Perla Trevizo

Reporter, ProPublica/Texas Tribune investigative unit

Perla Trevizo is a Mexican-American reporter born in Ciudad Juárez and raised across the border in El Paso, Texas, where she began her journalism career. Trevizo spent more than 10 years covering immigration and border issues in Tennessee and Arizona before joining the Houston Chronicle as an environmental reporter. She has written from nearly a dozen countries, from African refugee camps to remote Guatemalan villages, with the goal of broadening readers’ understanding of the global issues that impact the local communities where she has worked. Her work has earned her national and state awards including the Dori J. Maynard Award for Diversity in Journalism, French-American Foundation Immigration Journalism Award, and a national Edward R. Murrow for a story done in collaboration with Arizona Public Media. She was also honored as the 2019 Arizona Journalist of the Year by the Arizona Newspaper Association. She is based in El Paso.

Latest Contributions

Generators can cause deadly carbon monoxide poisoning. But the industry resists rules to make them safer.

By Lexi Churchill, Perla Trevizo and Ren Larson, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Mike Hixenbaugh and Suzy Khimm, NBC News Dec. 17, 2021

Portable generators are among the deadliest consumer products. Two decades after the government identified the danger, and as climate change leads to more power outages, people are left vulnerable by a system that lets the industry regulate itself. Full Story

Credit: Laila Milevski/ProPublica
State Rep. Scott Sanford, a McKinney Republican, announces he’ll retire at the end of his term

By Perla Trevizo, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Sept. 19, 2021

Sanford’s announcement came a day before the Texas Legislature reconvenes for a third special session of 2021. Full Story

Credit: Texas House of Representatives
Texas must do more to effectively prevent carbon monoxide disasters, experts say

By Lexi Churchill and Perla Trevizo, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Suzy Khimm, NBC News Sept. 3, 2021

Months after the deadly gas killed at least 17 Texans during a massive winter storm, lawmakers have failed to take significant action to protect most of the state’s residents. Full Story

Credit: Laila Milevski/ProPublica
Inside an agonizing three-hour wait for 911 response to carbon monoxide poisoning in Texas

By Perla Trevizo and Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Suzy Khimm and Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News Aug. 19, 2021

Following a 911 call about a family that had fainted, first responders arrived at the house and knocked on the door. No one answered, so they left. Inside, an entire family was being poisoned by carbon monoxide. Full Story
How to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning in your home

By Perla Trevizo, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Suzy Khimm, NBC News April 29, 2021

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, tasteless, colorless gas that can cause serious injury or even death if inhaled in high quantities. Here’s how you can keep your home and family safe. Full Story

Credit: Chelsea Stahl/NBC/ProPublica/The Texas Tribune
Texas enabled the worst carbon monoxide poisoning catastrophe in recent U.S. history

By Perla Trevizo, Ren Larson and Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Mike Hixenbaugh and Suzy Khimm, NBC News Updated: Aug. 17, 2021

They used their car to stay warm when a winter storm brought down the Texas power grid. In a state that doesn't require carbon monoxide alarms in homes, they had no warning they were poisoning themselves. Full Story

Credit: Leland Foster for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune/NBC
Coronavirus vaccine deliveries to Texas pick up after winter storm

By Perla Trevizo, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Feb. 20, 2021

Texas will get nearly 600,000 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for next week, allowing the state to distribute the vaccine to the largest number of counties so far. The deliveries will help catch up storm-delayed first and second shots for eligible Texans. Full Story

Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune
The Trump administration awarded border wall contracts to build on land it doesn't own in Texas

By Perla Trevizo and Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Dec. 23, 2020

The government’s strategy of awarding contracts before acquiring titles to land in Texas has led to millions of dollars in costs for delays. Things could get even more complicated if President-elect Joe Biden stops border wall construction. Full Story

Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune/ProPublica
Records show Trump’s border wall is costing taxpayers billions more than initial contracts

By Perla Trevizo and Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Oct. 27, 2020

As the presidential election nears, a review of federal spending data found modifications to contracts have increased the price of the border wall by billions, costing about five times more per mile than it did under previous administrations. Full Story

Credit: REUTERS/Verónica G. Cárdenas
Texas counties temporarily blocked from offering multiple mail-in ballot drop-off locations

By Jolie McCullough and Cassandra Pollock, The Texas Tribune, and Perla Trevizo, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Updated: Oct. 11, 2020

An order from a federal appeals court Saturday set up another potential legal showdown over voting in Texas as mail-in ballots are already being collected and just days before early voting begins. Full Story

Credit: Amna Ijaz/The Texas Tribune