This rancher doesn’t want a border wall on his land. He fears Texas will build it anyway.
Anti-border wall activists are racing to find landowners along the Rio Grande before they sign contracts with the state. Full Story
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![Joseph Hein at his 580-acre ranch on the Webb and Zapata county lines on Feb. 15, 2023. Hein breeds horses at his ranch, but fears that if the border wall is built through a portion of his land, it will restrict access to the Rio Grande River and he will likely have to sell his horses.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
“We just want parity”: Military groups call on lawmakers to give Operation Lone Star troops death benefits
Law enforcement officers who serve on Operation Lone Star get a $500,000 death benefit for their survivors if they die on duty. But National Guard troops on the same mission don’t get a dime from the state for their families if they die. Full Story
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![Jo Ann Johnson goes through awards given to her grandson Bishop Evans, who died while working on Operation Lone Star, inside of her home in Arlington, TX on December 7, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Hundreds of frustrated Venezuelan migrants block bridge linking El Paso and Juárez
Migrants rushed through the toll booths on the Juárez side of the bridge Sunday afternoon after rumors spread that the border was temporarily opened. Full Story
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![Venezuelan migrants gather at the top of the Paso del Norte International Bridge on Sunday as rumors swirled that Customs and Border Protection would receive migrants without prior appointments.]()
Credit: Photo courtesy Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters -
House unveils bill giving state authority to “repel” and return migrants crossing from Mexico
House Bill 20 by state Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, would test the boundaries of the state’s ability to enforce immigration law, which courts have historically ruled falls under federal purview. Full Story
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![Department of Public Safety agent arrest an undocumented migrant after he was caught on private property as part of Operation Lone Star in Kinney County near Brackettville, on Nov. 9, 2021.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy offers warm reception to Biden border proposal as Democrats recoil
The Austin Republican’s tacit approval only adds fuel to the fire for Texas Democrats recoiling at the report that the Biden administration could detain asylum-seekers. Full Story
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![Migrants walk onto a bus after crossing the border in Roma on Aug. 16, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
UTEP gave research role to former Border Patrol official accused of sexual harassment
Tony Barker received an unpaid fellowship to make him “less risky” for other universities to hire him, emails show. Full Story
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![Tony Barker, left, and Jeffrey Self, center, were given research fellow titles by Victor Manjarrez Jr., right, the director of UTEP's Center for Law and Human Behavior. All three are retired Border Patrol executives.]()
Credit: University of Texas at El Paso -
Asylum-seekers who cross the border illegally to be deported under new Biden administration rule
The new rule is designed to push migrants to seek asylum at official border crossings or through other legal channels rather than crossing the border illegally and then requesting asylum. Full Story
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![A group of migrants from Venezuela walk between the southern border wall and the Rio Grande river towards a temporary border patrol processing facility on October 6, 2022 in El Paso, TX. Record numbers of migrants, mostly from Venezuela, began arriving at the US/Mexico border this month.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas border Republican accuses GOP of using immigration crisis for politics
U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales said in an interview with the Washington Examiner that his fellow Republicans benefit politically from a sustained border crisis. The attack indirectly alluded to U.S. Rep. Chip Roy’s contentious border security bill. Full Story
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![From left: U.S. Reps. Chip Roy, R-Austin, and Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio.]()
Credit: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
Mexican political parties are courting voters living in Texas ahead of Mexico’s presidential election
Mexican migrants in Texas could play a role in choosing the country’s next president next year, and Mexican political leaders are setting up outreach networks — including one in Dallas — to court expat voters. Full Story
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![Marko Cortés, President of Mexico’s Partido Acción Nacional or PAN addresses business leaders at El Ranchito Restaurant in Oak Cliff. The invitation only event for leaders of the Dallas Mexican business community will become the Consejo de Action Migrante which will be looking looking to expand the PAN’s voter base, specifically immigrants based in the US for the upcoming Mexican elections. Cortes views it as the template for similar networking efforts across the US.]()
Credit: Jaime Carrero for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Supreme Court cancels arguments over Title 42, the pandemic-era policy to quickly turn away migrants
The case is expected to become moot in May when the Biden administration lifts the nation’s COVID-19 emergency order. Once that order lifts, Title 42 is expected to automatically end. Full Story
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![People who were apprehended by state troopers after crossing the border were brought to the International Bridge in Eagle Pass, where they were handed over to Border Patrol custody on Thursday, May 28, 2022.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Military Department says it needs $460 million more to keep border mission afloat this year
State officials have repeatedly had to move money from other departments to keep Gov. Greg Abbott’s multibillion-dollar border mission running this year. Full Story
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![Texas National Guard and Texas DPS officers position themselves on the banks of the Rio Grande, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022, in El Paso. Over 400 personnel have been sent to this border sector by Governor Abbott after El Paso city officials declared a state of emergency.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate leaders signal intent to spend big on border security
The state has spent $4 billion on border initiatives in the past two years, including $40 million to bus migrants out of Texas into Democrat-led cities. Full Story
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![Texas DPS special agents take a group of five undocumented migrants from Honduras that were caught in private property as part of Operation Lone Star in Kinney County near Brackettville, Texas on Nov. 8, 2021. The owner of the property did not sign an affidavit for arrests of undocumented migrants to be taking place at their property so the group will be processed by Border Patrol instead.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott hires “border czar” to accelerate wall construction
The governor said Mike Banks, a recently retired Border Patrol agent, will work with the Texas National Guard and state troopers to find ways to deter people from crossing the border illegally. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference with nine other governors regarding the southern border at Anzalduas Park in Mission on Oct. 6, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Afghan soldier says he will live the “American dream” after being released from immigration detention center
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s office mounted pressure on several federal agencies earlier this month leading up to Abdul Wasi Safi’s release on Tuesday. Full Story
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![Abdul Wasi Safi speaks at a Houston press conference on Jan. 27, 2023, following his release from a Texas detention center.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Texans pessimistic about the national economy and losing faith in democracy, poll says
More than 60% of Texans polled by Texas Lyceum said the country is on the wrong course, and the poll found steep drops in the number of people who think democracy is the best form of government. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol on Feb. 1, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas progressives want Title 42 ended, highlighting wide ideological gulf on Congressional immigration deal
The spectrum of ideas on immigration could throw cold water on hope that there will be a breakthrough in Congress. Full Story
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![U.S. Congressman-elect Greg Casar, D-TX, speaks during a press conference with Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-WA, and other incoming CPC members at AFL-CIO Headquarters in Washington, DC, on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022.]()
Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Texas heat-related deaths reached a two-decade high in 2022 amid extreme temperatures
A Texas Tribune analysis of state data found that at least 279 people in Texas were killed by heat last year, and a large portion of those deaths were likely migrants who died after crossing the border. Full Story
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![The border wall as seen from a US CBP helicopter in a remote section of southern New Mexico on December 14, 2021.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Texas leads lawsuit against Biden administration’s new immigration policy
Last month, the administration said the U.S. will let up to 360,000 people per year enter the country from four countries. A lawsuit filed Tuesday claims the policy is illegal. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to his supporters after being sworn into office on January 10, 2023. At left are state Sen. Angela Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Feds drop charges against Afghan soldier trying to claim asylum in Texas
After months of publicity and a bipartisan congressional effort to request a pardon from the president, Abdul Wasi Safi could be set free. Full Story
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![Abdul Wasi Safi stands in the foreground of Afghan military vehicles surrounded by HESCO barriers and concrete bunkers.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Sami-ullah Safi -
In a border graveyard, volunteers exhume migrants’ bodies and search for their families
In Maverick County, 26 bodies pulled from the Rio Grande were buried, some without attempts to identify them. Teams of Texas State students are trying to learn their names so their families can be notified. Full Story
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![Dozens of metal crosses, painted white and starting to rust where they’d been placed in the ground over unmarked migrant graves, scatter the ground at the Maverick County Cemetery where dozens of “John Doe” graves have been exhumed in an effort to identify the bodies in Eagle Pass on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune