Travis County officials declined dozens of requests from federal immigration agents to hold inmates in the days leading up to the county’s recent showdown with Gov. Greg Abbott over its new “sanctuary” policy.
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 inState Government
Key chairman says House will take its time on “sanctuary” legislation
A day after hearing from peace officers largely opposed to the state’s current proposal to outlaw “sanctuary cities,” the chairman of the House committee that controls the proposal’s future said he’d like to see some significant changes.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
House committee makes changes to anti-“sanctuary” bill
More than 600 people signed up on Wednesday to testify before the House State Affairs Committee on the lower chamber’s version of the controversial proposal to outlaw “sanctuary” jurisdictions.
Posted in
Demographics
Watch as Texas House committee debates anti-“sanctuary” bill
The Texas House State Affairs Committee is set to debate a bill that would gut funding from local and state entities that don’t enforce immigration laws.
Posted in
Demographics
Paxton asks to intervene in Dallas County immigration case
The Texas attorney general’s office has asked a federal court for permission to intervene in a case about whether a county jail can hold undocumented immigrants for transfer to federal custody and subsequent deportation.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Homeland Security notes sharp drop in illegal crossings in February
The Trump administration on Wednesday celebrated what the Department of Homeland Security said was an unprecedented drop in illegal crossing on the country’s Southwest border since the president took office Jan. 20.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
To fight anti-“sanctuary” bill, Democrats may highlight “sanctuary industries”
Outnumbered and with time running out, Texas Democrats hoping to kill anti-“sanctuary” legislation are open to shining a spotlight on so-called “sanctuary industries” that often turn a blind eye toward hiring unauthorized labor.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Still no timeline for withdrawal of state troopers on border, Texas DPS chief says
The director of the Texas Department of Public Safety told lawmakers on Tuesday the agency can’t predict when it will be able to scale back its border security operations in the Rio Grande Valley.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Appeals court dismisses case on immigrant harboring law
A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans dismissed a case brought against the state over a provision of Texas law that prohibits “concealing, harboring, or shielding” undocumented immigrants.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
In border meeting, Sid Miller suggests distance with Trump on border wall, immigration
Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller on Thursday left the tough talk on immigration in Austin while he held a historic press conference on one of the country’s busiest international bridges to Mexico.
