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Julián Aguilar

Julián Aguilar’s staff photo

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.

Past Contributions

  • Controversial? Just Wait

    By Julián Aguilar

    The voter ID legislation passed by the Texas Senate on Wednesday night may be controversial, but it’s a familiar debate, as is the issue of “sanctuary cities.” Less well known but no less controversial are many of the provisions found in more than three dozen immigration-related bills filed so far. Some Hispanic Republicans in the Texas House say they are not going to support bills they believe are too extreme. Full Story 

    Protesters hold signs reading "No Arizona Hate in Texas" — a reference to a recently passed law in that state — during a 2011 demonstration against "sanctuary city" legislation in Austin.
    Credit: Todd Wiseman

  • TribBlog: Voter ID Fight Set for Tuesday

    By Julián Aguilar

    Most of the drama was saved for another day in the Texas Senate after the first installment of the planned debate over the contentious voter ID bill was postponed. Senate Democrats did their best, however, to derail Republicans’ attempts to fast track the issue, which Gov. Rick Perry declared an emergency item last week. Full Story 

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  • In for the Long Haul?

    By Julián Aguilar

    A proposal by the Obama administration that would grant Mexican truckers greater access to Texas roadways would be a boon for business in the state, supporters say, since three of the top five ports for trade between the U.S. and Mexico are Laredo, El Paso and Houston. But unions contend the plan would cost American jobs. “This cheap-labor program comes at too high a risk and at too large a cost to middle-class American workers who work long, hard hours to help maintain a safe commerce system in our nation,” says a spokesman for the Texas AFL-CIO. Full Story 

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    Credit: Mike Miller

  • TribBlog: Ruling on Asylum Case Delayed

    By Julián Aguilar

    The asylum hearing for Mexican journalist Emilio Gutiérrez ended Friday afternoon in El Paso without a ruling from a U.S. immigration judge. Gutiérrez has been seeking asylum since June 2008, when he fled the small Chihuahua town of Ascensión after receiving death threats for his reporting on alleged corruption in the Mexican military. The hearing is scheduled to resume Feb. 4. Full Story 

    Mexican reporter Emilio Gutiérrez has sought asylum in the United States since 2008.
    Credit: Julian Aguilar

  • Exile on Main Street

    By Julián Aguilar

    There are two paths to asylum in the United States. Mexican journalist Emilio Gutiérrez, whose life was threatened by the Mexican military, may have taken the wrong one. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • TribBlog: Abbott Blasts Feds After West Texas Shooting

    By Julián Aguilar

    Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott accused the federal government of putting U.S. citizens' lives at risk following a reported cross-border shooting Thursday in Hudspeth County. During the incident, first reported by the El Paso Times, at least one Mexican gunman allegedly shot toward Hudspeth County workers in rural West Texas who were doing maintenance on a desolate road. Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmrich