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Julián Aguilar reported for the Tribune from 2009 to 2021, most recently on politics and on the Texas-Mexico border. He focused on 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.
A bill that would clarify and expand the jurisdiction of the Forensic Science Commission appeared to have fizzled in the Texas House. But tonight lawmakers revived the bill and voted it out of committee. Full Story
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Sanctuary cities legislation was revived today and will be sent to the Texas Senate for consideration. A Senate committee reversed course, approving the legislation. Full Story
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The hits just keep on coming. One of the fiscal matters bills critical to the budget got thrown back to the Senate for carrying a concealed weapon; it had been amended there to include legalization of concealed handguns on college campuses. Full Story
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More symbolic than anything else, House Concurrent Resolution 18, calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution requiring a federal balanced budget, passed out of the state Senate today. Full Story
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He may have pulled the plug on “sanctuary cities” legislation yesterday, but Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, said today he still supports it — even if he considers his own homeland security legislation a higher priority. Full Story
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In a surprise move that could effectively kill the sanctuary cities bill that Gov. Rick Perry declared an emergency item, a Senate committee today replaced the immigration language with a homeland security bill by state Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands. Full Story
State reps will try to hang a grab bag of amendments onto Senate Bills 1811 and 1581 — two critical pieces of legislation the House takes up today that could determine whether a budget is passed and a special session averted. Click here for our liveblog of the action. Full Story
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The Texas Senate today passed a bill that would finally compensate Anthony Graves for the 18 years he spent behind bars convicted of grisly murders he did not commit. Full Story
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They won’t give names, nor will they engage in a game of hypothetical vote counting, but Senate Democrats will say the coalition forming against the state’s proposed sanctuary cities bill isn’t what observers would expect. Full Story
House Democrats put up one final fight against the voter ID bill but begrudgingly saw it move one step closer to the governor’s desk today. Full Story
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