The latest immigration news from The Texas Tribune.
The U.S. Consulate is warning U.S. citizens that new information suggests cartels may be targeting ports of entry, consulate employees and “the public in general” in response to a crackdown on criminal gangs in Ciudad Juárez by the Mexican military. An emergency alert was issued Friday. Full Story
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Check our new Perrypedia — a home for stories and data about you-know-who, Ramshaw on health care in the colonias, Root's look back at Rick Perry's years as a Democrat, M. Smith on the pressures facing the TEA, yours truly on David Dewhurst's impact on the U.S. Senate race, E. Smith's panel discussion on the Cameron Todd Willingham case, Hamilton on Perry and higher ed, Murphy on who's paying the pole tax, Grissom on Alto's decision to close its police department, Aguilar on labor and security worries over trucking on the border and Galbraith on what government can't do during a drought: The best of our best content from July 11 to 15, 2011. Full Story
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At least 59 inmates escaped from a state prison in the Mexican border city of Nuevo Laredo today. Full Story
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The Department of Justice's decision this week to require firearms dealers in Texas and three other border states to report the multiple sales of long rifles will come down to a funding battle in Washington. Full Story
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A senior member of Texas’ congressional delegation wants to strip the Obama administration of its immigration enforcement duties, alleging the president is attempting to create a “backdoor” amnesty for illegal immigrants. Full Story
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Some Texas Republicans are embracing a cross-border trucking agreement between the U.S. and Mexico that labor unions worry could kill jobs and drastically reduce border security. Full Story
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In the latest edition of our unscientific poll of Texas insiders, we turn to a pollster to tease out some differences in how the insiders and the voting public answer the same questions. Spoiler alert: They disagree. Full Story
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The idea was to rein in the amount of unauthorized immigrants with IDs or driver's licenses. But steps lawmakers took in that direction have some concerned they cast too wide a net. Full Story
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Along the Texas-Mexico border, colonias residents tell identical stories: of migrating with dreams of safety and prosperity, of getting swindled into buying worthless land, of sticking it out so their children will get educated. And of getting sick. Full Story
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Aguilar on a change in law that affects applications for state-issued IDs, Galbraith on how the drought is taking its toll on wildlife, Hamilton on an outsider's attempt to lower the cost of higher ed, Murphy visualizes the partisanship of House members, Ramsey on who becomes Lite Guv if David Dewhurst takes another job, Ramshaw on life in the colonias and three stories about Rick Perry — Grissom on how his death penalty stance might play in a 2012 presidential race, Root on how he cemented his reputation as one of the state's most powerful governors and Tan on the growing demand for him to speak elsewhere: The best of our best content from July 4 to July 8, 2011. Full Story
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On the Texas side of the U.S. border with Mexico, an estimated half a million people live in colonias, impoverished subdivisions that often lack basic services. Take our video tour of some of the worst — and most improved — conditions. Full Story
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Conditions have clearly improved in Texas' colonias since devious developers first established them for migrant workers in the 1950s. But many efforts have fallen short, the result of bureaucratic nightmares and a spiral of confusion and fees. Full Story
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An amendment attached to SB 1 during the special session will require applicants for driver's licenses and other state-issued identification cards to produce government-issued documents affirming their legal status. Full Story
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U.S. and Mexico inked a deal today that marks the end of a years-long dispute over how far past the border long-haul tractor-trailers can travel. Full Story
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Want a quick recap of some of the happenings this week in the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our weekly video rundown of the action under the dome. Full Story
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A border-area lawmaker in Texas wants state troopers to help the federal government stop southbound weapons and funds that are boosting Mexican drug cartels. Hernán Rozemberg of public radio's Fronteras Desk reports. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry position on "sanctuary cities" doesn't play well with Latino voters but his record of job creation and his business-friendly approach may cause some to look beyond that if he decides to seek the White House. Full Story
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Tea Partiers thought this session was their time to shine, after helping to elect and elevate the GOP to supermajority status in the state House. As The Texas Tribune's Thanh Tan reports, they're disappointed some of their pet issues were not resolved. Full Story
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Call it the biggest consolation prize in recent history of the state legislature. Democrats, outnumbered in both chambers, actually won the battle over immigration after losing out to the Republican supermajority on abortion and Voter ID legislation and deep cuts to public services, mainly health care and education. Full Story
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Attribute it to a Teflon coating, to his decisive win in a divided primary last year, or to luck, but Gov. Rick Perry is coming out of the 82nd legislative session without many bruises. Full Story
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