Latest Contributions

• Texas continues imprisoning migrants without filing charges or appointing lawyers, court filings claim

  by Jolie McCullough March 18, 2022

  Months after the problems became apparent, migrants are still being kept in prison in violation of state laws under Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security crackdown. Full Story 

• Webb County, a Democratic stronghold, is set to welcome Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s controversial migrant arrests

  by Jolie McCullough Updated: March 10, 2022

  The county is the most populous to embrace the Republican governor’s “catch-and-jail” policy to arrest people accused of crossing the border illegally for state crimes, including trespassing. Full Story 

• State GOP leaders win big in Texas legislative primaries

  by Jolie McCullough and Karen Brooks Harper Updated: March 2, 2022

  Almost all the preferred candidates of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan nabbed enough votes to head into the November general election. And nearly all sitting House and Senate members seeking to return to the Texas Capitol kept their seats. Full Story 

• Pushing falsehoods about Biden’s election is a plus for Republicans vying to be Texas’ top lawyer

  by Jolie McCullough Feb. 24, 2022

  Incumbent Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, one of his challengers, have embraced disproven claims of 2020 election fraud. It’s a sentiment shared with most Texas Republicans, according to political experts. Full Story 

• Court fight brews over constitutionality of Texas governor’s border arrests

  by Jolie McCullough Jan. 21, 2022

  A legal defense group is asking Travis County courts to throw out the arrests of hundreds of migrants swept up in the governor’s border initiative. The case is expected to draw in the Texas attorney general and address whether Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan is unconstitutional. Full Story 

• Texas judge opens door for widespread constitutional challenges to Gov. Greg Abbott’s border initiative

  by Jolie McCullough Updated: Jan. 14, 2022

  A Travis County judge Thursday tossed out the trespassing charge of an Ecuadorian man who said he came to the United States seeking asylum. His lawyers argued that the governor’s directive to arrest migrants on state charges unconstitutionally usurps federal immigration law. Full Story 

• Texas sheriff under investigation for routinely seizing cash from undocumented immigrants

  by Jolie McCullough Jan. 10, 2022

  Search warrants show that Real County Sheriff Nathan Johnson is under scrutiny by state investigators, accused of illegally confiscating cash and a pickup truck from immigrants stopped by his deputies. Full Story 

• With questions about omicron’s severity still unanswered, Texas braces for new COVID-19 wave this winter

  by Jolie McCullough Dec. 17, 2021

  Hospitalizations related to the virus remain low in the state, but the number of people testing positive is rising and once again fueling worries about the struggling health care system’s ability to weather a new surge. Full Story 

• More than 100 civil rights groups ask feds to slash Texas funding over migrant trespassing arrests

  by Jolie McCullough Dec. 15, 2021

  In a 50-page complaint to the U.S. Department of Justice, immigrant and civil rights groups argued Gov. Greg Abbott’s initiative to arrest migrants on trespassing charges is discriminatory. Full Story 

• Hundreds of migrants accused of trespassing languish in Texas prisons. A county judge’s new approach might prolong their detention.

  by Jolie McCullough Dec. 10, 2021

  Despite a surge of arrests under Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security initiative, a Kinney County judge removed three judges who have been helping him hear the cases. The judges had been letting some of the migrants out after months in prison, and defense attorneys say the action is retaliatory. Full Story