Eagle Pass residents sour on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star
After initially supporting the governor’s efforts to stem illegal immigration, many residents say Operation Lone Star has gone too far. Full Story
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Uriel J. García is an immigration reporter based in El Paso. Before joining the Tribune in 2021, he worked at the Arizona Republic where he covered police violence and immigration enforcement. He started his journalism career at the Santa Fe New Mexican where he covered the city's immigrant community and criminal justice issues. Originally from Mexico and a native Spanish speaker, Uriel grew up in Phoenix and graduated from Arizona State University.
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![Migrants walk along the Rio Grande past the recently installed buoys in Eagle Pass, Texas on July 28, 2023. As there is concertina wire installed along the Urbina’s property, migrants are told to walk to the end of the property, taking them approximately an hour from that point. Many make that walk which can be difficult to do through slippery rocks in the water, the current and the inclined river bank, while some find spots through the concertina wire and manage to get through.]()
Credit: Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
Body found stuck in buoys Texas installed in the Rio Grande
Texas authorities believe the person drowned upstream and floated into the buoys near Eagle Pass. Mexico criticized Texas’ placement of the buoys along the river. Full Story
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![A group of migrants walks around a string of buoys which was deployed to prevent migrants from swimming across the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass on July 14, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
State investigating claim that DPS troopers were told to push migrants back into the Rio Grande and deny them water
The Office of the Inspector General is investigating the claims, which include pushing small children and women with nursing babies back into the river and turning away a 4-year-old girl who later passed out on the riverbank from the heat. Full Story
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![State law enforcement officers stand guard as workers construct a string of buoys which is being deployed to prevent migrants from swimming across the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass on July 14, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Gunman in 2019 El Paso mass shooting receives 90 life sentences
Patrick Crusius pleaded guilty and was sentenced Friday in federal court. He still faces state charges, and the local district attorney says he intends to seek the death penalty. Full Story
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![From left: Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Hanna, defendant Patrick Crusius, defense attorney Joe Spencer, and U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama, during the sentencing hearing of David Crusius in El Paso, on July 7, 2023.]()
Credit: Nacho Garcia Jr./Special to El Paso Times -
“I want them to haunt you”: Man who killed 23 at El Paso Walmart hears from victims’ families
During the gunman’s sentencing, relatives of those killed nearly four years ago are telling him how he upended their lives. Full Story
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![As U.S. District Judge David C. Guaderrama listens, Francisco Javier Rodriguez, father of Javier Amir Rodriguez, testifies at the sentencing hearing of David Crusius, who killed 23 people and wounded 22 others at an El Paso Walmart on Aug. 3, 2019.]()
Credit: Nacho Garcia Jr./Special to El Paso Times -
Charges filed against five more people in San Antonio smuggling tragedy that killed 53 migrants
A year after the nation’s deadliest human smuggling event, federal prosecutors say seven people face a maximum of life in prison. One of the suspects, who was not identified, has not been arrested. Full Story
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![Community members gather at a makeshift memorial on Thursday, June 30, 2022 outside San Antonio, TX. Community members paid their respects to the 53 people who died after being left in a truck trailer in a human smuggling operation. Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Supreme Court rejects Texas effort to force Biden administration to change deportation policy
Texas and Louisiana sued after the Biden administration told immigration agents to focus on deporting undocumented immigrants who are convicted of felonies or pose a risk to public safety. The Supreme Court said states didn’t have any standing to sue. Full Story
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![Migrants crossing the border in Roma were apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Aug. 16, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
With another DACA court ruling looming, Texas recipients who are now adults worry about their jobs and futures
A federal judge in Houston is expected to rule for the second time that the Obama-era program is illegal. The possible end of DACA could upend the lives of more than 95,000 Texans enrolled in the program. Full Story
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![Itzayana Mondragon sits with her son Dylan at her home in Austin on June 5, 2023. Itzayana is a DACA recipient who worries about the unclear future of the program and her immigration status. Itzayana has been in the U.S. since she was less than a year old and fears the idea of going back to Mexico with her life here.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for the Texas Tribune -
With Texas House adjourned, Senate takes bigger swing at border enforcement and human smuggling
Rather than accept the House legislation as is, senators passed their own — more expansive — proposals for border security. But unless the House convenes again, the bills can’t go to the governor’s desk. Full Story
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![State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, talks about a bill on the Senate floor at the state Capitol in Austin on March 14, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Dan Patrick says Senate won’t budge on property tax relief — but there’s no House to negotiate with
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says the Senate won’t accept a property tax relief bill the lower chamber left behind before adjourning for the special session. A bill targeting migrant smuggling also appears imperiled. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recaps the 88th Legislative Session with Sherry Sylvester, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, at TPPF Headquarters in downtown Austin, on May 30, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune