Falfurrias, Texas | |
|---|---|
 The Brooks County Courthouse in Falfurrias, February | |
| Motto: "The Land of Heart's Delight" | |
 Location of Falfurrias, Texas | |
 | |
| Coordinates: 27°13′36″N 98°8′42″W / 27.22667°N 98.14500°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Brooks |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council-Manager |
| • City Council | Mayor David longloria
Homer Salinas Justo Ramirez Martin Cabrera Aaron Treviño Manual Perez |
| • City Administrator | David Flores |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.86 sq mi (7.41 km2) |
| • Land | 2.86 sq mi (7.41 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 115 ft (35 m) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 4,609 |
| • Density | 1,610.98/sq mi (622.00/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 78355 |
| Area code | 361 |
| FIPS code | 48-25368[3] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1335669[4] |
| Website | www |
Falfurrias (/fælˈfjʊəriəs/ fal-FYOOR-ee-əs) is a city in and the county seat of Brooks County, Texas, United States.[5] Its population was 4,609 at the 2020 census, in a county that in the same census was just over 7,000.[2] The town is named for founder Edward Cunningham Lasater's ranch, La Mota de Falfurrias. In 1893, the Falfurrias ranch was one of the largest in Texas at some 350,000 acres (140,000 ha).
The biggest industry in Falfurrias is the United States Border Patrol interior checkpoint south of the city on U.S. Route 281.[6] As an indirect consequence, many migrants seeking to bypass the checkpoint by setting off across the arid land die of exposure and dehydration.[7]
The biggest issue in Falfurrias in the early 21st century is illegal immigration and the costs this imposes on Brooks County. The costs are for recovering, attempting to identify, and burial of the dead migrants.
Falfurrias and Brooks County were featured in a 2014 Latino USA radio story on illegal immigration in South Texas.[8] The 2021 movie Missing in Brooks County deals with the same topic.
- ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ a b "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2020 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Falfurrias city, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ National Association of Counties. "NACo County Explorer". Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ "This Is America. Do You Belong Here? Navigating the Checkpoints of the Southwest Border". The New York Times. March 28, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
- ^ Migrant smugglers adjust to extreme heat in rural South Texas, sheriff says
- ^ Uribe, Mónica Ortiz (January 3, 2014), Migrant Deaths in Brooks County Texas, Latino USA