Woori Juntos began the legislative session hoping to win over a majority of legislators to their cause — making it easier for Texans who speak no or limited English to communicate with state agencies and access crucial services. First, they needed a lawmaker to file their bill.
Alexa Ura
Alexa Ura reported for The Texas Tribune from 2013 to 2023. She covered the complex dynamics of race, ethnicity, wealth, poverty and power and how they are shaping the future of Texas and Texans, in the long and short term. Alexa started at the Tribune as a reporting intern before graduating from the University of Texas at Austin and joining the staff full time. Originally from Laredo on the Texas-Mexico border, she is a native Spanish speaker and is based in Austin.
Posted in
Asking to be Heard
At a Korean community center in Houston, the struggle immigrant Texans face with language barriers is clear
Texas largely conducts its state business in English and Spanish. It falls to interpreters like Terry Yun to help people scale the wall dividing them from crucial government services.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
As the share of white Texans continues to shrink, the Legislature remains mostly white and male
In the 2023 legislative session that convened Tuesday, 70% of lawmakers are men. More than half of the Senate and House members are white, and nearly half are white men.
Posted in
Immigration
U.S. Supreme Court rules to keep Title 42, the pandemic-era policy to quickly turn away migrants, for now
The court ordered the Biden administration to continue enforcing the policy while Texas and other states that want to keep the Trump-era rule in place prepare their legal arguments.
Posted in
Health care
Jennifer Shuford named commissioner of Texas public health agency
The infectious disease doctor has been at the helm of the department in an interim capacity since the fall, replacing longtime commissioner Dr. John Hellerstedt following his retirement.
Posted in
Demographics
Texas is now home to 30 million people
Texas has joined California as the only other state in the nation with a population of more than 30 million, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Posted in
Demographics
On the margins of downtown San Antonio, a maligned neighborhood mobilizes to save itself
Born of segregation and redlining, the near West Side has long been mostly Latino, mostly low-income. Redevelopment pressures are closing in, and neighbors are working to keep it affordable for some of the city’s poorest residents.
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Demographics
Houston’s at-large City Council districts deprive Latinos of fair representation, lawsuit alleges
The League of United Latin American Citizens sued the city Monday, asking a federal court to halt its practice of electing five of its 16 council members through at-large elections.
Posted in
Texas 2022 Elections
Losing Republican candidate wants Texas House to void results of his race
Mike May, who lost to Houston state Rep. Jon Rosenthal by 6,000 votes, wants the Texas House to order a new election. State law allows such an appeal, but the House hasn’t approved one in more than 40 years.
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Texas 2022 Elections
Harris County’s election missteps fuel GOP lawsuit and calls for investigation
Scattered paper ballot shortages and late openings of polling places were among the glitches that prompted calls for scrutiny from statewide Republican officials.
