For those who grouse that undocumented immigrants are taking jobs from U.S. citizens and legal residents, the United Farm Workers of America has a challenge: Apply to be a farm worker. Full Story
The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to announce today it has approved the deployment of a second unmanned aerial drone to patrol the Texas-Mexico border. Full Story
Dozens of Texas border counties now check the immigration status of anyone who ends up in jail, removing thousands of criminal suspects from the country. But detainees are also being deported for minor infractions — including some who are never formally charged. Full Story
M. Smith's interview with the new chair of the Texas GOP, Philpott on Republicans and Tea Partiers living in harmony, Aguilar on Immigration and Customs Enforcement's not-yet-released strategic plan, Ramshaw's tragic tale of out-of-state kids in Texas treatment centers, Grissom on how budget cuts could impact juvenile justice, Stiles' awesome new population app, Galbraith on the decline of the Ogallala Aquifer, Hamilton's interview with the commissioner of higher education and the debut of Hu's new video debate series: The best of our best from June 14 to 19, 2010. Full Story
The federal government could begin cracking down on employers who hire undocumented workers, according to a copy of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s new strategic plan obtained by The Texas Tribune. Full Story
Texas now has about 24.8 million residents, an increase of 3.9 million, or almost 20 percent, since 2000, and trails only California in the proportion of its residents who identify themselves as Hispanic. We're also the third-youngest state, with a median age of 33; only Utah and Alabama have younger populations. These and other fun facts can be discovered in a new database application that helps explain and visualize how the makeup of Texas counties has changed since the last U.S. Census. Full Story
The Texas Border Coalition to U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa: "We merely suggest you become familiar with the facts next time, before shooting off your mouth.” Full Story
Sounds and photos from the funeral of Sergio Adrían Hernández Güereca, 15, in Ciudad Juárez. Güereca was shot and killed on June 7 by a U.S. Border Patrol agent on the banks of the Rio Grande near downtown El Paso. Full Story
Texas Republican convention-goers not only support Arizona-style immigration laws — some are proposing "laser beams" and "electric wire" to keep more immigrants from crossing the border illegally. Full Story
Physician-owned hospitals, which provide some of the best health care in the nation but have been in danger since health insurance reform passed, are taking their case to court. Full Story
Despite the drug war raging on the other side of the border, the number of Mexican nationals applying for asylum in the United States is declining. Approvals are down even further. Full Story
The expected deployment of 1,200 National Guard troops to the border has angered border advocacy groups, which fear the militarization of their communities will damage the local economy and impact their way of life. Full Story
Redistricting is a highly partisan exercise, but there's likely to be more at work than mere politics in 2011. Shifts in the state’s population and demographics will play a large part in shaping where new congressional and legislative boundaries are set. Full Story
Ramsey on what the new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll says about the governor's race, education, immigration, and other issues; Grissom on a far West Texas county divided over Arizona's immigration law; Ramshaw talks health care reform and obesity in Texas with a legendary Dallas doctor; M. Smith on the Collin County community that's about to break ground on a $60 million high school football stadium; Aguilar on the backlog of cases in the federal immigration detention system; Philpott of the Green Party's plans to get back on the ballot; Hu on the latest in the Division of Workers' Comp contretemps; Mulvaney on the punishing process of getting compensated for time spent in jail when you didn't commit a crime; Hamilton on the fight over higher ed formula funding; and my sit-down with state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin: The best of our best from May 24-28, 2010. Full Story
A commissioner's court resolution supporting Arizona's controversial immigration law has split rural Hudspeth County in far West Texas, whose 3,000 residents are largely Hispanic. Commissioner Jim Ed Miller, who introduced the resolution, says he simply wants the federal government to do its job and stop illegals from crossing the border. "Now what the hell is wrong with upholding the law?" he asks. But commissioner Wayne West, who opposed it, describes the prospect of law enforcement asking people to prove their citizenship as “nothing but pure harassment.” Full Story