Texas AG Ken Paxton could be deposed about securities fraud accusations after election
The deposition is part of a lawsuit that is separate but related to the attorney general’s seven-year-old securities fraud indictment. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c92f715cc5ef4301691fb262bb65e5dd/Paxton%20Watch%20Party%20ST%20TT%2014.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/profiles/0112James_Barragan_2x3.jpeg)
James Barragán was a politics reporter for The Texas Tribune with a focus on accountability reporting. Prior to joining the Tribune, James worked as a statehouse reporter for The Dallas Morning News and previously had stints at the Austin American-Statesman and the Los Angeles Times. In 2021, he was a finalist for the Toner Prize for Excellence in Local Reporting for his coverage of Texas politics during the COVID-19 pandemic. James was selected as a 2023-24 Nieman Fellow at Harvard. A Southern California native, James received his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California, Los Angeles. He was based in Austin and is a native Spanish speaker.
Latest Contributions
-
![State Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at his primary election results watch party in McKinney on March 1, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas reduces National Guard members deployed to Operation Lone Star border mission
Abbott said there’s over 5,000 guard members still assigned to the border. He initially said he had deployed 10,000. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/09aaa7fa392a03231da5c1e826d73748/NatGuard%20Eagle%20Pass%20REUTERS.jpg)
![Asylum-seeking migrants walk as they are escorted by National Guard officers, after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico, at Eagle Pass on July 26, 2022.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Go Nakamura -
Along the Texas-Mexico border, GOP enthusiasm mounts as Democrats defect over immigration concerns
Among voters near the Texas-Mexico border, immigration and border security are a leading cause for flipping from Democrat to Republican. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/969757669012b126fc7198095ee639f2/Terrell%20County%20AS%20TT%2004.jpg)
![Judge Dale Carruthers looks over the Rio Grande at the edge of her 17,000 acre property. Last year, a hunter stumbled upon the body of a migrant on her property.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo/The Texas Tribune -
Democrat Mike Collier embraces his GOP past as he tries to unseat Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick
In his second attempt to oust the incumbent, Collier is actively courting Republican voters who are turned off by the Legislature’s hard-right turn in recent years. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a408cdf3a0c4ef77593b16bca158cd4c/Mike%20Coller%20Event%20AG%20TT%2021.jpg)
![Mike Collier, Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, speaks at campaign event at Whitestone Brewery on Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021 in Cedar Park.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding for The Texas Tribune -
Republican James White resigns from Texas House early to take leadership job at Texas Funeral Services Commission
White, the only Black Republican in the Legislature, leaves office after 11 years and a failed run for agriculture commissioner. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/82b97411dbd7909a215beea529e5a36d/House%20Floor%20JV%20TT%2010.jpg)
![State Rep. James White, R-Hillister, on the House floor on Tuesday, August 10, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
ACLU calls on feds to investigate Abbott’s policy transporting migrants back to border
In July, Abbott authorized state law enforcement to transport migrants to ports of entry. It’s unclear how and why migrants are being detained, raising civil rights concerns and questions about whether the state is overstepping federal authority. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/693abbbc8152cb8f4cc6794075a92451/Migrant%20Return%20Eagle%20Pass%20SF%20TT%2010.jpg)
![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 Democrats see hope in Kansas abortion vote, but challenges remain
Democrats and abortion-rights supporters in Texas are energized by voters in Republican-dominated Kansas who on Tuesday resoundingly voted to keep the right to an abortion in their state constitution. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a711cfe5220c78b4e952fabda6a4ff51/Kansas%20Abortion%20Rally%20REUTERS.jpg)
![Abortion rights supporters march around the Kansas Statehouse following a rally on July 30, 2022.]()
Credit: Evert Nelson/The Topeka Capital-Journal via REUTERS -
Texas program that gives out lifesaving drugs to combat opioid overdoses has been out of money for months
The state’s federally funded “More Narcan Please” program ran out of money in January, in part due to high demand. Advocates say Texas should invest more in the harm reduction effort. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d04c2f4df3830495868d8adfed78340b/Callie%20Crow%20Narcan%20BT%20TT%2019.jpg)
![Callie Crow, the founder of Drew's 27 Chains, conducts a Narcan training session with officers from the Caddo Mills Police Department, on March 31, 2022. Callie started her nonprofit to educate law enforcement departments about the opioid crisis after her son, Drew Crow, died from an opioid overdose.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Legal questions shroud Gov. Greg Abbott’s move to bus migrants back to the border
Some experts say the actions create little change in immigration enforcement. Others say they invite a legal battle. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/0e534b01772f7a0a52bfe21d97c5159d/Migrant%20Return%20Eagle%20Pass%20SF%20TT%2014.jpg)
![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 -
Gov. Greg Abbott empowers state authorities to return migrants to border crossings
Immigration law enforcement is a federal responsibility. Abbott appears to be testing the limits of state authority by empowering state law enforcement to bring migrants to the ports of entry — stopping short of using state resources to expel migrants from the country. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/66f9fbc7848ffd70101ee423687c746a/Operation%20Lone%20Star%20VGC%2046.jpg)
![Texas Department of Public Safety special agents oversee a group of four Honduran undocumented migrants that were caught in private property in Kinney County near Brackettville, on Nov. 9, 2021. The owner of the property did not sign the affidavit to allow DPS to arrest undocumented migrants in their property, so they will be processed by Border Patrol.]()
Credit: Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune