The store where a gunman killed nearly two dozen people and shot dozens more in August opened its doors Thursday, setting off a wave of mixed emotions in a community still grieving.
Julián Aguilar
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.
Posted in
Immigration
ICE transfers detainees out of West Texas facility after water shortage in Sierra Blanca
The shortage has forced the West Texas Detention Facility, operated by Louisiana-based LaSalle Corrections, to turn off its water nightly.
Posted in
Immigration
Trump’s controversial “remain in Mexico” immigration policy expands along Texas’ southern border
The Migrant Protection Protocols, a program requiring migrants to wait in Mexico as their asylum requests are pending, is in effect in Eagle Pass, El Paso, Laredo and Brownsville.
Posted in
Environment
West Texas detention facility enacting water conservation measures after depletion of local water tanks
The Sierra Blanca facility, which houses ICE detainees, shuts down its water supply at 11 p.m. daily to allow its on-site water tanks to replenish overnight.
Posted in
Immigration
Immigration agency decides against six-figure fines for undocumented immigrants living in sanctuaries
Last summer, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents told some undocumented immigrants it was considering giving them six-figure fines. Last week, the agency backed down.
Posted in
Politics
Could Texas Democrats influence Dennis Bonnen’s fate? The minority party is mulling what to do next.
Of the 17 House members who have called for Bonnen to step down, only four are Democrats.
Posted in
Broken Border
She fled a violent Honduran gang to seek asylum in Texas. Now she might be deported because she didn’t file paperwork in Mexico.
The Trump administration’s policy to deny asylum to migrants who didn’t seek protections elsewhere is now being enforced. Immigration attorneys warn the new rule could forever diminish U.S. asylum policy.
Posted in
Broken Border
Border Patrol apprehensions dipped last month, but 2019 saw a dramatic increase from 2018
Despite the months-long trend downward, the 2019 fiscal year’s total represents nearly a 90 percent increase from 2018.
Posted in
Broken Border
A Mexican citizen had court papers allowing him to be in the U.S. But a Border Patrol agent detained him anyway.
The man, whose immigration case received “administrative closure” from a U.S. judge, was detained by Border Patrol agents at a highway checkpoint. Lawyers say the agents went too far, but federal officials say otherwise.
Posted in
Broken Border
Hundreds of CBP officers returned to port duty after assisting U.S. Border Patrol
In late March, more than 700 officers from ports of entry in El Paso; Laredo; Tucson, Arizona; and San Diego were reassigned amid the growing number of migrants arriving at the country’s southern border.