Watch: Republicans gain ground all along the Texas-Mexico border by emphasizing border security
In these historically Democratic border areas, some voters are turning to the Republican party, while others remain unmoved. Full Story
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![Freddy Arellano and Republican candidate Armando Rosales speaks to local Eagle Pass resident while dropping off yard signs.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Migrant encounters at the border are higher today than they were before Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star began
The number of migrant encounters at the Texas-Mexico border has climbed from 109,456 in March 2021, the month the mission began, to 116,976 in August — a failure of Abbott’s office’s stated desire to “stop this revolving door and deter others considering entering illegally.” Full Story
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![Department of Public Safety agents oversee a group of three undocumented migrants as they continue the process of arresting them after they were caught in private property as part of Operation Lone Star in Kinney County near Brackettville, on Nov. 8, 2021.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune -
As fentanyl plagues Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott directs state police to focus on cartels
Abbott directed the Department of Public Safety to boost efforts to collect intelligence on cartels and investigate gangs in Texas that support drug and human smuggling. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton hosted 12 attorneys general from around the U.S. for a border security briefing at Texas DPS regional headquarters in Weslaco on Jan. 27, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Arrests along U.S.-Mexico border top 2 million a year for the first time
Federal authorities are on pace to make more than 2.3 million arrests during the 2022 fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. That will far exceed last year’s record of more than 1.7 million arrests. Full Story
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![Dozens of migrants, including several family units, board a New York City-bound bus outside a shelter in El Paso on Aug. 31, 2022. The city and county of El Paso are sponsoring (to be reimbursed by FEMA) the voluntary trips to relieve pressure on local resources and shelters.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Fight over border security escalates after governors send migrants to Kamala Harris’ home and Martha’s Vineyard
The latest moves by Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this week have triggered outrage among immigration rights’ groups and Democrats who have accused the Republicans of engaging in human trafficking and treating migrants like “human cargo” to score political points. Full Story
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![A screengrab shows migrants who were bused from Texas arrive at the Naval Observatory in Washington on Sept. 15, 2022.]()
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Texas reduces National Guard members deployed to Operation Lone Star border mission
Abbott said there’s over 5,000 guard members still assigned to the border. He initially said he had deployed 10,000. Full Story
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![Asylum-seeking migrants walk as they are escorted by National Guard officers, after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico, at Eagle Pass on July 26, 2022.]()
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Authorities report nine drowning victims after deadly Rio Grande crossing
On Saturday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed that nine migrants had died while trying to cross the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass. Full Story
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![A row of shipping containers and razor wire placed on the banks of the Rio Grande River by Gov. Greg Abbott to form a makeshift border wall in Eagle Pass on Nov. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office calls Gov. Greg Abbott’s migrant busing strategy “racist”
Abbott late Wednesday announced Chicago would be a new destination for migrants bused from Texas in his strategy to draw attention to the influx of people at the southern border. Chicago leadership welcomed the migrants “with dignity and respect.” Full Story
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![Two buses transporting migrants from Texas arrive at Union Station on April 21, 2022. Gov. Greg Abbott’s new plan in response to the end of Title 42, a pandemic-era emergency health order which allowed immigration authorities at the border to deny entry.]()
Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Judge in Texas border crackdown accused of using racist slur against migrants
Allen Amos, a visiting judge handling trespassing cases under Gov. Greg Abbott’s “catch-and-jail” border operation, allegedly used the derogatory term in a recent conversation with a defense attorney. Full Story
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![State Troopers arrest an undocumented Mexican migrant for trespassing as part of Operation Lone Star after he was caught with others in private property in Kinney County, on Nov. 9, 2021.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune -
ACLU calls on feds to investigate Abbott’s policy transporting migrants back to border
In July, Abbott authorized state law enforcement to transport migrants to ports of entry. It’s unclear how and why migrants are being detained, raising civil rights concerns and questions about whether the state is overstepping federal authority. Full Story
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![People who were apprehended by state troopers after crossing the border were brought to the International Bridge in Eagle Pass, where they were handed over to Border Patrol custody on Thursday, May 28, 2022.]()
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Legal questions shroud Gov. Greg Abbott’s move to bus migrants back to the border
Some experts say the actions create little change in immigration enforcement. Others say they invite a legal battle. Full Story
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![People who were apprehended by state troopers after crossing the border were brought to the International Bridge in Eagle Pass, where they were handed over to Border Patrol custody on Thursday, May 28, 2022.]()
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Texas troopers are causing car chase fatalities and racially profiling drivers under Abbott’s border crackdown, complaint claims
Two civil rights groups have expanded their request for a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into Operation Lone Star, citing evidence of risky pursuits and more frequent traffic stops of Hispanic drivers. Full Story
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![Numerous Texas Department of Public Safety vehicles are parked at a Best Western hotel in Del Rio on July 23, 2021.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott empowers state authorities to return migrants to border crossings
Immigration law enforcement is a federal responsibility. Abbott appears to be testing the limits of state authority by empowering state law enforcement to bring migrants to the ports of entry — stopping short of using state resources to expel migrants from the country. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Public Safety special agents oversee a group of four Honduran undocumented migrants that were caught in private property in Kinney County near Brackettville, on Nov. 9, 2021. The owner of the property did not sign the affidavit to allow DPS to arrest undocumented migrants in their property, so they will be processed by Border Patrol.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott spends an additional $30 million on Operation Lone Star to aid local governments
Abbott announced that his already $4 billion border mission would provide grant funding for cities and counties, following a press conference by some local officials calling on the governor to take more drastic action to secure the border. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference with nine other governors regarding the southern border at Anzalduas Park in Mission on Oct. 6, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Justice Department is investigating Texas’ Operation Lone Star for alleged civil rights violations
Emails obtained by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica confirm that federal authorities are probing discrimination claims involving Gov. Greg Abbott’s multibillion-dollar border initiative. Full Story
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![Texas DPS special agents apprehend a group of five undocumented migrants from Honduras that were caught in private property as part of Operation Lone Star in Kinney County near Brackettville, Texas on Nov. 8, 2021. The owner of the property did not sign an affidavit for arrests of undocumented migrants to be taking place at their property so the group of Hondurans will be processed by Border Patrol instead.
Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: San Antonio tractor-trailer tragedy, the end of Roe v. Wade and the Jan. 6 hearings
For this week’s episode, Patrick speaks with Tribune reporters about the latest Texas headlines on immigration, abortion and the Jan. 6 investigation. Full Story
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![Law enforcement officers work at the scene where people were found dead inside a trailer truck in San Antonio on June 27, 2022.]()
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Death is a constant risk for undocumented migrants entering Texas
In 1987, 2003 and 2017, groups of migrants died of heat and dehydration in Texas after being trapped in stifling containers. Hundreds more die alone or in smaller groups as desperation drives them to take fatal risks. Full Story
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Settlement reached over private border wall, but experts say it won’t stop the environmental damage
Federal authorities have reached a deal that gives builders of the privately funded fence control over where to inspect for damage and leeway over which issues they choose to repair. Full Story
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![The 2020 storm Hurricane Hanna left waist-deep cracks on the banks of the Rio Grande along parts of a private border fence, which threatened the structural integrity of the project, experts said.]()
Credit: James Hord for The Texas Tribune -
Treasury Department opens investigation into Gov. Greg Abbott’s use of federal funds for border mission
Texas has been using coronavirus relief money to help pay for the multibillion-dollar deployment. Full Story
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![Department of Public Safety Special Operations agents escort a group of migrants through private property as part of Operation Lone Star after catching them in Kinney County near Brackettville on Nov. 9, 2021.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune -
A minor trespassing case gives Gov. Greg Abbott’s border initiative its first courtroom win
The trial included four prosecutors, and so many potential jurors were summoned the town sandwich shop was shorthanded for lunch. But a Kinney County jury Monday convicted a Honduran national in the first jury trial for trespassing under Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star. Full Story
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![Defendant Lester Aguilar, center, arrives at the Kinney County Civic Center before jury selection begins, in Brackettville on May 9, 2022.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune
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