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 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.]()
Credit: Emily Albracht/The Texas Tribune -
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.]()
Credit: Emily Albracht/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 -
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.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
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.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
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.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
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.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
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 -
Justice Department threatens Texas with legal action over floating barrier in Rio Grande
Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the 1,000-foot barrier to be deployed in the river near Eagle Pass earlier this month. The Justice Department gave Texas until Monday to commit to removing it. 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 -
Prisoners’ relatives and former inmates plead for help as deaths mount in sweltering Texas prisons
Several lawmakers supported a call for Gov. Greg Abbott to bring lawmakers back immediately to approve air conditioning for prisons, which the Legislature declined to do during its regular session. Full Story
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![Tona Southards, whose 36-year-old son died in a Texas prison during the June 2023 heat wave, falls to her knees as she leads a prayer circle outside the Texas Capitol on July 18, 2023. Southards and other prison rights advocates called for Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session to install air conditioning in Texas prisons.]()
Credit: Jolie McCullough/The Texas Tribune -
State investigating claim that DPS troopers were told to push migrants back into the Rio Grande and deny them water
The Office of the Inspector General is investigating the claims, which include pushing small children and women with nursing babies back into the river and turning away a 4-year-old girl who later passed out on the riverbank from the heat. 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.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
In a political era of “parental rights,” Texans raising trans kids say new law strips them of choice
Senate Bill 14, which is set to take effect on Sept. 1, bans transition-related care for minors. Parents of transgender kids say it blocks their ability to support their children. Full Story
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![Kari stands with her son, a 17-year-old trans kid, during golden hour at a park in Georgetown on June 30, 2023. As of September 1 of this year, her son will no longer be legally allowed to have gender affirming healthcare and, according to the bill, will have to be “weaned off” their hormones in a “medically appropriate” manner. “I would love to ask somebody what is going to change between today and next March? Is my son going to magically change genders? Please let me know where that magic is,” Kari said.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Mexico files diplomatic complaint over Gov. Greg Abbott’s floating border barriers
The Mexican government plans to send an inspection team to see if Texas’ buoys have crossed into Mexico’s side of the border. Full Story
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![An unfinished strand of orange buoys, meant to deter migrants from crossing the river, sits in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass on July 11, 2023.]()
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TribCast: Texas lawmakers approve property tax cuts after 7 months of trying
In this week’s episode, we discuss the winners and losers — politically and financially — after lawmakers approved an $18 billion tax cut bill. Full Story
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![A home in East Austin in 2017.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Property tax special session is over, but months of acrimony could complicate Texas lawmakers’ mission as more work awaits
Efforts to repair rifts, particularly among Republican leaders, begin as another contentious special session looms on Gov. Greg Abbott’s call for “school choice.” Full Story
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![Speaker of the House Dade Phelan gavels the House into session on the first day of the second special session at the state Capitol in Austin on June 28, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Long-awaited $18 billion property tax-cut deal heads to Gov. Greg Abbott
House Democrats attempted to insert benefits for renters and more money for public education into the tax-cuts package in a series of floor amendments but were unsuccessful. Full Story
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![An Aerial image of a suburban neighborhood in San Marcos on October 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott raised $15 million in 12-day window after regular legislative session
The governor, whose term ends in 2026, closed June with $23 million in his campaign fund. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott answers questions from the press after signing eight bills during a public safety bill signing session at the state Capitol in Austin on June 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott taps longtime aide Angela Colmenero as interim attorney general
Governor’s deputy chief of staff replaces John Scott as agency leader while suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton awaits his September impeachment trial. Full Story
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![Angela Colmenero has been named by Gov. Greg Abbott interim attorney general for the state of Texas. She replaces John Scott, who served as first interim attorney general after Ken Paxton was suspended pending his Senate impeachment trial.]()
Credit: Social media