Patrick’s comments mirrored a far-right theory that says political elites are replacing white populations through mass migration and demographic changes. He called the increase of migrants at the border an “invasion.”
James Barragán
James Barragán was a politics reporter for The Texas Tribune with a focus on accountability reporting. Prior to joining the Tribune, James worked as a statehouse reporter for The Dallas Morning News and previously had stints at the Austin American-Statesman and the Los Angeles Times. In 2021, he was a finalist for the Toner Prize for Excellence in Local Reporting for his coverage of Texas politics during the COVID-19 pandemic. James was selected as a 2023-24 Nieman Fellow at Harvard. A Southern California native, James received his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California, Los Angeles. He was based in Austin and is a native Spanish speaker.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Court allows Ken Paxton’s criminal case to move forward in his home county, but prosecutors say they’ll appeal
In May, a three-justice panel of the 1st Court of Appeals sent the case back to Collin, Paxton’s home county. Prosecutors asked the full court to reconsider.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Gov. Greg Abbott calls special legislative session for redistricting, other conservative priorities starting Sept. 20
On top of redistricting, Abbott wants lawmakers to take up bills on restrictions for transgender student athletes and the allocation of billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funds.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas’ second special session of the year is over. Here are five things you need to know.
Lawmakers will return to Austin at least one more time this year to redraw the state’s political maps. Only Gov. Greg Abbott knows when that will be and if there will be additional special sessions beyond that.
Posted in
Politics
Private donations for a Texas border wall have soared to $54 million. But it’s still unclear who’s giving.
After two months, the donations had petered out around $1 million. But the effort saw a major boost in August.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2021
GOP’s so-called critical race theory bill advances as bill to restrict transgender student athletes stalls in House committee
The committee action came less than 24 hours after Dutton had taunted Patrick, threatening to hold his prized legislation back amid rumors that the Senate was stalling a bill to restore funding to the Legislature.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas House approves additional $2 billion for border security as state moves to build border wall
The bill would nearly triple border security funding from the last biennium. The legislation needs one more vote of approval from the House before moving to the Senate.
Posted in
Politics
Texas deploys firefighters and other aid to Louisiana for Hurricane Ida recovery efforts
Ida, which made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane Sunday, was downgraded to a tropical storm Monday, but officials warned that flooding from storm surge will continue to affect parts of the state throughout the morning.
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Politics
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton cleared by his own office of wrongdoing in bribery allegations
Attorneys for former employees who were fired after accusing Paxton of abuse of office say report is “full of half-truths, outright lies, and glaring omissions.” Meanwhile, the FBI is also reportedly investigating.
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Texas Legislature 2021
After some Democrats return to the Texas House, holdouts say they’re complicit in moving GOP elections bill forward
The return of three Democrats on Thursday allowed the House to reach a quorum, meaning enough members were present so lawmakers could work for the first time in nearly six weeks.
