Hundreds of people descended on the state Capitol on Friday to rally in support of comprehensive immigration reform. The day-long event also included visits to the offices of Republican U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn.

Full video of Julián Aguilar's February 21 TribLive conversation about the impact of demographic change on public policy with state Reps. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, and Larry Gonzales, R-Round Rock.

The debate over what to do with the estimated 12 million people living in the country illegally has dominated the discussion on comprehensive immigration reform. But attorneys say key fixes are needed to the legal immigration system as well.

Morgan, Ross, Julian and Evan discuss the public education debates now playing out at the Capitol, the prospect of comprehensive immigration reform and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's emotional defense of UT-Austin President Bill Powers.

Many in El Paso say the conditions are just right for Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform with bipartisan support. And they say that some lawmakers' demands for more border security first ignore reality.

Full video of my 2/14 TribLive conversation with Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, an announced candidate for lieutenant governor in 2014.

Two years after legislation to ban "sanctuary cities" was made a top priority, immigration legislation is barely discussed at the state Capitol. It’s put some lawmakers in a weird spot — especially when some of their own recently came out in support of what’s  a no-no in politics — amnesty. 

Anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist said Wednesday that Republicans are not the anti-immigrant party, and that a few loud “bullfrogs” have created “a completely bizarre view of where the modern conservative movement is” on immigration reform. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized about 1.7 million pounds of narcotics in Texas in fiscal 2012, about 270,000 pounds more than their counterparts in Arizona, New Mexico and California combined.

President Obama on Tuesday offered his own plan for immigration reform, and his proposal earned both praise and criticism in Texas.

Eight U.S. senators unveiled a plan Monday for an overhaul of the country’s immigration system. Reaction in Texas ranged from praise to concerns over the plan’s border-security component.

A veteran lawmaker has filed legislation that would penalize businesses that misclassify workers as independent contractors. Leaders of construction firms have said their industry is rife with companies that purposely misclassify employees.

Reform advocates are hoping for comprehensive changes to immigration policies, as President Obama has promised, but short of that, there are still plenty of ways to fix existing policies and arcane laws, they say.

In a wide-ranging interview, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst talked about the state budget, education, immigration, water, transportation, and his hopes and plans for the legislative session that began this week.

Mexican immigrants are apprehended every day on the Texas-Mexico border. But as Jerry Patterson, the Texas land commissioner, likes to remind fellow Republicans, the shoe used to be on the other foot.

At a conference in Dallas, former President George W. Bush urged the nation’s leaders to debate immigration reform with compassion and kindness.

At our Hot Seat conversation at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, state Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, and U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, talked state and national politics and previewed both the 83rd session and the 113th Congress.

Outgoing U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison on Tuesday introduced a bill that would provide legal status for immigrants brought to the country illegally as minors. She made clear that the proposal does not guarantee citizenship.