I investigate how colonias, substandard housing developments along the U.S. Mexico border, in South Texas navigate the complexities of politicized systems as they are shaped by power and economic forces. In the first paper, I analyze the prevalence of municipal underbounding of colonias as it relates to state and local power dynamics. The second paper compares the public school finance policies in colonia- and non-colonia-serving schools through the development of a novel directory of colonia serving schools. The final paper presents the perspective of colonia residents on general satisfaction with governance, services, and resources. These three papers allow me to shed light on an understudied community in a dynamically evolving region in the U.S..