THE WEEKLY REVEAL

Hello! In this issue:

• US policies triggered a cycle of violence in Mexico, putting innocent families in harm's way. 
• Maternity homes are proliferating across the US, and some Florida homes are restricting women’s movements, relationships, and even food stamps.
• How the “war on woke” has been changing Florida.
• Our documentary Victim/Suspect has won a big honor.

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THIS WEEK’S PODCAST

Did the US Cause Its Own Border Crisis?

The right to asylum has been enshrined in US law since the 1950s. It’s meant to provide a safe haven for people fleeing violence and government persecution.

Laura Ascencio Bautista and her family have faced both in Mexico, where her brother Benjamin disappeared along with 42 others in 2014 after police stormed a bus from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College.

In the years since, violence in her home state of Guerrero left Bautista desperate. She heard asylum was created for people like her. So she traveled north, headed for the perceived safety of the United States.

Despite all the political hand-wringing about a crisis at the border, many Americans don't understand what's driving so many people from Mexico and other countries to come to the US in the first place. This week, Reveal senior reporter and producer Anayansi Diaz-Cortes takes us to a part of Mexico that many families are leaving behind—a place where fear is a part of daily life—and unwinds US policies that helped trigger the cycle of violence and migration that continues to this day.

OUR LATEST INVESTIGATION

These Maternity Homes Offer Sanctuary, But It Can Feel Oppressive

By Laura C. Morel

In many parts of Florida, where housing costs are soaring and lawmakers have sharply curtailed abortion access, pregnant women and teens who need a safe, stable place to live are increasingly turning to one of their few options: charity-run maternity homes.

At one maternity home in Florida, residents had to download a tracking app and lock their phones in a safe overnight. They were not permitted to leave the property without permission and rarely were allowed to be home alone, former residents and employees said. “Not being able to just step outside and go for a walk was hard,” said Emily Colts-Tegg, who lived at the home this year. “It did take a toll on me.”

Florida allows most homes to operate without state standards or state oversight. An examination by The New York Times and Reveal found that many homes require residents to agree to strict conditions that limit their communications, their financial decisions, and even their movements.

Our latest investigation from Reveal's Laura C. Morel was produced as part of the New York Times local investigations fellowship.

One Number to Know

1,400
 

In 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the so-called Curriculum Transparency Act. It allows parents or anyone in the community to report books they think are inappropriate.

In the 2021-22 school year, there were over 1,400 incidents of books being banned across the state of Florida.

Listen: Black in the Sunshine State

Ending on a Good Note

🏆 Our documentary Victim/Suspect won a coveted Emmy Award this week for outstanding research in a documentary. Here at Reveal, we're particularly proud of our deep, groundbreaking investigative techniques, and they're on full display in this film that exposes police treating victims of sexual assault like suspects.

Special congratulations to reporter/producer Rachel de Leon, director of TV & documentaries Amanda Pike, and the fellows, researchers, and data journalists whose work over the course of several years helped make this possible: Kendall Marianacci, Betty Márquez Rosales, Skyler Glover, Vanessa Ochavillo, Elena Neale-Sacks, Sarah Cohen, and Sinduja Rangarajan.

If you haven't seen this shocking film yet, Victim/Suspect is streaming now on Netflix.
 

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