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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

  • Business as Unusual

    By Julián Aguilar

    “Fear is paralyzing,” says Jose Luis Mauricio, the president of LaRED, a group of Mexican professionals who have banded together and are networking in El Paso as a result of the violence that’s ravaged Ciudad Juárez. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • "I Will Never Return"

    By Julián Aguilar

    Withing walking distance of the port of entry at Roma, a Lions Club community center in a tiny Mexican town is the temporary home to hundreds to citizens fleeing drug violence in Ciudad Mier, which was reportedly overtaken by the Zetas cartel on Nov. 5. An official with U.S. Customs and Border Protection says that despite the town’s proximity to Texas, agents are operating there without an increase in manpower. Full Story 

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    Credit: Adriana Gómez Licón

  • Traffic Patterns

    By Julián Aguilar

    Texas has the dubious distinction of being home to one of the busiest human trafficking routes in the country: the stretch of Interstate Highway 10 that runs from El Paso to Houston. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • MALC's Makeover

    By Julián Aguilar

    The addition of five Hispanic Republicans to the Texas House means the Mexican American Legislative Caucus will now include at least a few dissenting voices on issues like immigration. "It does Latinos a huge disservice to say we all think alike," says state Rep.-elect Larry Gonzales, R-Round Rock. Full Story 

    Members of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus
    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • 2010: Few Hiccups With Harris County Ballots

    By Julián Aguilar

    A fire in August that destroyed thousands of electronic voting machines in Houston prolonged the release of Harris County voting totals. Despite the delay, election officials expect to decide close races early Wednesday morning. But the outcome of one hotly contested race is known: Bill White defeated Rick Perry in his home county by a margin of less than 2 percent. Full Story 

    Paper-ballot boxes flood Reliant Center, where Harris County officials convened to count thousands of paper ballots.
    Credit: Callie Richmond

  • Red November

    By Brandi Grissom, Reeve Hamilton, Elise Hu, Ross Ramsey, Emily Ramshaw, Morgan Smith, Matt Stiles, Julián Aguilar, David Muto, Kate Galbraith, Becca Aaronson, Julie Chang, Tristan Hallman and Emily Brown

    Rick Perry won his third full term as governor of Texas on Tuesday, defeating former Houston Mayor Bill White by a convincing double-digit margin and positioning himself for a role on the national stage. And he led a Republican army that swept all statewide offices for the fourth election in a row, took out three Democratic U.S. congressmen and was on its way to a nearly two-thirds majority in the Texas House — a mark the GOP hasn't seen since the days following the Civil War. Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmerich

  • 2010: White Concedes

    By Julián Aguilar

    “To those who supported me, please recognize that every governor of our state deserves respect," Bill White told the ballroom crowd at the Hilton Americas in Houston. Full Story 

    Bill White addresses supporters in Houston after losing to Gov. Rick Perry
    Credit: Callie Richmond

  • 2010: Be Calm

    By Julián Aguilar

    Patience is the central theme emanating from the Houston county clerk’s office as officials there are cautioning that counting the ballots in Texas’ largest county won't happen quickly. Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • Blood and Money

    By Julián Aguilar

    Each year, billions of dollars are smuggled into Mexico through Texas ports by drug cartels for the purpose of bribing government officials, hiring assassins and purchasing arms. For now, at least, there's not much that the U.S. or Mexican governments can do about it. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman