The Texas Department of Public Safety says it has seized as much as $140 million of the $28 billion that moves annually from the U.S. into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. Mario Carrillo of KUT News and ReportingTexas.com reports on what happens to that seized money and how some would like to see it used.
Demographics
Explore population trends, diversity, and data shaping Texas communities, politics, and policy.
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Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Tan’s wall-to-wall coverage of the budget (with more from the rest of the Trib crew, interviews with some of the freshmen seeing this up close for the first time and a map of how it works), Philpott on the similarities between budget worries in Texas and those elsewhere, M. Smith explains school finance, Ramshaw on the dwindling insurance options for orphans, Grissom on legal fights over the drugs used for state executions, Aguilar on the run-up to the debate over sanctuary cities, Stiles maps the diversity of Texas counties, Galbraith on efforts to recycle plastic bags and Hamilton on calls for “entrepreneurship” at the University of Texas: The best of our best content from March 28 to April 1, 2011.
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Demographics
Proposed Guest-Worker Program Gets Mixed Reviews
Proposed legislation that would establish a state-run guest worker program would legally satisfy the state’s appetite for cheap labor but not grant amnesty to people already in Texas illegally, according to the bill’s author.
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Demographics
House Lawmakers Prepare for Intense “Sanctuary Cities” Debate
House lawmakers are gearing up for a battle as emotional and time-consuming as Voter ID when they take up legislation addressing another one of Gov. Perry’s emergency items — abolishing sanctuary cities, which could hit the House floor as soon as next week.
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Criminal Justice
U.S. Offers $5 Million Reward in ICE Murder Case
The U.S. government announced today it is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information that leads to the arrest and possible conviction of the assailants who murdered a U.S. federal agent in Mexico last month.
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Demographics
Security Spokesman Touts Mexico’s Gains in Drug War
The Mexican government’s chief spokesman on security issues spoke at the University of Texas on Monday about drug violence south of the border. But as Mose Buchele of KUT News reports, not everyone there was comforted by his presentation.
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Demographics
Several Texas Counties Among Most Diverse
Fort Bend County, home of Sugar Land, is almost as diverse as the Bronx in New York. Several other Texas counties rank high on the list.
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Demographics
Latino Leaders Eye Redistricting Changes
Organizations from across the country have come together at the annual National Latino Congreso in Austin to strategize on legislation affecting the Latino community. And as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, all eyes are on redistricting this year.
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Demographics
On the Records: Mapping U.S. Population Growth by County
The U.S. Census Bureau released its final batch of state-by-state redistricting data this week, making it possible to visualize population growth by race and Hispanic origin across the country.
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Demographics
Illegal Minors Continue to Stream Toward Border
With strict immigration bills awaiting debate in the Legislature, thousands of unaccompanied minors continue to head toward the U.S. border. Mario Carrillo of KUT News and Reporting Texas looks at why they come — and what happens if they’re caught.