Analysis: New laws reflect Republican lawmakers’ focus on their right flank
From abortion restrictions to guns, the Texas Legislature's regular session Republican victories were just the beginning. Full Story
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![Lawmakers on the House floor on Aug. 23, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Angela Graham-West, wife of Texas GOP candidate Allen West, wasn’t drunk or on drugs when jailed for DWI, tests show
West had insisted his wife had not been drinking the night she was arrested, calling the arrest “insidious.” Dallas police said they stand by the officer’s decision to arrest Graham-West based on the information available at the time. Full Story
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![Angela West.]()
Credit: Florida Atlantic University -
Texas lawmakers pass rewrite of state’s bail system aimed at keeping more people behind bars who can’t post cash
The House balked at a part of the Senate’s bill that would have barred charitable groups from posting bail for some defendants, but otherwise embraced new limits on letting people accused of violent crimes out of jail. Full Story
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![Around the Clock Bail Bonds on 10th St. and Nueces in Austin on May 8, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: When the Texas state seal doesn’t signify trust
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is using the state seal to shield himself against accusations by former top aides. And former Gov. Rick Perry is using it as well — as a backdrop for a sales pitch. Full Story
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![Then-State Senator and current Attorney General Ken Paxton during the 2014 Red State Gathering in Fort Worth.]()
Credit: Cooper Neill for The Texas Tribune -
Dallas police defend DWI arrest of GOP gubernatorial candidate Allen West’s wife as her lawyer questions their evidence
An affidavit obtained by The Texas Tribune shows Angela Graham-West showed signs of intoxication in some — but not all — portions of a field sobriety test. Her lawyer attributes some issues to a previous brain aneurysm Graham-West suffered behind her right eye. Full Story
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![Angela Graham-West and Allen West.]()
Credit: Social Media -
An 18-year-old Venezuelan was among the first set free from Texas’ new jail for migrants. No one knew what to do with him.
After more than three weeks in jail, a trespassing charge against the man was dropped because state troopers shouldn’t have arrested him under Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security push. He wound up in bureaucratic limbo for days as federal agencies passed the responsibility for resolving his immigration status. Full Story
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![A Texas Department of Public Safety vehicle is stationed near the U.S. and Mexico border in Del Rio on July 22, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
New Texas law allowing people to carry handguns without permits goes into effect Sept. 1
Starting Sept. 1, most Texans will be able to carry handguns in public without going through training or having to get permits. Law enforcement officers worry that could make their jobs more dangerous. Full Story
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![A M&P Shield handgun, small enough to be ideal for conceal carry, in Austin on April 23, 2021.]()
Credit: Photo Illustration by Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
The first migrants arrested in Gov. Greg Abbott's border crackdown have served their time. Federal officials will decide what happens next.
The Texas governor has derided federal immigration policy as "catch and release." But unless federal authorities now take them into custody, the migrants Abbott ordered state troopers to arrest could soon be freed. Full Story
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![A group of migrants walks onto a Customs and Border Protection vehicle after being apprehended near the U.S. and Mexico border in Del Rio on July 23, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Austin still struggling to find places for people experiencing homelessness as it begins enforcing public camping ban
After weeks of educating people about the ban that voters approved in May, police are allowed to start arresting violators this week as the city tries to find more housing. Full Story
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![Christina Jezzizki hugs her friend Elizabeth while sitting outside her tent in front of Austin City Hall on June 21, 2021.]()
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Targeting surgeries rarely used on kids, Gov. Greg Abbott asks state agency to determine if gender affirming care is child abuse
Medical experts say gender affirming care for transgender children rarely, if ever, includes use of the surgeries Abbott cited in his letter to the head of the Texas Department of Family Protective Services. Full Story
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![The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services offices in Austin on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
State Rep. Ron Reynolds and U.S. Rep. Al Green arrested while demonstrating for federal voting bill at U.S. Capitol
Reynolds is among the Texas House Democrats who fled to Washington, D.C., last month to block a state voting restrictions bill. Full Story
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![State Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, and U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
Two years after Walmart mass shooting, El Paso leaders see inaction and betrayal by Texas officials
In what some people call an affront to the families of the 2019 shooting victims, Texas Republicans expanded gun rights earlier this year when the state Legislature passed a permitless carry bill. Full Story
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![The El Paso Walmart where a gunman opened fire on back-to-school shoppers on Aug. 3, 2019.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott's border security initiative rolls out with confusion, missteps and a whole lot of state troopers in Val Verde County
The governor's decision to go all in on border security is evolving rapidly, and many of those on the ground don't know how it's going to work. Full Story
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![A Texas Department of Public Safety official arrests Nerio, a Venezuelan migrant, near the U.S. and Mexico border in Del Rio on July 23, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee arrested for civil disobedience over voting rights bill
It was unclear what the Houston Democrat did to spur the arrest, though she said, “I engaged in civil disobedience.” Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, speaks as the House Judiciary Committee meets on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on May 8, 2019.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott draws criticism for ordering state troopers to pull over vehicles with migrants, saying it will stem COVID-19 risk
The executive order allows DPS troopers to reroute vehicles back to their origin point or a port of entry. Immigration rights advocates say the governor's action is an invitation for racial profiling. Full Story
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![A group of migrants wait to board a charter bus in front of the Catholic Charities RGV Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen on July 27, 2021.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Converted Texas prison gets first immigrant detainees as Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security effort ramps up
Border-crossing immigrants are being arrested by Texas troopers on state charges like trespassing, and they’re starting to trickle into a prison emptied to house them. Full Story
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![The Dolph Briscoe Unit in Dilley on July 1, 2021.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
T-Squared: What you can expect at this year’s Texas Tribune Festival
Nearly 150 speakers (including 20 more biggies revealed today) across more than 50 sessions. Four days of virtual programs. Two jampacked days of in-person programs. Everything streamed. Everything on demand. Are you as excited as we are? Full Story
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To block voting legislation, Democrats put bail bills, legislative funding and other measures in peril
Conservative priorities to restrict pretrial release from jail and ban critical race theory in schools were up in the air after Democratic lawmakers chartered flights to Washington, D.C. But so was funding for retired teachers and legislative employees. Full Story
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![Speaker of the House Dade Phelan gavels in the opening day of the special session at the Texas Capitol on July 8, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton agrees to stop blocking people on Twitter, ending lawsuit over First Amendment
Attorneys in the lawsuit, which was filed in April, argued that being blocked from viewing Paxton’s tweets limited the rights of people to access statements made by the public official, therefore violating the First Amendment. Full Story
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![Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to the Gun Owners of America assembly in 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
House and Senate committees advance GOP bail legislation, as Democrats warn bills could lead to mass detentions
Legislators in the House and Senate filed matching bills to change state bail practices earlier this week, echoing legislation that failed to pass in the regular session. On Saturday, committees in both chambers approved the bills. Full Story
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![The House Constitutional Rights and Remedies Committee hearing at the state Capitol on Saturday, July 10, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune