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How the SCOTUS birthright case could affect Bexar babies

The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday over President Trump's executive order restricting birthright citizenship.

News

On average, 5,400 babies were born each year to immigrant mothers in Bexar County from 2016 to 2024, according to CDC data — underscoring how many local families could be affected by potential changes to birthright citizenship.Why it matters: The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday over President Trump&#x27;s executive order restricting birthright citizenship, in a case that could reshape who is recognized as an American at birth.

Ballpark comes into focus in downtown San Antonio

Development plans include two apartment complexes and a hotel.

San Antonio is getting its first look at designs for a new <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Minor League Baseball stadium" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/san-antonio/2024/08/14/san-antonio-missions-downtown-baseball-stadium" data-vars-content-id="bffc7f0d-a1ce-4abc-8311-d6fe15585188" data-vars-headline="Ballpark comes into focus in downtown San Antonio" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/san-antonio/2024/08/14/san-antonio-missions-downtown-baseball-stadium" target="_self">Minor League Baseball stadium</a> downtown surrounded by apartments and hotel rooms.Why it matters: Team owners aim to transform downtown, an area known as a tourist mecca, into a destination for locals.

Why San Antonio streets rank among the least safe

Pedestrians walk on roads with high speed limits.

Transit

The San Antonio area has some of the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="least safe streets" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/san-antonio/2025/12/08/san-antonio-deadliest-dangerous-roads-crashes-map" data-vars-content-id="ae7f8b52-6300-45dd-b6c1-d076401e4341" data-vars-headline="Why San Antonio streets rank among the least safe" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/san-antonio/2025/12/08/san-antonio-deadliest-dangerous-roads-crashes-map" target="_self">least safe streets</a> in the country, per StreetLight Data&#x27;s new &quot;<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="U.S. Safe Streets Index" data-vars-click-url="https://learn.streetlightdata.com/us-safe-streets-index-ebook" data-vars-content-id="ae7f8b52-6300-45dd-b6c1-d076401e4341" data-vars-headline="Why San Antonio streets rank among the least safe" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://learn.streetlightdata.com/us-safe-streets-index-ebook" target="_blank">U.S. Safe Streets Index</a>.&quot;Why it matters: Traffic fatalities in San Antonio have increased since the pandemic, according to the city&#x27;s latest tally.

What San Antonio area homeowners do for a living

Management and business professionals are most likely to own a home in the San Antonio area.

Real Estate

Management and business professionals are most likely to own a home in the San Antonio area, according to a National Association of Realtors analysis of Census Bureau data shared exclusively with Axios.The big picture: Homeownership trends in San Antonio mostly mirror national patterns, though the region stands out for gains in homeownership among health care employees — and declines among service workers.

Why opioid deaths are falling in Bexar County

Fatal overdoses rose during COVID but have been falling since.

Drug-related deaths in Bexar County have dropped from <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="pandemic-era highs" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/05/14/opioid-overdose-deaths-fall-trump-budget-cuts-2026" data-vars-content-id="1e1df448-7f5f-41a4-9efe-2e136661dca4" data-vars-headline="Why opioid deaths are falling in Bexar County" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/05/14/opioid-overdose-deaths-fall-trump-budget-cuts-2026" target="_self">pandemic-era highs</a>, but are still above 2019 levels, CDC data shows.Why it matters: Fatal overdoses initially rose during the COVID pandemic, but have been <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="falling since 2023" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2024/05/15/drug-overdoses-decline-fentanyl" data-vars-content-id="1e1df448-7f5f-41a4-9efe-2e136661dca4" data-vars-headline="Why opioid deaths are falling in Bexar County" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/05/15/drug-overdoses-decline-fentanyl" target="_self">falling since 2023</a> as naloxone, which reverses an opioid overdose, has become more widely available.

San Antonio students struggle to recover from COVID

Texas students are recovering more in reading than math.

Students in Texas K–12 public schools are on average about half a grade behind pre-pandemic achievement levels in math and nearly one third of a grade level below in reading, data shows.Why it matters: The <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Education Recovery Scorecard" data-vars-click-url="https://educationrecoveryscorecard.org/states/texas/" data-vars-content-id="7b4bb2e5-61af-4068-bcd5-229346c87d98" data-vars-headline="San Antonio students struggle to recover from COVID" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://educationrecoveryscorecard.org/states/texas/" target="_blank">Education Recovery Scorecard</a> provides an in-depth look, at the district level, of where Texas students&#x27; academic recovery from COVID stood last spring, before federal relief funding expired.

Bexar County evictions are still above pre-pandemic levels

A new map shows where evictions were filed in Bexar County.

Politics

More than 24,000 eviction cases were filed in Bexar County last year, and the number of households evicted continued to rise above pre-pandemic levels, local data shows.Why it matters: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Sweeping protections" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2021/06/24/cdc-eviction-moratorium" data-vars-content-id="27e0399d-a8f6-4b81-8c0c-675156239b19" data-vars-headline="Bexar County evictions are still above pre-pandemic levels" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2021/06/24/cdc-eviction-moratorium" target="_self">Sweeping protections</a> helped keep more San Antonians in their homes during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but with those measures now gone, residents are facing higher levels of displacement.

Report: Texas Medicaid removals exceed projections

The state disagrees, saying its numbers were in line with expectations.

Texas removed far more children from its Medicaid rolls last year than observers expected, per a new report, but state officials say the numbers are in line with their own projections.Why it matters: Even brief gaps in insurance can disrupt care and worsen health outcomes — <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="especially for children" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/san-antonio/2023/11/20/texas-kids-lose-medicaid-health-care-insurance" data-vars-content-id="2614bec7-b164-472e-bf13-d0b26c6602a3" data-vars-headline="Report: Texas Medicaid removals exceed projections" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/san-antonio/2023/11/20/texas-kids-lose-medicaid-health-care-insurance" target="_self">especially for children</a>, whose rapid development makes them more vulnerable than adults, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="a new analysis" data-vars-click-url="https://www.urban.org/research/publication/state-variation-medicaid-and-chip-unwinding-children-and-adults-november-2023" data-vars-content-id="2614bec7-b164-472e-bf13-d0b26c6602a3" data-vars-headline="Report: Texas Medicaid removals exceed projections" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.urban.org/research/publication/state-variation-medicaid-and-chip-unwinding-children-and-adults-november-2023" target="_blank">a new analysis</a> from the Urban Institute says.

Mapping pandemic gun violence in San Antonio

A new data project shows how much gun violence rose.

San Antonio experienced more fatal shootings over the four years after the pandemic&#x27;s onset than in the previous four, new data from the New York Times <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="shows" data-vars-click-url="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/05/14/us/gun-homicides-data.html" data-vars-content-id="fce4427e-5a79-4454-8a11-30efd4c0eccd" data-vars-headline="Mapping pandemic gun violence in San Antonio" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/05/14/us/gun-homicides-data.html" target="_blank">shows</a>.Why it matters: The reporting demonstrates the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic saw <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="increased gun violence" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2021/10/23/violent-crime-surge-2020-pandemic" data-vars-content-id="fce4427e-5a79-4454-8a11-30efd4c0eccd" data-vars-headline="Mapping pandemic gun violence in San Antonio" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2021/10/23/violent-crime-surge-2020-pandemic" target="_self">increased gun violence</a> in cities across the country, including San Antonio.

Downtown San Antonio's post-COVID comeback could be on the horizon

The city ranked 25th of major metros this spring in downtown foot traffic compared to 2019.

Downtown San Antonio&#x27;s foot traffic still lags behind pre-pandemic levels but it&#x27;s recovered better than most major North American cities.Why it matters: Downtowns are typically the beating economic heart of a city, funneling revenue into city coffers via taxes and more.

COVID-19 hospitalizations increase in Texas

The increases mirrors a national wave of COVID-19 cases.

COVID-19 hospitalization rates across Texas increased 44% between June and July amid signs of a late summer wave sweeping the country, Alex Fitzpatrick and Kavya Beheraj report.By the numbers: The average COVID-19 hospitalization rate nationwide rose about 17% between June and July, per the latest available CDC data.

San Antonio Metro Health slows COVID-19 data reporting

For three years, San Antonians turned to Metro Health COVID dashboards.

COVID

San Antonio&#x27;s Metropolitan Health District will stop reporting some COVID-19 data online after the city ended its COVID-19 emergency declaration last week.Why it matters: The move comes less than a week after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 is <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="no longer a global health emergency" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/05/covid-global-health-emergency-end-who" data-vars-content-id="2405c877-0258-400e-93b8-abae982551d4" data-vars-headline="San Antonio Metro Health slows COVID-19 data reporting" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/05/covid-global-health-emergency-end-who" target="_self">no longer a global health emergency</a> and as the U.S. ended its federal emergency.

A line chart that tracks opioid- and stimulant-related deaths in Bexar County from 2018 to 2024. Opioid deaths rose from 104 in 2018 to a peak of 269 in 2022, then declined to 179 in 2024. Stimulant deaths increased from 84 in 2018 to 270 in 2023, with a drop to 208 in 2024.

Opioid- and stimulant-related deaths in Bexar County

Data: CDC via San Antonio Metropolitan Health District; Chart: Axios Visuals

Side by side line charts showing the national test score performance in reading and math for students in grades 3-8. Test score averages in both subjects lag far behind the pre-pandemic levels, with students in grades 3-8 averaging nearly .5 grade levels behind. 

2025-02-11-reading-math-compre

Data: Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University; Note: There was a three-year gap in data from 2019-2022; Chart: Axios Visuals

A column chart that illustrates annual eviction judgments in Bexar County, TX, from 2010 to 2023. Judgments peaked at 14,434 in 2023, showing a significant increase from 5,985 in 2010. Notable trends include a rise from 2014 onward, with fluctuations observed in 2020 and 2021.

Bexar County eviction judgments

Data: Bexar County Information Technology via City of San Antonio; Chart: Axios Visuals

COVID 🦠

Why opioid deaths are falling in Bexar County

San Antonio students struggle to recover from COVID

Bexar County evictions are still above pre-pandemic levels

Report: Texas Medicaid removals exceed projections

Mapping pandemic gun violence in San Antonio