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Question: What are colonias?
Answer: The Department of Housing and Urban Development describes colonias as "rural communities and neighborhoods located within 150 miles of the U.S.-Mexican border that lack adequate infrastructure and frequently also lack other basic services." Colonias typically spring up in remote areas, unsanctioned by local governments and without typical government-supported services. As a result, these communities often lack roads, potable water supplies, sewage disposal systems, approved housing, streetlights, and other services. They are also subject to high rates of poverty, disease, and illiteracy. Texas has over 1,400 such communities-more than any border state-with an estimated 400,000 residents, most of whom are Hispanic
Colonias originate when limited-income families purchase lots from land developers who require minimal down payments and offer low monthly installments; however, interest rates on these loans are usually high, and the owner cannot receive the property's title until the land is paid for. Without the title, owners have little chance of obtaining a bank loan to build a house or improve the property. The dwellings that the owners erect, ungoverned by zoning ordinances, are generally constructed from found materials; many residents live in makeshift shelters, tents, converted buses, and trailers. While the lots usually lack electricity, plumbing, fresh water, and other basic amenities at the time of purchase, buyers are assured that public utilities will soon follow. However, most cities are unable or unwilling to spend the money needed to bring services to these outlying settlements.
Life in these isolated communities is difficult at best. Unemployment is high, averaging eight times the rate for all of Texas, and incomes are low. With no local job opportunities, individuals must travel to nearby cities and ranches to find work; however, lacking specialized skills, education, and-in most cases-English proficiency, colonia residents find few jobs that pay more than minimum wage. The squalid living conditions foment diseases such as hepatitis A, salmonellosis, dysentery, and cholera. Tuberculosis is also a common health threat, occurring almost twice as frequently among the colonias compared with the state average. Because of their inadequate housing, children and school-aged youth living in the colonias usually meet the educational definition of homelessness. While they are eligible for certain educational services under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act, many colonia children fail at school due to high dropout rates, irregular attendance due to health problems, the need to hold jobs, inadequate clothing, language barriers, and peer pressure. The ever-increasing colonia population also causes challenges for area schools, which are forced to reallocate funds intended for instructional support to build additional facilities to accommodate these students.
Fortunately, efforts are under way to alleviate the difficulties within and due to the colonias. In addition to federal and state programs, nonprofit organizations, the private sector, and the colonia residents themselves are working to improve living conditions and secure alternative housing options. However, whenever a population this large and this concentrated settles in an area already burdened by a depleted economy and high unemployment, improvements can be slow and difficult. Unless the numbers of new settlements are regulated, problems will continue for both colonias residents and the governmental agencies that are trying to help them.
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