Last year was the deadliest year in ICE detention in two decades. Nearly a quarter of those deaths occurred in Texas.
Lomi Kriel
Lomi Kriel is a statewide investigative reporter for The Texas Tribune. Previously, she was a founding member of the Tribune’s investigative unit with ProPublica, joining the initiative in 2020 before leaving for the Tribune in November 2025. Before joining ProPublica, Kriel reported on immigration for the Houston Chronicle, often focused on the Texas border. Months before Trump’s first administration announced its family separation policy, Kriel uncovered it in 2017. Kriel is a two-time Pulitzer finalist, in 2018 as part of the Houston Chronicle’s Hurricane Harvey coverage, and in 2024 for the Tribune’s reporting with ProPublica and FRONTLINE PBS on the Uvalde school shooting. She is a George Polk Award winner, National Magazine Award winner, Edward R. Murrow winner, and Emmy nominee, among other accolades. Kriel, who was born and raised in South Africa, immigrated to the United States in 1998. She has worked as a Central American correspondent for Thomson Reuters and a criminal justice reporter for the San Antonio Express-News, among other publications. Kriel is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Columbia University and speaks Afrikaans and Spanish.
Posted in
Immigration
Cuban man’s death at El Paso tent camp was result of “spontaneous use of force,” ICE says
His death is the first homicide in ICE custody in recent history, experts said. It comes after the deadliest year in ICE detention in decades.
Posted in
Immigration
Two cases of tuberculosis detected at El Paso ICE facility
Officials said 18 cases of COVID-19 were also identified at the 5,000-bed tent Fort Bliss Army facility, where a Democratic congresswoman said many “chronic issues” persist.
Posted in
Immigration
Two cases of measles detected at Dilley immigrant family detention center
The cases come amid renewed nationwide scrutiny of the facility following the transfer there of Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy who federal agents arrested along with his father in Minneapolis.
Posted in
Immigration
Lawmakers, protesters demand release of 5-year-old held at Texas immigration detention center
State troopers deployed pepper spray at protesters at the family detention center near Dilley where a 5-year-old Ecuadorian’s detention has drawn nationwide attention.
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Public Education
Celina football coach retires after district clears him of cover-up allegations amid son’s sex abuse scandal
Bill Elliott was placed on administrative leave in October after his son, a football coach at Celina’s middle school, was accused of secretly filming boys in the school’s locker room. A district report found he pressured the principal to hire his son.
Posted in
Public Education
Abuse allegations against a legendary football coach’s son fracture a North Texas town
The top-ranked Celina High School football team is barrelling toward another state championship this month. Its coach is barred from the field.
Posted in
Uvalde school shooting
After local agencies release Uvalde shooting records, calls continue for Texas DPS to follow suit
Local records released this week — after a yearslong lawsuit —affirm previous reporting about law enforcement’s flawed response to Texas’ deadliest school shooting.
Posted in
Investigations
Texas lawmakers largely ignored recommendations aimed at helping rural areas like Kerr County prepare for flooding
Texas lawmakers’ inaction on flood prevention often hits rural and economically disadvantaged communities the hardest, experts said.
Posted in
Investigations
Texas won’t force private companies to use E-Verify to check workers’ immigration status, despite leaders’ tough talk
Texas’ conservative Legislature has again and again refused to mandate that most private businesses use E-Verify. Experts say that Republican resistance is rooted in how the system could impact the state’s labor supply and economy.
