Some local officials in Texas cheer Trump’s immigration crackdown, others sound cautious note
The Trump administration this week threatened local officials with prosecution if they interfere with its planned immigration crackdown. Full Story
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Alejandro Serrano writes about Texas politics and government, with a focus on immigration and education issues. Since joining the Tribune, he has helped investigate the 2022 Uvalde school shooting, lived for half a year in Eagle Pass during a temporary assignment covering immigration and documented a variety of major occurrences in the state from Houston, where he used to live. He previously covered education for the Houston Chronicle and breaking news for the San Francisco Chronicle. The Long Island, New York, native received his bachelor's degree in journalism from Northeastern University. He is based in Austin and speaks fluent Spanish.
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![Asylum-seeking migrants from Central America, who were airlifted from Brownsville to El Paso, Texas, and deported from the United States, walk towards Mexico at the Paso del Norte International border bridge from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on March 24, 2021.]()
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Migrants at Texas border in shock after Trump canceled their asylum appointments
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. Full Story
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![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.]()
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Trump promised mass deportations. Here’s one way they could quietly happen.
The new administration could use the existing system of federal agents, local police and jails to funnel more people into the deportation pipeline. Full Story
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![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.]()
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Trump to tap Texas “border czar” to lead U.S. Border Patrol, report says
Mike Banks, a former Border Patrol agent, has served in his current role as a special advisor to Gov. Greg Abbott since January 2023. Full Story
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![Texas Border Czar Mike Banks at a news conference regarding border security at the Texas DPS regional headquarters in Weslaco on Feb. 21, 2023.]()
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Criminal appeals court to rehear election wrongdoing case involving Washington County Republican
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. Full Story
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![The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Jan. 15, 2020.]()
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Texas Supreme Court gives initial win to Paxton in migrant shelter case
The high court did not rule on the merits of the case, but allows Paxton to continue his investigation of Annunciation House. Full Story
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![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.]()
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Some Texas business leaders are apprehensive about Trump’s pledged deportations
“We wouldn’t survive” without undocumented workers, one South Texas produce business owner said. By one estimate, 8% of Texas’ workforce lacks legal status. Full Story
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![Construction workers building homes in far west San Antonio on Dec. 10, 2024.]()
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As bitter cold sweeps through Texas, ERCOT says the power grid is stable
The state’s electric grid operator issued a weather watch until Friday but says it doesn’t expect power disruptions as demand rises. Full Story
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![Reliability Coordinators monitored the state power grid during a tour of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) command center in Taylor in 2012.]()
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Cartels turn to social media to lure Americans into human smuggling as Texas enforces stricter laws
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. Full Story
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Texas’ latest effort to deter migrants is a billboard campaign in Mexico, Central America
Gov. Greg Abbott announced the new strategy, which will cost an estimated $100,000, during a press conference in Eagle Pass. Full Story
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![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.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune