completely covered in gravel” 27 feet (8.2 meters) below the surface of the river. He said sonar crews have been searching the river and local lakes and more are expected to arrive.


Commissioner Don Harris said officials plan to drain two reservoir lakes on the river.


A cross stands in debris at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

“Who knows how many out there are completely covered,” Harris said.
The search

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Urban Search and Rescue teams fully resumed operations on Monday, said Obed Frometa, FEMA Blue Incident Support Team information officer.

Levi Bizzell, a spokesperson for the Ingram Volunteer Fire Department, which has been organizing about 200 searchers, said the department suspended operations for the day on Monday because of the expected rain in Kerr County.

“Everybody here wants to be out there working,” Bizzell said. “They literally come in in the morning whether they are tired or not, and they just want to get out there and work because they want to find closure for these families.”

Kerr County meanwhile advised all volunteers to leave the river area and move to higher ground, saying only those teams working under the direction of Kerr County Emergency Operations Center Unified Command were permitted in the response zone.

Members of the volunteer Lone Star Search and Recovery group said authorities pulled them off recovery operations on Sunday due to the rain, so they spent Monday helping clear debris from a badly damaged neighborhood instead.

“They don’t want us out there right now until it clears up,” said Aron Gutierrez, a volunteer who came from Fort Worth.

‘Playing a blame game’

In Kerrville, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Austin, local officials have come under scrutiny over whether residents were adequately warned about the rising water on July 4.

Authorities in Kerrville went door-to-door to some homes early Sunday warning that flooding was again possible, and pushed phone alerts to area residents.

Kerr County commissioners asked the public for their patience as the search and cleanup continues. Commissioner Rich Paces said during a meeting Monday morning that he has received death threats.

“They’re just playing a blame game,” Paces said.


During a special Kerrville City Council meeting, council member Brenda Hughes also complained of threats to city officials and staff, which she did not detail, and called for increased security at City Hall.


A young girl runs past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)


The July Fourth flood

Just before daybreak on the Fourth of July, destructive, fast-moving waters rose 26 feet (8 meters) on the Guadalupe River, washing away homes and vehicles. Crews in helicopters, boats and drones have been searching for victims.

The floods laid waste to the Hill Country region. The riverbanks and hills of Kerr County are filled with vacation cabins, youth camps and campgrounds, including Camp Mystic, the century-old, all-girls Christian summer camp.

Located in a low-lying area along the Guadalupe River in a region known as flash flood alley, Camp Mystic lost at least 27 campers and counselors.

The flood was far more severe than the 100-year event envisioned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, experts said, and moved so quickly in the middle of the night that it caught many off guard in a county that lacked a warning system.
More rain

Areas that were hit by the July Fourth floods were forecast to get more rain Monday.

The Guadalupe River near Hunt, Texas, where Camp Mystic is located, had risen to almost 11 feet (3 meters) by Monday afternoon, resulting in minor flooding, The river was expected to rise another 2 feet (61 centimeters) by Monday evening, causing moderate flooding, according to the National Weather Service’s Austin/San Antonio office.

The weather service had not received any reports of flooding of homes or roads as of Monday afternoon.

A series of thunderstorms that inundated areas west of Kerr County weakened as they passed through the area and there wasn’t much rain by late Monday afternoon, according to the weather service.

From Sunday night and Monday morning, southwestern Kerr County received up to 4.5 inches (11 centimeters) of rain. The Hunt area received about 2 inches (5 centimeters).

Swift water rescue teams have already been sent to Uvalde, Del Rio and Concan in anticipation of possible flooding in those communities on the Frio River, Nim Kidd, Texas emergency operations chief, said during the Monday news conference.


___ Vertuno and Lathan contributed to this report from Austin. Associated Press reporters Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, New York; Juan A. Lozano in Houston, Michael Weissenstein in Dobbs Ferry, New York; and Jeff Martin in Kennesaw, Georgia, also contributed to this report.



GABRIELA AOUN ANGUEIRA
Gabriela covers philanthropy’s role in disaster resilience and recovery. She is based in San Diego, California.
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NADIA LATHAN
Lathan is a statehouse reporter based in Austin, Texas. She is a Report for America corps member.
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JIM VERTUNO
Vertuno has been covering news, sports and politics from Texas for The AP since 1998. He won a National Headliner Award for sports writing in 2013.
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When the Waters Rose, So Did Mexico. Where Is Our Humanity? by Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

When the Waters Rose, So Did Mexico. Where Is Our Humanity?

by 

Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

July 7, 2025

Source: https://www.facebook.com/protcivilacuna

As floodwaters swallowed parts of the Texas Hill Country over the Fourth of July weekend—ripping through tents, cabins, and homes with terrifying force—a rare and radiant kind of help arrived from across the border.

Nine brave volunteer firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico, along with four members of Fundación 911 México, answered the call for help—not with questions, conditions, or fanfare, but with quiet courage and unflinching resolve. Early Sunday morning, they crossed into Texas and headed straight for Kerrville, where more than 80 people have already been confirmed dead and dozens remain missing in one of the deadliest floods in recent U.S. history.

They didn’t come for headlines. They came for humanity.

Search and rescue response in Texas has become an international effort as volunteer firefighters from Mexico are lending a hand to their neighbors to the north.(Dirección de Protección Civil y Bomberos de Acuña, Coahuila. News Source: Worley, 2025)

Arriving with boats, gear, and rigorous training—but most of all, heart—this elite Mexican rescue team worked alongside Texans in scenes of devastation that blurred flags and erased borders.

They searched with Texas volunteers and grieving families, knowing full well the risks. And they did so in a country where anti-Mexican vitriol has become policy, where border walls and razor wire have replaced bridges of solidarity, and where leaders like Donald Trump and Greg Abbott use cruelty toward immigrants not only as a political strategy but as spectacle and sport.

It is impossible to miss the moral contrast.

While Trump mocks migrants—once suggesting we electrify the border wall and fill trenches with alligators (Valenzuela, 2025)—Mexican first responders are here saving lives in the treacherous Guadalupe River.

Trump’s cruelty toward migrants—like the grotesque ‘Alligator Alcatraz’—didn’t begin last month, but dates back to his prior presidency:

Privately, the president had often talked about fortifying a border wall with a water-filled trench, stocked with snakes or alligators, prompting aides to seek a cost estimate. He wanted the wall electrified, with spikes on top that could pierce human flesh. After publicly suggesting that soldiers shoot migrants if they threw rocks, the president backed off when his staff told him that was illegal. But later in a meeting, aides recalled, he suggested that they shoot migrants in the legs to slow them down. That’s not allowed either, they told him. (Shear & Hirschfeld, 2019).

While Trump dreams of alligator-filled moats—now a grotesque reality in the Florida Everglades (Valenzuela, 2025)—Mexican rescuers are wading through floodwaters to save the victims of this unspeakable catastrophe. This isn’t merely a policy divide—it’s a gaping rupture in our values between nations.

Not long ago, Governor Greg Abbott made a chilling remark during a radio interview with host Dana Loesch:

“The only thing that we’re not doing is we’re not shooting people who come across the border, because, of course, the Biden administration would charge us with murder” (García, 2024).

While Abbott criminalizes desperate asylum seekers and installs drowning traps in the weaponized and border-scarred Rio Grande, Mexico sends its bravest to help Texans recover the bodies of adults and children swept away by a different—yet kindred—river: the sorrowful and tragic Guadalupe. A river named for La Virgen de Guadalupe, who stands for love, mercy, and protection. One side chooses cruelty; the other, compassion.

Though these two rivers do not meet, they are bound by shared grief and the stories they carry: one polluted by politics, the other by tragedy. And in this moment, Mexico chooses compassion. Texas, through Abbott’s policies, chooses cruelty—even as we’re wrongfully told that Mexico is the enemy.

We’re told to fear the "invasion" of immigrants while witnessing a border-born miracle of selflessness, solidarity, and sorrowful grace.

Source: Protección Civil Acuña

Make no mistake: this isn’t the first time Mexico has come to our aid. After Hurricane Katrina, Mexican troops and aid workers traveled to Louisiana to help with recovery. After 9/11, Mexican officials offered forensic support to identify victims. When the pandemic struck, Mexican doctors crossed into El Paso to ease hospital shortages.

So, when will we stop pretending that compassion has a passport?

When will the likes of Trump and Abbott look into the eyes of these rescuers—heroes in every sense of the word—and reckon with the cruelty of their exclusionary policies, the machinery of fear they’ve built, and their shameful attempts to dehumanize the very people who, in our hour of need, showed up to save us?

This weekend, we saw the best of Mexico, no doubt.

Let us not forget the names of those who walked into our disaster with open arms (Protección Civil Acuña, 2025).

Protección Civil y Bomberos de Acuña:

Javier Alvarado Lumbreras

Cristopher Abraham Herrera

Roel Delgado Martínez

José Omar Llanas Hernández

Aldo Ortiz Rodríguez

Mario Alberto Linares

Guillermo Samuel Quiroz

Javier Isaac Alvarado

Jesús Eduardo Salas Ibarra

Fundación 911 México:

Ismael Aldaba Flores

Miguel Ángel González

Jesús Gómez Arizpe

Jorge Fuentes

Their bravery echoes a long tradition of Mexico showing up for the U.S. in our darkest moments—whether after Katrina, 9/11, or COVID-19. They also helped rebuild Georgia in the devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew.

Similarly, they arrived last Saturday in the early morning hours—not as invaders, but as lifelines. Not to take, but to give—of their time, their skill, and their courage. They came not as strangers, but as hermanos—brothers carrying grief in one hand, and justice, unspoken but evident, in the other.

In a world parched of empathy, with "scorched Earth" policies to match, these  are the waters that should rise. In a moment like this, may the words of the prophet Amos echo with urgency: "Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream" (Amos 5:24). May we remember that justice does not flow from border walls, but from hands reaching across them.

To the leaders who build walls and stoke hate: let this moment be your mirror.  As for the rest of us, we must ask ourselves—not just today but every day—what kind of people we want to be. 

The waters rose. Mexico showed up. Now it’s our turn—to rise not just in gratitude, but in solidarity.

References

García, U. J. (2024, January 11). Abbott’s immigration rhetoric criticized again after interview response about shooting migrants. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2024/01/11/texas-border-migrants-greg-abbott-interview-shoot/ 

Protección Civil Acuña. (2025, July 6 at 6:11 AM). Water rescue team stands in flooding in USA [Facebook post]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/protcivilacuna

Shear, M. D., & Davis, J. H. (2019, October 1). Shoot migrants’ legs, build alligator moat: Behind Trump’s ideas for border. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/us/politics/trump-border-wars.html

Valenzuela, A. (2025, July 2). Alligator Alcatraz: A monument to cruelty in the heart of the Everglades [Blog post]. Texas Ed Equity. https://texasedequity.blogspot.com/2025/07/alligator-alcatraz-monument-to-cruelty_2.html

Worley, D. (2025, July 7). Firefighters from Mexico join response efforts to catastrophic Texas floods. KBTX. https://www.kbtx.com/2025/07/07/firefighters-mexico-join-response-efforts-catastrophic-texas-floods/

Devastation in the Texas Hill Country: 66 Confirmed Dead, Dozens Missing, 850 Rescued, and a Call by Some to Abolish FEMA?

Devastation in the Texas Hill Country: 66 Confirmed Dead, Dozens Missing, 850 Rescued, and a Call by Some to Abolish FEMA?

by

Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

Like many of you, I spent yesterday—and now this morning—glued to the devastating news of the terrible tragedy that struck Fourth-of-July campers and communities along the Guadalupe River in the Central Texas Hill Country. 

This morning’s CBS news report is up-to-date, and it is heartbreaking. For context, Kerrville is located just 103 miles west of Austin—about a two-hour drive—which, by Texas standards, is very close to home. Plus, Austin is located in Travis County that also witnessed destruction where at least four deaths have been reported. This is, of course, an evolving situation.

As of this writing, the confirmed death toll stands at 66, including at least 15 children. At least two dozen more children from the lower-lying region of Camp Mystic are still missing. Aerial footage shows how the camp was divided into two parts: one higher up the bank, the other perilously close to the river's edge.

Here are two eyewitness accounts from camp supervisors, María Paula and Silvana Garza Valdez, who were tending to the younger children. Just a week earlier, they had been stationed in the lower portion of the camp. Thankfully, they had recently been reassigned to higher ground, where they comforted children crying—some because they didn’t want camp to end, others because they were terrified by the unrelenting rains. 

I’ve posted the full video below, which is in Spanish, as I found it to be one of the most informative accounts of how events unfolded at Camp Mystic—from the perspective of these young caretakers themselves. Despite describing their own trauma, they speak with remarkable clarity, maturity, and composure about what they experienced. If you don't understand Spanish, turn on the closed captioning on your website or TV so that you can capture the entire interview in English.

While multiple counties across Central and West Texas were affected by the storm—including my hometown of San Angelo and Travis County where I live—Kerr County, home to Kerrville and the upriver towns of Hunt (where Camp Mystic is located) and Ingram, suffered the most catastrophic loss of life where folks flocked from around the state on a national holiday.

Source: NY Times

Several interconnected factors contributed to the storm’s deadly impact, not the least of which is climate change that has resulted in more intense and more frequent water events, as expressed this morning by Congressman Joaquin Castro on CNN News. 

It began with the remnants of Hurricane Barry—a Category 1 storm that made landfall near the eastern Mexican state of Tampico on Sunday, June 29—merging with a stalled weather system over West Texas, creating an unusually powerful and volatile storm. As Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice explained in a press conference yesterday, what made the impact especially devastating for towns like Hunt, Ingram, and Comfort was the simultaneous rainfall along both forks of the Guadalupe River. These tributaries converged at Hunt, dramatically accelerating the river’s rise—causing water levels to surge by 30 feet in just two hours and overwhelming the communities downstream.

According to CBS News Texas, Governor Greg Abbott announced in a July 5 press briefing that “at least 850 people have been rescued from rising floodwaters in Central Texas over the past 36 hours,” underscoring the scale and urgency of the disaster response. The report states that 850 of these were uninjured and eight were injured.

In this moment of collective grief, it is essential to name not only the resilience of our communities, but also the critical importance of public infrastructure—especially FEMA, the National Weather Service (NWS), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These agencies play vital roles in emergency response, weather forecasting, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have publicly called for the abolition of FEMA is not only reckless—it is dangerous. 

This tragedy makes painfully clear what’s at stake when political rhetoric turns against the very institutions tasked with safeguarding human life during natural disasters (Valenzuela, 2025).

We grieve for the lives lost. We pray for the children still missing and the families shattered by this storm. And we recommit ourselves to demanding leadership that values preparedness, community, and the right of all people—especially the most vulnerable—to survive and thrive.

References

CBS News. (2025, July 5). Central Texas flash flooding leaves dozens dead, hundreds rescued. Link

FEMA. (n.d.). About FEMA. https://www.fema.gov/about

Mazzone, C., & Reader, G. (2025, July 6). 4 dead in Travis County, 13 missing in devastating flooding. KXAN. https://www.kxan.com/news/local/2-dead-in-travis-county-at-least-10-missing-in-devastating-flooding/

NOAA. (n.d.). Our mission and vision. https://www.noaa.gov/our-mission-and-vision

Reuters. (2024, May 20). Kristi Noem calls for end to FEMA. https://www.reuters.com

Tabachnick, C., Czachor, E. M., & M., Breen.  (2025, July 6). At least 70 dead in devastating Central Texas flash floods, over 2 dozen remain missing. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-hill-country-severe-floods/

The Hill. (2024, March 3). Trump says he would abolish FEMA. https://thehill.com

Valenzuela, A. (2025, July 7, 2025). When the Waters Rose, So Did Mexico. Where is Our Humanity? [Blog] Educational Equity, Politics & Policy in Texas https://texasedequity.blogspot.com/2025/07/when-waters-rose-so-did-mexico-where-is.html