https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/alejandro-serrano/The latest news by Alejandro Serrano.enTue, 18 Feb 2025 16:42:05 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/18/texas-senate-teacher-pay/The proposal would expand a program that allows districts to award bonuses to educators based on their students’ academic growth.By Jaden Edison and Alejandro SerranoTue, 18 Feb 2025 16:42:05 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/18/texas-senate-teacher-pay/Senate Bill 26, filed Tuesday, would give raises to teachers based on their experience and performance.Third grade teacher Eran McGowan watches students demonstrate their answers to the class at the Eddie Bernice Johnson STEM Academy in Dallas, Texas on Feb. 5, 2024.Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/17/texas-greg-abbott-hisd-bellaire-high-school/The governor also called on lawmakers to prohibit the practice at all schools.By Alejandro SerranoMon, 17 Feb 2025 13:56:16 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/17/texas-greg-abbott-hisd-bellaire-high-school/Gov. Abbott speaks to parents during an event hosted by the Parent Empowerment Coalition at Covenant Christian Academy in McAllen on April 12, 2023.Gov. Abbott speaks to parents during an event hosted by the Parent Empowerment Coalition at Covenant Christian Academy in McAllen on April 12, 2023.Michael Gonzales for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/17/texas-extreme-cold-weather-power-grid-wildfire-flood-risk/Gov. Greg Abbott said the state’s power grid “has never been stronger than it is now” and should weather the cold without issues.By Alejandro SerranoMon, 17 Feb 2025 12:23:11 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/17/texas-extreme-cold-weather-power-grid-wildfire-flood-risk/Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference about Texas’ emergency response to an unprecedented winter storm that struck Texas on Feb 13, 2021. On Monday Abbott said the state power grid will be able to handle expected freezing weather arriving this week.Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference regarding Texas’ emergency response to an unprecedented winter storm gripping Texas on Feb 13, 2021.Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/17/texas-undocumented-immigrants-trump-deportation-demographics/The estimated 1.7 million undocumented people in Texas are now targets of the Trump administration’s nationwide immigration crackdown. Here’s what we know about them.By Yuriko Schumacher and Alejandro SerranoMon, 17 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/17/texas-undocumented-immigrants-trump-deportation-demographics/There are estimated 1.7 million undocumented immigrants in Texas. That's one in 20 Texans.There are estimated 1.7 million undocumented immigrants in Texas. That's one in 20 Texans.Yuriko Schumacher/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/12/texas-charities-migrants-attorney-general-investigation-appeal/Three Republican judges heard oral arguments Wednesday after a lower court blocked Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to depose the charity’s leader.By Alejandro SerranoWed, 12 Feb 2025 17:01:29 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/12/texas-charities-migrants-attorney-general-investigation-appeal/Migrants are greeted by Sister Norma Pimentel in front of the Catholic Charities RGV Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen on April 22, 2021.Migrants are greeted by Sister Norma Pimentel in front of the Catholic Charities RGV Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, on April 22, 2021.Jason Garza for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/05/texas-border-security-immigration-spending-operation-lone-star/Texas’ border spending exploded after Joe Biden’s election, then state leaders signaled a new willingness to reduce it when Trump won. That didn’t last long.By Alejandro Serrano and Jasper SchererWed, 05 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/05/texas-border-security-immigration-spending-operation-lone-star/Texas National Guard members on the banks of the Rio Grand at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass on Jan. 16, 2024.Texas National Guard members load a raft to a pickup at the bank of the Rio Grand at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, on Jan. 16, 2024. Texas has closed off Shelby Park, cutting access to federal agents to part of the Texas-Mexico border and escalating tensions between the Biden administration and Gov. Greg Abbott.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/03/texas-national-guard-immigration-arrests/Gov. Greg Abbott said that the agreement was effective immediately.By Alejandro SerranoMon, 03 Feb 2025 10:06:40 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/03/texas-national-guard-immigration-arrests/https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/29/texas-immigration-lubbock-police-traffic-stop-ice-deportation/Advocates worry that rapidly shifting federal and state immigration initiatives will prompt more city police to funnel migrants without criminal records to federal agents.By Alejandro SerranoWed, 29 Jan 2025 16:12:33 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/29/texas-immigration-lubbock-police-traffic-stop-ice-deportation/Jose Alvaro, his wife Ashley and their three children at their home near Lubbock on Tuesday. Jose Alvaro, who is undocumented and has applied for a green card, is in danger of being deported following a traffic stop that led to police calling federal immigration officials.Jose Alvaro (his first and middle name), his wife Ashley, children 6-month old Jose, 1-year old Arrceli and 4-year-old Antonio at their home near Lubbock, Tx. on Tuesday, January 28, 2025. Jose Alvaro is in danger of being deported and working with an attorney to stay home with his family.Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/27/texas-abbott-soldiers-border-patrol/The 400 members of a special tactical unit left bases in Houston and Fort Worth on Monday morning, according to the governor’s office.By Alejandro SerranoMon, 27 Jan 2025 11:14:37 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/27/texas-abbott-soldiers-border-patrol/Gov. Abbott speaks to DPS Troopers and National Guard troops at a Thanksgiving dinner event in Edinburg on Nov. 26, 2024.Gov. Abbott speaks to DPS Troopers and National Guard troops at a Thanksgiving dinner event in Edinburg on Nov. 26, 2024.Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/24/texas-migrant-child-death-investigation-senate-committee/The Senate Judiciary Committee launched its investigation following the 2023 death of an 8-year-old girl at a facility in Harlingen.By Alejandro SerranoFri, 24 Jan 2025 17:45:16 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/24/texas-migrant-child-death-investigation-senate-committee/Young asylum seekers are apprehended by Customs and Border Protection agents after crossing the Texas-Mexico border in Roma on Aug. 3, 2021.Unaccompanied minor asylum seekers are apprehended by Customs and Border Protection after crossing the border in Roma on Aug. 3, 2021.Sophie Park/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/24/texas-trump-immigration-policy-prosecutors-police-undocumented/The Trump administration this week threatened local officials with prosecution if they interfere with its planned immigration crackdown.By Alejandro Serrano and Uriel J. GarcíaFri, 24 Jan 2025 12:42:21 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/24/texas-trump-immigration-policy-prosecutors-police-undocumented/https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/21/texas-border-migrants-trump-asylum-executive-order/Hours after Trump’s inauguration, his administration canceled appointments allowing migrants to enter the U.S. to request asylum, leaving many of them stranded on the U.S.-Mexico border.By Uriel J. García and Alejandro SerranoTue, 21 Jan 2025 18:59:01 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/21/texas-border-migrants-trump-asylum-executive-order/Margelis Tinoco Lopez at El Buen Pastor migrant shelter in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico on Tuesday. Tinoco Lopez was in line for her CBP One appointment when President Donald Trump issued an executive order following his inauguration that immediately canceled all CBP One appointments.Margelis Tinoco Lopez was in line for her 1pm CBP One appointment when President Trump was sworn into office and issued an executive order that immediately canceled all CBP One appointments, including her own. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on January 21, 2025.Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/17/texas-mass-deportations-trump/The new administration could use the existing system of federal agents, local police and jails to funnel more people into the deportation pipeline.By Uriel J. García and Alejandro SerranoFri, 17 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/17/texas-mass-deportations-trump/Central American migrants who were apprehended crossing the Rio Grande in Brownsville were flown to El Paso for processing, then deported to Mexico across the Paso del Norte International Bridge on March 16, 2021.Migrants from Central America that were apprehended crossing the Rio Grande in Brownsville were flown to El Paso for processing and then deported to Mexico across the Paso del Norte International Bridge on March 16, 2021.Paul Ratje for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/16/texas-border-patrol-czar-mike-banks/Mike Banks, a former Border Patrol agent, has served in his current role as a special advisor to Gov. Greg Abbott since January 2023.By Alejandro SerranoThu, 16 Jan 2025 13:58:45 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/16/texas-border-patrol-czar-mike-banks/Mike Banks at a news conference about border security at the Texas Department of Public Safety regional headquarters in Weslaco on Feb. 21, 2023.Texas Border Czar Mike Banks at a news conference regarding border security at the Texas DPS regional headquarters in Weslaco on Feb. 21, 2023.Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/15/texas-election-campaign-law-court-criminal-appeals-washington-county/The Court of Criminal Appeals will rehear a case it threw out last year. Three of the judges became targets of Attorney General Ken Paxton over another ruling and lost reelection.By Alejandro SerranoWed, 15 Jan 2025 15:15:55 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/15/texas-election-campaign-law-court-criminal-appeals-washington-county/The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has agreed to rehear a Washington County case involving allegations of election wrongdoing.The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Jan. 15, 2020. Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/13/texas-annunciation-house-migrant-shelter-paxton-lawsuit-supreme-court/Justices on Monday heard arguments from Annunciation House, which is fighting to stay open, and the Texas Attorney General’s office, which claims the shelter’s work with migrants violates state law.By Alejandro SerranoMon, 13 Jan 2025 13:31:28 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/13/texas-annunciation-house-migrant-shelter-paxton-lawsuit-supreme-court/Bishop Mark Seitz (right) speaks at a press conference in El Paso alongside Ruben Garcia, director of the Annunciation House on Feb. 23, 2024.Bishop Mark Seitz (right) speaks at a press conference in El Paso alongside Ruben Garcia, director of the Annunciation House (left) on Feb. 23, 2024.Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/08/texas-immigration-mass-deportations-economy/“We wouldn’t survive” without undocumented workers, one South Texas produce business owner said. By one estimate, 8% of Texas’ workforce lacks legal status.By Alejandra Martinez, Alejandro Serrano, Berenice Garcia, Carlos Nogueras Ramos and Joshua FechterWed, 08 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/08/texas-immigration-mass-deportations-economy/Construction workers building homes in San Antonio on Dec. 10, 2024.Construction workers building homes in far west San Antonio on Dec. 10, 2024.Scott Stephen Ball for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/06/texas-cold-temperatures-ercot-power-grid-polar-vortex/The state’s electric grid operator issued a weather watch until Friday but says it doesn’t expect power disruptions as demand rises.By Alejandra Martinez and Alejandro SerranoMon, 06 Jan 2025 11:21:43 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/06/texas-cold-temperatures-ercot-power-grid-polar-vortex/https://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 Tribune