Advocacy groups and business owners urged lawmakers to crack down on companies that misclassify their employees for tax and immigration purposes. But in the final days of the session, the measures have run out of steam.

A path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants is akin to rewarding lawbreakers, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples wrote Thursday in a letter to U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has jumped into the immigration reform debate by filing several amendments to the legislation put forth by the “Gang of Eight.” His proposals call for additional fencing on the border and blocking a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

As many GOP leaders argue that passing comprehensive immigration reform is in the GOP’s best interest, some data suggests that the long-term interest of party strategists and the short-term self-interest of members of Congress are not necessarily in sync.

In what some consider a dramatic shift from the anti-immigration rhetoric that dominated the state Capitol just two years ago, a House committee on Thursday gave preliminary approval to a bill that would protect immigrant victims of and witnesses to crimes. 

At Thursday's TribLive conversation, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples critiqued the U.S. Senate's first pass at comprehensive immigration reform — and the GOP's post-election strategy for outreach to Latinos.

Some Texas lawmakers and stakeholders are taking issue with aspects of the federal immigration reform bill filed last week, with some questioning why the measure was crafted without mechanisms to avoid a future inflow of illegal migration.

Full video of my April 18 TribLive conversation with former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza.

Members of the House State Affairs Committee on Wednesday seemed amenable to a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants a permit to drive after passing a background check and a driving test.

The senior fellow for Latin American studies at the Council on Foreign Relations on immigration reform, security in Mexico, the country’s budding prosperity amid an escalating drug war, and what the United States needs to understand.

After initial hopes of harmony on immigration reforms in both Austin and Washington, Texas lawmakers are holding back and Texans in Washington are taking opposing tacks on border security.  

Border security legislation filed by two of Texas’ top Republican members of Congress ensures that the Texas conservatives will have their say in the immigration reform debate.

Austin has become a growing market for Mexican narco cinema, hastily made films inspired by the cartels. The videos are popular in Austin partly because of the city's increasing population of Hispanic immigrants and Texas’ proximity to Mexico, where the movies are made.

After peaking in September, applications for deferred action have dropped off dramatically. Immigration attorneys think most eligible undocumented immigrants are in a wait-and-see mode amid the federal immigration reform debate.

A postmortem of the Republican Party's 2012 losses has pushed immigration reform back into the spotlight.

When it comes to immigration-related legislation, this session is far different from the one two years ago. But several bills could still stir some heated debate once House committees take up the measures in the coming weeks.

In a letter to Gov. Rick Perry, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano laid out the effects of federal budget cuts on agencies in Texas. The letter discusses increased wait times at at land ports and a loss of emergency management grants.

Gov. Rick Perry on Monday demanded that Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton provide details about the release of thousands of undocumented immigrants from detention centers.