The latest demographics news from The Texas Tribune.
At least 140 prisoners escaped from a Nuevo Laredo prison today, though that number is believed to be a conservative estimate. Mexican media outlet El Universal reported this morning that the number of escapees could exceed 190. Full Story
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A month after cartel warfare forced residents of the Mexican city of Ciudad Mier to abandon their homes and seek refuge on the Texas side of the border, they have tentatively started to make their way back, buoyed by the presence of three military battalions. What happens when the soldiers leave is anyone's guess. Full Story
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So much for the economic impact of headline-making violence. Despite being on track to exceed 3,000 homicides this year, Juárez has seen its manufacturing sector flourish, regaining since July 2009 a quarter of the jobs lost during the height of the recession. More than $42 billion in trade value moved through the ports that the city shares with El Paso last year, and that number should be higher in 2010. And the amount of of tractor-trailer traffic hauling goods through the region was 22 percent greater in the first six months of this year than it was in the same period last year. Full Story
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The U.S. Border Patrol is restarting its controversial Alien Transfer and Exit Program, in which illegal border-crossers caught in Arizona are transported to Texas and deported to Mexico. Texas officials say the plan makes as little sense to them now as it did last year. Full Story
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Though successful in covering the gruesome aspects of the cartel-related carnage in Mexico, the U.S. press falls short in exposing the muzzling of its Mexican counterparts at the hands of organized crime, says Ricardo Trotti, director of press freedom at the Inter American Press Association. Full Story
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M. Smith and Butrymowicz of the Hechinger Institute on charter schools and public schools making nice in the Valley, Ramsey's interview with House Speaker candidate Ken Paxton and column on the coming budget carnage, Hu on the Legislature's disappearing white Democratic women, Grissom on the sheriff who busted Willie Nelson, Hamilton talks higher ed accountability with the chair of the Governor's Business Council, Aguilar on the arrest of a cartel kingpin, Ramshaw on the explosive growth in the number of adult Texans with diabetes, Philpott on state incentive funding under fire and Galbraith on the greening of Houston: The best of our best from November 29 to December 3, 2010. Full Story
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The force of the GOP wave in November was so strong that black Republicans and Latino Republicans outnumber the Texas House's new endangered species: the white Democratic woman. And if the 16-vote victory of state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, doesn't survive a recount, the species will be extinct. Full Story
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When country music icon Willie Nelson got arrested for marijuana possession last week, he wasn’t the only Texas legend who figured in the story. Hudspeth County Sheriff Arvin West, who put Willie in the local pokey, is a reigning symbol of the years-long fight over border security and immigration. Full Story
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Mexican police think they've caught the drug kingpin behind the murder of a U.S. consulate employee and an El Paso sheriff's deputy in Juárez in March. But it's unlikely the arrest of a cartel leader will stem the tide of violence. Full Story
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Troopers on the Texas-Mexico border reported more high-speed chases than officers in any other region of the state. The Texas Tribune and the San Antonio Express-News analyzed data from nearly 5,000 DPS pursuit reports from January 2005 through July 2010. Of the 10 counties with the most chases, five were counties along the Texas-Mexico border. In this video, DPS Trooper Johnny Hernandez in Hidalgo County talks about why officers on the border see more pursuits than their colleagues across the state. Full Story
Troopers on the border are involved in far more high-speed chases than officers in any other region of the state, according to an analysis of nearly 5,000 Department of Public Safety pursuit reports by The Texas Tribune and the San Antonio Express-News. Nearly 13 percent of the chases (656) happened in Hidalgo County. Of the 10 counties with the most chases, five were counties along the border. The analysis also reveals that troopers use aggressive pursuit tactics — including firing guns and setting up roadblocks — that many other law enforcement agencies prohibit. Full Story
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Hu on the Perry-Bush rift, Ramshaw on the adult diaper wars, Ramsey's interview with conservative budget-slasher Arlene Wohlgemuth, Galbraith on the legislature's water agenda (maybe), M. Smith on Don McLeroy's last stand (maybe), Philpott on the end of earmarks (maybe), Hamilton on the merger of the Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Education Agency (maybe), Aguilar on Mexicans seeking refuge from drug violence, Grissom on inadequate health care in county jails and my conversation with Houston Mayor Annise Parker: The best of our best from November 15 to 19, 2010. Full Story
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It was a bad Election Night for residents of the largest city in McLennan County. After years of regional dominance, their congressional seat belongs to Bryan, halfway to Houston; their state senate seat is 86 miles away in Granbury; and one of their House seats has moved three counties east, to Centerville. Full Story
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“Fear is paralyzing,” says Jose Luis Mauricio, the president of LaRED, a group of Mexican professionals who have banded together and are networking in El Paso as a result of the violence that’s ravaged Ciudad Juárez. Full Story
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Withing walking distance of the port of entry at Roma, a Lions Club community center in a tiny Mexican town is the temporary home to hundreds to citizens fleeing drug violence in Ciudad Mier, which was reportedly overtaken by the Zetas cartel on Nov. 5. An official with U.S. Customs and Border Protection says that despite the town’s proximity to Texas, agents are operating there without an increase in manpower. Full Story
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In Austin, undocumented students spent the week risking deportation to speak publicly about their support of the DREAM Act. Full Story
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Speakers rally for the DREAM Act in Austin. Full Story
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Monday was the first day that state lawmakers could file bills for the 2011 session. As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the substance of the legislation is a reflection of conservative success on Election Day. Full Story
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Republican state lawmakers, buoyed by their party’s resounding victories on Election Day, have filed several bills ahead of the next legislative session that signal how far they're willing to go in tackling illegal immigration. State Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, filed a nine-bill bundle that included a proposal to require picture IDs at polling places. Full Story
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The addition of five Hispanic Republicans to the Texas House means the Mexican American Legislative Caucus will now include at least a few dissenting voices on issues like immigration. "It does Latinos a huge disservice to say we all think alike," says state Rep.-elect Larry Gonzales, R-Round Rock. Full Story
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