https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/alejandro-serrano/The latest news by Alejandro Serrano.enFri, 20 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/20/texas-mexico-border-human-smuggling-law-mandatory-minimum-sentence/Thousands of people have been arrested under Texas’ human smuggling law. Now they face at least a decade in prison under sentencing guidelines that took effect this year.By Alejandro Serrano, Graphics by Elijah Nicholson-MessmerFri, 20 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/20/texas-mexico-border-human-smuggling-law-mandatory-minimum-sentence/Tara Anand for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/19/texas-border-greg-abbott-billboards-mexico-central-america/Gov. Greg Abbott announced the new strategy, which will cost an estimated $100,000, during a press conference in Eagle Pass.By Alejandro SerranoThu, 19 Dec 2024 14:58:36 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/19/texas-border-greg-abbott-billboards-mexico-central-america/Gov. Abbott speaks at a press conference Thursday in Eagle Pass where he unveiled state-sponsored billboards the state is putting up in Central and South America to deter migrants from coming to the U.S.-Mexico border.Gov. Abbott speaks at a press conference in Eagle Pass where he unveiled state-sponsored billboards being placed in Central and South America to deter migrants from coming to the U.S.-Mexico border on Dec. 19, 2024.Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/18/texas-undocumented-immigrants-mass-deportations-trump/As Republican Texas leaders show support for Trump’s mass deportation plans, undocumented people — some who have lived in America for decades — are weighing their options amid mounting fears.By Alejandra Martinez, Berenice Garcia and Alejandro SerranoWed, 18 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/18/texas-undocumented-immigrants-mass-deportations-trump/The 41-year-old co-founder of a nonprofit that aids immigrants at his office in Dallas on Dec. 16, 2024. Born in Mexico and brought to the U.S. by his parents when he was 7, the man is undocumented and anxious about President-elect Donald Trump's promises of mass deportations.DALLAS, TX - DECEMBER 16, 2024: A Dallas-resident, 41, co-founder of a nonprofit organization, at his office in Dallas, Texas on Monday, December 16, 2024. The resident was born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico and migrated to the United States when he was seven-years-old. He was a DACA recipient until it expired and he didn’t reapply in time. CREDIT: Desiree Rios for The Texas TribuneDesiree Rios for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/10/texas-webb-county-judge-tano-tijerina-republican/Tano Tijerina was elected as a Democrat to lead Webb County, which includes Laredo. It is among many border counties that Trump won in November.By Alejandro SerranoTue, 10 Dec 2024 08:57:43 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/10/texas-webb-county-judge-tano-tijerina-republican/https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/06/texas-undocumented-immigrants-economic-contributions-outweigh-costs/A comptroller’s report found that deporting the estimated 1.4 million undocumented immigrants living in Texas in 2005 would have cost the state about $17.7 billion in gross domestic product.By Alejandro SerranoFri, 06 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/06/texas-undocumented-immigrants-economic-contributions-outweigh-costs/An undocumented woman in Houston clasps her hands during a 2019 interview. Texas studied the economic impact of its more than 1 million undocumented residents in 2006 but hasn't duplicated the study since.Leticia Quintanilla is undocumented and resides in Houston. Quintanilla states that she's been more cautious about traveling since the recent threat of immigration raids in Houston. June 23, 2019.Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/27/texas-border-lawsuit-razor-wire-fence/Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had sued the Biden administration after Border Patrol agents had cut the razor wire.By Alejandro Serrano and Joshua FechterWed, 27 Nov 2024 17:53:38 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/27/texas-border-lawsuit-razor-wire-fence/The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has instructed the federal government to stop "damaging, destroying or interfering" with Texas’ concertina wire fence in the Eagle Pass area.A row of shipping containers and razor wire placed on the banks of the Rio Grande River by Gov. Greg Abbott to form a makeshift border wall in Eagle Pass on Nov. 19, 2021.Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/19/texas-border-starr-county-ranch-trump-deportation/Gov. Greg Abbott also announced that the state is adding more floating barriers to the Rio Grande.By Alejandro SerranoTue, 19 Nov 2024 18:38:06 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/19/texas-border-starr-county-ranch-trump-deportation/The Rio Grande seen through dense brush near the Starr-Camargo bridge in Starr County. The state recently purchased a ranch in Starr County that it's now offering to the federal government for a migrant detention center.The Rio Grande seen through dense brush nearby the Starr-Camargo bridge in Starr County, which connects Rio Grande City with Camargo, Tamaulipas.Meghan Dhaliwal for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/15/texas-border-security-funding-potential-cutback/With Donald Trump returning to the White House, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have both recently signaled new openness to winding down the state’ border security operation.By Alejandro SerranoFri, 15 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/15/texas-border-security-funding-potential-cutback/People in Piedras Negras, Mexico, take photos of recently-installed concertina wire on the U.S. side as Border Patrol agents patrol the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass on Nov. 8, 2021.People in Piedras Negras, Mexico, are seen taking photos, through recently-installed concertina wire, of the U.S. side as Border Patrol agents patrol Rio Grande in Eagle Pass on Nov. 8, 2021.Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/07/texas-trump-immigration-agenda-border-mass-deportations/Texas is positioned better than any state to help Trump carry out his ambitious anti-immigration agenda. But it is also vulnerable to those policies’ impacts.By Alejandro SerranoThu, 07 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/07/texas-trump-immigration-agenda-border-mass-deportations/Former President Donald Trump speaks at a press conference before the border wall in Pharr on June 30, 2021.Former President Donald Trump speaks at a press conference before the border wall in Pharr on June 30, 2021.Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/05/texas-election-day-trump-harris-allred-cruz-congress-legislature/Texas might not be a swing state, but many of its races will have major consequences to the national political landscape and on the lives of everyday Texans.By Texas Tribune Staff, James Barragán, Jasper Scherer, Matthew Choi, Robert Downen, Alejandro Serrano, Joshua Fechter, Kayla Guo, Pooja Salhotra and Terri LangfordTue, 05 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/05/texas-election-day-trump-harris-allred-cruz-congress-legislature/Voters wait in line at the Houston Community College Southeast voting location in Houston on Election Day.Voters wait in line at the Houston Community College Southeast voting location in Houston on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024.Mark Felix for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/30/texas-land-office-ranches-purchase-big-bend-starr-county-border-wall/A Starr County property was purchased to build border wall, while Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said the state has many options for a sprawling ranch in West Texas.By Alejandro SerranoWed, 30 Oct 2024 13:16:56 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/30/texas-land-office-ranches-purchase-big-bend-starr-county-border-wall/A ridge in South Brewster County overlooking Big Bend National Park on Jan. 23, 2024. The Texas General Land Office has purchased ranches in Brewster and Starr counties this week.A ridge in South Brewster County overlooking Big Bend National Park on Jan. 23, 2024.Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/24/texas-eagle-pass-police-officer-human-smuggling-prison/Hazel Eileen Diaz received nearly $40,000 in cash and money transfers for letting human smugglers use her rental properties.By Alejandro SerranoThu, 24 Oct 2024 10:54:42 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/24/texas-eagle-pass-police-officer-human-smuggling-prison/Eagle Pass seen from Piedras Negras, Mexico. A former Eagle Pass police detective received a 10-year federal prison sentence for her role in a human smuggling operation.The city of Eagle Pass, seen from Piedras Negras, Mexico, on Saturday, June 8, 2024.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/24/texas-immigration-law-sb4-supreme-court-migrants-border/Texas challenged federal supremacy by creating a state crime for illegal entry into the U.S. The courts will decide whether it’s constitutional — and whether other states can follow Texas’ lead.By Alejandro SerranoThu, 24 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/24/texas-immigration-law-sb4-supreme-court-migrants-border/https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/11/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-investigations-request-to-examine/A federal judge said Texas’ “request to examine” statute amounts to unconstitutional search and seizure, Bloomberg reported.By Alejandro Serrano and Kayla Guo, The Texas Tribune, and Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaFri, 11 Oct 2024 19:48:01 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/11/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-investigations-request-to-examine/https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/28/texas-eagle-pass-shelby-park-rally/Residents say they can no longer access the park after the state seized it against the city’s wishes in January.By Alejandro SerranoSat, 28 Sep 2024 17:55:04 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/28/texas-eagle-pass-shelby-park-rally/Protesters march toward Shelby Park on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. A rally was held near Shelby Park protesting the current occupation of the park by the Texas Department of Public Safety as part of Operation Lonestar. The park, which became a global focal point for illegal border crossings, was once open to the public but is now closed to the public and heavily fortified.Protesters march toward Shelby Park on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. A rally was held near Shelby Park protesting the current occupation of the park by the Texas Department of Public Safety as part of Operation Lonestar. The park, which became a global focal point for illegal border crossings, was once open to the public but is now closed to the public and heavily fortified.Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/26/texas-ken-paxton-las-americas-investigation-lawsuit-immigrants/Attorney General Ken Paxton has investigated at least five organizations this year that do immigration-related work.By Alejandro Serrano, The Texas Tribune, and Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaThu, 26 Sep 2024 10:07:35 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/26/texas-ken-paxton-las-americas-investigation-lawsuit-immigrants/Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention on May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention on May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/25/texas-24-hours-border-takeaways/Reporters from both organizations spent a day documenting the reality on the border. Here’s a summary of what they found.By Berenice Garcia, Uriel J. García, Jakob Maurer and Alejandro Serrano, The Texas Tribune, and Juan A. Lozano and Elliot Spagat, Associated PressWed, 25 Sep 2024 11:52:03 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/25/texas-24-hours-border-takeaways/A private border wall that extends nearly three miles stands in Mission, on Friday morning, Aug. 9, 2024.A private border wall that extends nearly three miles is seen in Mission, Texas on Aug. 9, 2024.Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/25/texas-border-24-hours-trump-harris-migrants/The Texas Tribune and The Associated Press visited five locations along the 1,254-mile span to separate the facts from the political narrative during a heated election year.By Berenice Garcia, Uriel J. García, Jakob Maurer and Alejandro Serrano, The Texas Tribune, and Juan A. Lozano and Elliot Spagat, Associated PressWed, 25 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/25/texas-border-24-hours-trump-harris-migrants/Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, clockwise: A Venezuelan migrant family arriving in El Paso; the Rio Grande and Shelby Park in Eagle Pass; Andrés García, Border Patrol agent and public affairs officer at the border wall near Mission; a Customs and Border Protection officer and K-9 inspecting trucks at the Port of Laredo.Christina Smallwood, foreground, and Andrés García, Border Patrol agents and Public Affairs officers look for migrants underneath the vehicular McAllen-Hidalgo International Bridge in Hidalgo, Texas, early Friday, Aug. 9, 2024.Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/06/texas-ken-paxton-travis-county-voter-registration/The Texas attorney general filed a similar lawsuit earlier this week against Bexar County, which includes San Antonio.By Alejandro Serrano and Alejandra MartinezFri, 06 Sep 2024 10:55:37 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/06/texas-ken-paxton-travis-county-voter-registration/Voter registration forms at a booth on the campus of UT-Austin on Oct. 11, 2022.Voter registration forms at a booth on the campus of UT-Austin on Oct. 11, 2022.May-Ying Lam for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/08/30/texas-voter-rights-violations-investigation-request/The request by the Texas Senate Democratic Caucus in a letter to the Department of Justice follows a similar request by a Latino civil rights organization.By Alejandro SerranoFri, 30 Aug 2024 19:08:30 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/08/30/texas-voter-rights-violations-investigation-request/Voting access and election integrity are central to a partisan clash in Texas. One result is a request from a group of Democrats who have asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate steps by the state Attorney General.A bipartisan testing crew uses voting machines and tabulators during a state-mandated logic and accuracy test on Sept. 21 at the Hays County government building in San Marcos. Texas law requires public testing of the voting machines before and after every election.Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune