Texas executes man convicted of killing Arlington pastor in 2011
Steven Lawayne Nelson maintained that he unknowingly participated in the violent church robbery but didn’t harm anyone. His execution was the state’s first for 2025. Full Story
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![Huntsville, Texas: Exteriors of the Texas State Penitentiary “Walls Unit” August 20, 2020 in Huntsville, Texas.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Two more state employees fired after accessing Texans’ private information
So far, nine HHSC employees have been fired for accessing without a “business” purpose the private information of Texans seeking public assistance that includes Medicaid and food stamps. Full Story
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![The Brown Heatly Health and Human Services building in Austin on Nov. 29, 2017.]()
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Immigration crackdown in Texas: What you need to know about your rights
Recent enforcement operations across Texas have raised concerns among undocumented immigrants. Here’s what immigration attorneys want you to know about your rights and resources. Full Story
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![A migrant from El Salvador and her son take part in a caravan heading to the U.S. border, near Huixtla, Mexico November 27, 2021.]()
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Texas legislators seek more protections for death penalty defendants in wake of Trump executive order
Trump’s new directive that aims to increase death sentences clashes with some Texas lawmakers’ efforts to add guardrails to capital punishment. Full Story
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![Dr. Jeffery Singer testifies during a Criminal Jurisprudence hearing on death row inmate Robert Roberson on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in Austin, TX. Dr. Singer testified that "shaken baby syndrome" has been called into question for years and and that there are many in healthcare who don't think the diagnosis should be used to sentence someone to death. With his scheduled execution drawing closer, a hearing debating the certainty of Robreson's guilt and there is a bipartisan push to stay his execution. Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
An immigrant faces deportation after a routine traffic stop in Texas, sparking more fear
Advocates worry that rapidly shifting federal and state immigration initiatives will prompt more city police to funnel migrants without criminal records to federal agents. Full Story
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![Jose Alvaro (his first and middle name), his wife Ashley, children 6-month old Jose, 1-year old Arrceli and 4-year-old Antonio at their home near Lubbock, Tx. on Tuesday, January 28, 2025. Jose Alvaro is in danger of being deported and working with an attorney to stay home with his family.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott orders state police to help federal agents with immigration enforcement
According to the governor, 5,400 immigrants in Texas have a warrant for their arrest. 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, Texas 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.
Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Gabriel V. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans in Congress propose bills to codify Trump executive orders
Ending birthright citizenship, increasing oil drilling, and leaving WHO are just a few bills the state’s Republicans pushed in Congress this month. Full Story
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![A U.S. Capitol Police officer stands guard at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 21, 2021.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Bill to detain undocumented immigrants accused of even minor crimes passes with some Texas Democratic help
The bill, named for Laken Riley, a Georgia student killed by an immigrant, adds legislative muscle to President Trump’s immigration enforcement push. Full Story
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![U.S. Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers stand near an aircraft on which Venezuelan migrants will be repatriated as part of an immigration enforcement process, at the Valley International Airport, in Harlingen, on Oct. 18, 2023.]()
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Death sentences and executions in Texas at record lows
Texas continues to lead other states on capital punishment. But the decline in new death sentences and executions reached a record low. Full Story
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![Protesters unload signs and speakers outside of the Huntsville Unit shortly before a scheduled execution in Huntsville on October 17, 2024.]()
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More than 100 Texans active in the Jan. 6 insurrection among those pardoned
A Texan was the first to breach the Capitol and many others joined the assault. The presidential pardon helps cast all of them as folk heroes. Full Story
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State employees suspected of stealing from low-income Texans' public assistance accounts
Seven human services employees were fired after a string of fraud and theft — and the largest data breach in agency history. Full Story
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![The fresh produce section of a Brookshire Brothers grocery store in Buffalo, Texas, on June 29, 2023.]()
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Texas should close prisons and jails with staffing challenges, state oversight panel says
A report found up to 70% of guard positions were unfilled at some prisons. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has a 26% staff turnover rate. Full Story
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![The Polunsky Unit on Jan. 31, 2024. The Livingston prison is where men on death row are housed, but they are executed at the prison in Huntsville, about 40 miles away.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott appoints Democrat-turned-Republican Rep. Shawn Thierry to juvenile justice board
Thierry became a Republican cause celebré for breaking with Democrats over her views on transgender rights. Full Story
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![State Rep. Shawn Thierry, D-Houston, speaks to press after her legislation, aimed at reducing pregnancy-related deaths, passed to second reading on Juy 31, 2017.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott directs DPS to bolster anti-terrorism efforts after New Orleans attack
The governor is calling for an expansion of in-state anti-terrorism programs and an increase in federal partnerships. Full Story
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![Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Harris County law enforcement officials surround a residence in an armored vehicle in north Houston, on Jan. 1, 2025.]()
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Texas bases tighten security after unrelated attacks tied to vet, soldier
After separate attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas, officials ordered the suspension of the Trusted Traveler policy. Full Story
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![Front view of the Chapman Training Annex, a part of Joint Base San Antonio - Lackland, in San Antonio on Aug. 17, 2024.]()
Credit: Carlos Kosienski/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
Texas man identified as suspect in deadly New Orleans truck attack
FBI officials said Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen and Army veteran, drove the pickup truck that fatally rammed into a crowd on Bourbon Street. Full Story
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![A view down Bourbon Street in New Orleans showing a crashed white pickup truck (R) after an apparent attack during New Year's Eve celebrations in the early hours of Jan. 1, 2025.]()
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Clemency given to seven Texans facing execution, four others
On the same day that President Joe Biden commuted the death sentences of seven Texans, Gov. Greg Abbott issued his own set of pardons. Full Story
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![President Joe Biden speaks as he visits the Department of Labor for an event honoring the nation's labor history and Frances Perkins, longest serving U.S Secretary of Labor, in Washington on Dec. 16, 2024.]()
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Ken Paxton sues NCAA over transgender athletes’ participation in women’s college sports
The attorney general is accusing the organization of misleading fans by allowing transgender college athletes in women’s sports. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to delegates at the Texas Republican Convention in San Antonio on June 15, 2018.]()
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Texas House panel may never hear Robert Roberson’s testimony after new legal move
Attorney General Ken Paxton sought to delay legal proceedings until Jan. 13 — the day before the committee disbands — even as lawmakers vowed to continue fighting to hear from Roberson. Full Story
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![Robert Roberson photographed through plexiglass at TDCJ Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023. Texas death row prisoners are housed in Livingston but executed at the state prison in Huntsville, about 43 miles away.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Innocence Project -
Cartels turn to social media to lure Americans into human smuggling as Texas enforces stricter laws
Thousands of people have been arrested under Texas’ human smuggling law. Now they face at least a decade in prison under sentencing guidelines that took effect this year. Full Story
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Credit: Tara Anand for The Texas Tribune
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