Slim majority of Texans support Gov. Greg Abbott’s border buoys, poll finds
The UT poll also touched on a range of other topics, including Texas voters’ opinions on the upcoming presidential election and the U.S. Senate race. Full Story
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![A string of buoys is deployed to prevent migrants from swimming across the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass on July 13, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas can keep buoys in the Rio Grande while legal challenge continues, federal appeals court rules
Nearly three months after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the deployment of the 1,000-foot line of buoys and mesh in the Rio Grande, an Austin federal judge ordered the state to remove the barrier and stop building further obstructions in the river. One day later a higher court sided with Texas. Full Story
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![Migrants walk along the Rio Grande passed the recently installed buoys in Eagle Pass, Texas on July 29, 2023. As there is concertina wire installed along the Urbina’s property, migrants are told to walk to the end of the property. Many make that walk which can be difficult to do through slippery rocks in the water, the current and the inclined river bank, while some find spots through the concertina wire and manage to get through.
Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
Texas National Guard disbanded intelligence wing after members used WhatsApp to spy on migrants
Four members of the unit working on Gov. Greg Abbott’s border mission have been punished after whistleblowers reported the surveillance operation violated long-standing rules against state-run spy operations. Full Story
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Credit: Aaron Provost for Military Times -
Drag shows are protected by First Amendment, performers tell federal judge
LGBTQ+ groups and drag performers suing the state argued Monday that Senate Bill 12 violates constitutionally-protected rights. The new law is set to go into effect on Friday unless a federal judge blocks it. Full Story
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![Brigette Bandit reads to children during a local literacy event at the Contemporary Austin - Laguna Gloria in Austin on November 13, 2022.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott declares wildfire disaster for three-fourths of Texas
At least 8,500 acres of Texas land have burned since Aug. 1. The governor’s disaster declaration allows included counties to access state resources to fight wildfires. Full Story
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![The Rolling Pines Fire blazes through Bastrop State Park on Jan. 18, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Child dies while en route to Chicago as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s migrant busing program
After a 3-year-old began showing signs of distress, the bus of asylum-seekers traveling from Brownsville to Chicago pulled over and an ambulance was called. The child later died at a hospital in Illinois. Full Story
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![A group of migrants boards a CTA bus at Chicago's Union Station to be taken to a Salvation Army shelter after arriving from Texas on Aug. 31, 2022.]()
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After property-tax deal, Speaker Dade Phelan weighs in on leadership relations, next special session, reelection
Rapport among the state’s top three Republicans has greatly improved, the House leader said, but another relationship-testing special session awaits on contentious education issues. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dade Phelan gavels in the session on May 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas state troopers are routinely stopping motorists of color in Austin, data shows
More than 8 in 10 people charged by state troopers since they began helping Austin police have been people of color. In Southeast Austin, a neighborhood president calls it “outright racial profiling.” Full Story
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![DPS troopers make a traffic stop in southeast Austin on Aug. 7, 2023.]()
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Texas is preparing for more wildfires without a break from heat in forecast
The number of acres burned this year is dramatically lower compared to 2022. But a rash of new fires have put state and local officials on edge. Full Story
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![Bastrop County Sheriffs Department evacuated businesses and residences as multiple first responders including Bastrop Fire, Round Rock Fire, Austin Fire Department and Travis County ESD join together to fight a powder Keg Pine Fire in Bastrop on Tuesday Aug. 1, 2023.]()
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How the Texas AG’s office became a pipeline for conservative federal judges
In just a few decades, the Texas attorney general’s office became a powerhouse in national legal fights over abortion, health care and immigration. Here’s a timeline of how it happened. Full Story
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Credit: Emily Albracht/The Texas Tribune -
Eagle Pass residents sour on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star
After initially supporting the governor’s efforts to stem illegal immigration, many residents say Operation Lone Star has gone too far. Full Story
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![Migrants walk along the Rio Grande past the recently installed buoys in Eagle Pass, Texas on July 28, 2023. As there is concertina wire installed along the Urbina’s property, migrants are told to walk to the end of the property, taking them approximately an hour from that point. Many make that walk which can be difficult to do through slippery rocks in the water, the current and the inclined river bank, while some find spots through the concertina wire and manage to get through.]()
Credit: Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
Part 3: Under Trump, Texas’ foot soldiers became federal judges, securing a conservative stronghold in the courts
A federal judiciary full of ideological allies is helping Texas block Democratic priorities and advance right-wing legal doctrines. But the bigger prize is conservative control of the rule of law itself. Full Story
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![A woven photo collage featuring images from left to right and highlights of red. Photo clips include the United States flag, Goddess of Liberty, Judd Stone, Ken Paxton, Donald Trump, and the U.S. Supreme Court.]()
Credit: Emily Albracht/The Texas Tribune -
Part 1: In 1998, a legal revolution was quietly born in Texas. It would pull America’s courts rightward.
With his election as Texas attorney general, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn planted the seeds of conservatism. Gov. Greg Abbott used his tenure to cultivate them into an aggressive strain of right-wing activism aimed at driving the nation’s courts and laws to the right. Full Story
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![A woven photo collage featuring images from left to right and highlights of red. Photo clips include corners of the U.S. Supreme Court architecture, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn on the Senate judicial committee, stained glass windows from a cathedral, and federal justices during a hearing.]()
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Texas backlash to Obama fueled conservative drive to reinterpret U.S. Constitution
Barraging the Obama administration with lawsuits, the Texas attorney general’s office wasn’t just trying to block policies. It was injecting disruptive, overtly Christian legal philosophies into the mainstream, and grooming a generation of conservative legal warriors. Full Story
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![A woven photo collage featuring images from left to right and highlights of red. Photo clips include stained glass windows from a cathedral, a young Greg Abbott, framed images of Supreme Court justices, and the U.S. Capitol dome.]()
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TribCast: Texas’ tough border security tactics under scrutiny
In this week’s episode, we discuss the half-million people booted from Texas’ Medicaid rolls and the state’s deployment of razor wire and buoys along the border in Eagle Pass. Full Story
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![State law enforcement officers stand guard as workers construct a string of buoys which is being deployed to prevent migrants from swimming across the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass on July 14, 2023.]()
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U.S. seeks court order requiring Texas to remove floating barrier in Rio Grande
The string of buoys is a safety hazard that violates treaties and harms relations with Mexico, Justice Department lawyers tell a federal judge. Full Story
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![A group of migrants walks around a string of buoys which was deployed to prevent migrants from swimming across the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass on July 14, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Facing sex discrimination claims, Texas begins jailing migrant women under border crackdown
Operation Lone Star originally targeted single men suspected of crossing the border illegally in mass trespassing arrests, but some claimed that not arresting women violated equal protection laws. Full Story
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![Asylum seekers who have just crossed the border are led by a National Guard troop to be apprehended by Customs and Border Protection in Roma on Aug. 3, 2021.]()
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Booksellers sue over Texas law requiring them to rate books for appropriateness
Two Texas bookstores and three national bookseller associations file suit over House Bill 900, which requires private booksellers to rate books on appropriateness, and bans “sexually explicit” material from libraries. Full Story
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![Books at Vandegrift High School's library on March 2, 2022.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott signs $18 billion tax cut package for Texas property owners
At a time when the state has some of the nation’s highest property taxes, the initiative was a cornerstone of his 2022 reelection campaign. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks about the recent 88th Legislative Session to an audience at the Texas Public Policy Foundation offices in Austin, on June 2, 2023. Abbott recounted policy victories in regards to fentanyl and the border crisis, as well as limiting gender affirming care and banning DEI practices in higher education. Abbott ended the event by promising to call a special session for school choice, after the current special session for property tax resolves.]()
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U.S. sues Texas after Gov. Greg Abbott declines to remove floating border barrier
The U.S. Department of Justice made good on its warning last week that it would sue Texas unless the state agreed to remove the barrier in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass. Full Story
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![Workers construct a string of buoys which is being deployed to prevent migrants from swimming across the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass on July 14, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune