Trump administration announces extension of border-restricted travel
One of the policies quickly returns undocumented immigrants apprehended between ports of entry without allowing them to apply for asylum. Full Story
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Julián Aguilar
Immigration and Border Security Reporter
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Julián Aguilar reports on politics and border affairs from the Texas-Mexico border. His focuses include immigration reform and enforcement, voter ID, international trade, border security, and the drug trade. His political coverage has included local, legislative and congressional races in Texas, as well as local and national elections in Mexico. Before joining The Texas Tribune, he was a freelance writer for the Fort Worth Weekly, a government and crime reporter for the Laredo Morning Times, and a political writer for the Rio Grande Guardian. A native of El Paso, he has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Texas and a master's degree in journalism from the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism at the University of North Texas.
Latest Contributions
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![Customs and Border Patrol agents constantly patrol wide gravel roads along the border fence. The traffic — which has incre...]()
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With COVID-19 cases rising, El Paso officials ask governor to exclude them from next phase of reopening
As state officials and some Texas cities tangle over local COVID-19 restrictions, El Paso officials say their area isn't ready for the next phase of reopening. They want Gov. Greg Abbott to give them an exemption. Full Story
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![Downtown El Paso is vacant during the coronavirus pandemic.]()
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Trump administration waives environmental safeguards to fast-track 69 miles of border fence construction
The White House said in February its goal was to build 450 additional miles of barrier by the end of 2020. The 69 miles would be in addition to a 52-mile project also underway in Webb County. Full Story
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![A culvert runs perpendicular to the Rio Grande in Webb County. This strip of land is planned to be assesed by the federal ...]()
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Texas DACA recipients working on pandemic's front lines await Supreme Court ruling
More than 4,000 DACA recipients work in health care in Texas, including many in hospitals. A pending U.S. Supreme Court ruling will decide whether they can continue that work — and stay in the country. Full Story
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![Josue Tuyub, 35, an intensive care unit nurse and DACA recipient, works at Del Sol Medical Center where he treats coronavi...]()
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Federal government sued for denying stimulus checks to Americans married to undocumented immigrants
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, is alleging that a provision in the $2.2 trillion stimulus package known as the CARES Act that denies the benefit to mixed-status families in unconstitutional. Full Story
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![Protesters walk through downtown Dallas during an immigrant rights march.]()
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Trump campaign still owes El Paso more than $500,000 for a 2019 rally. City officials may sue to get the money.
City officials sent the campaign the most recent invoice in February. The mayor on Tuesday said the city should consider filing a lawsuit to recoup the money as it faces down a budget shortfall from the new coronavirus. Full Story
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![U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at El Paso County Coliseum in El Paso on Feb. 11, 2019.]()
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President Donald Trump says he's temporarily halting immigration during coronavirus pandemic
Trump tweeted Monday night that he will issue an executive order but gave few details about what it would do — or when he would issue it. Full Story
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![President Donald Trump at the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C. on April 20, 2020.]()
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She's an undocumented immigrant, a taxpayer and an essential worker. But she won't get a stimulus check.
About 8% of Texas workers are undocumented, and because they're not eligible for stimulus payments, many are facing tough choices during the pandemic. Full Story
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![A Mexican migrant worker collects oranges during a harvest at a farm Florida. April 1, 2020.]()
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Government watchdog: Millions wasted on Tornillo migrant detention facility
The Government Accountability Office found that the government spent $66 million in taxpayer money over five months to hold an average of 28 people per day at the tent encampment near El Paso. Full Story
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![Aerial view of the tent city at the Marcelino Serna Port of Entry in Tornillo on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018. The shelter op...]()
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Coronavirus cases surge to 39 at living facility for Texans with intellectual and developmental disabilities
The center serves more than 400 people with disabilities and it employees about 1,400 staff members. Full Story
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![The Denton State Supported Living Center in Denton on March 22, 2020.]()
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Migrants say COVID-19 fears led to disturbance in Texas immigration detention center
About 60 detainees in the South Texas ICE Processing Center staged an uprising this week. Some detainees say fear of infection sparked the incident; Immigration and Customs Enforcement disputes that account. Full Story
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![Immigration detainees wait at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing facility in Texas.]()
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Immigration attorneys worry ICE rules will take away needed medical supplies
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is requiring lawyers to wear personal protective equipment to detention facilities. That could keep the equipment out of the hands of medical personnel — or make it harder for lawyers to see their clients, some say. Full Story
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![U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officers execute criminal search w...]()
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Travel restrictions at U.S.-Mexico border have area businesses grappling with uncertainty
The potential collapse of cross-border commerce has added border store owners to the ranks of Texas restaurateurs and other small businesses who don’t know how they’ll be able to make ends meet. Full Story
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![Shoppers in downtown El Paso on April 12, 2019.]()
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To slow COVID-19, Trump administration closes southern border to nonessential travel
The border will be closed for all crossings other than commercial trade and specified reasons such as medical care and education. Full Story
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![A woman wearing a protective mask carries her baby as she walks towards El Paso on the international border bridge Paso de...]()
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Calls for Trump administration to release migrants from detention increase amid COVID-19 pandemic
Fear and anxiety within the immigrant community is spreading as detainees fear an outbreak of the new coronavirus in detention facilities. Full Story
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![The Karnes County Residential Center is a detention center for immigrant women and their children in Karnes City, Texas. T...]()
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Amid coronavirus concerns, Justice Department continues "remain in Mexico" hearings in immigration courts
It was business as usual Monday on the Migrant Protection Protocols docket in federal immigration courts, and groups that work in them are raising concerns about the risk to migrants and court staff. Full Story
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![Migrants make camp at a makeshift migrant camp at the base of Paso del Norte International Bridge in Ciudad Juárez on Thur...]()
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Immigrant rights groups call on ICE to halt raids during coronavirus outbreak
A spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the agency does not conduct enforcement operations at medical facilities “except under extraordinary circumstances.” Full Story
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![U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officers execute criminal search w...]()
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Airlines prepare for uncertainty after European travel ban
Demand for airline travel rebounded quickly after outbreaks of swine flu, SARS and MERS. But the new coronavirus, so far, is less predictable. And it’s not clear when airlines can expect to recover after Trump's European travel ban takes effect. Full Story
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![American Airlines jets fill Terminal A at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in April of 2019.]()
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Experts say COVID-19 could hurt Texas trade and border economy
From cross-border trade with Mexico to oil and gas exports, Texas could soon start feeling economic impacts as the virus spreads and affects global supply chains, trade experts say. Full Story
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![Trucks leave the United States border crossing the Veterans International Bridge in Brownsville on Jan. 10, 2019.]()
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Trump administration awards $180 million for border barrier in Rio Grande Valley
The latest project will include a 30-foot-tall bollard wall, roads, lighting, cameras and other technology, Customs and Border Protection announced. Full Story
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![Ordered under the George W. Bush administration, a controversial and incomplete border wall along the Rio Grande River in ...]()