Watch a Texas Tribune conversation on the state Legislature’s special session
Journalists covering the Texas Capitol discussed what came out of this year’s third special session and what is still to be resolved. Full Story
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Fighting between legislative leaders imperils Texas border security bills
The governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker generally agree on building more border barriers and making illegal border crossings a state crime. But disagreements over strategy and personal animosity mean those measures face long odds this special legislative session. Full Story
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![State Troopers arrest an undocumented Mexican migrant for trespassing as part of Operation Lone Star after he was caught with others in private property in Kinney County, on Nov. 9, 2021.]()
Credit: Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune -
Texas GOP lawmakers’ border and education wishlist would expand state budget by $2.7 billion — and counting
If bills now being considered pass, lawmakers will be left with $3.3 billion to take care of unforeseen costs over the next two years. Some experts worry that Texas can’t sustain its massive spending on the border and public education. Full Story
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![A section of the border wall in Mission on Oct. 6, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
State Senate approves bill to spend $1.5 billion for border walls, more policing of Liberty County development
Along with the money to build more border barriers, Senate Bill 6 would devote $49 million to beef up law enforcement of the Colony Ridge development that’s become a target of far-right media. Full Story
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Federal judge orders immigration agents to stop removing Texas’ concertina wire on the border
Border Patrol agents have cut through the state’s wire to free migrants or take them into custody. Judge Alia Moses will hear arguments from Texas and the Biden administration next week to determine whether her temporary order will continue past Nov. 13. Full Story
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![Migrants, mostly from Venezuela, gather near a wire fence after crossing the Rio Bravo river with the intention of turning themselves in to the U.S. Border Patrol agents to request asylum, in El Paso, Texas, U.S., September 22, 2023.]()
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Texas House passes three immigration bills after contentious night of debate
Democrats fumed when Republicans tried to block more amendments on a bill that would create a new state crime for illegally crossing the border into Texas. Full Story
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![Asylum-seeking migrant families surrendered themselves to the U.S. Border Patrol, after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico, in Roma, Texas, on April 16, 2021.]()
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Leader of anti-immigration group Texans for Strong Borders also runs anonymous, hate-filled social media accounts
Chris Russo has anonymously aligned himself with Nick Fuentes’ white supremacist movement on various social media platforms under the username “Optics Respecter.” Full Story
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![Nick Fuentes (middle) is seen exiting the offices of Pale Horse strategies with Chris Russo, founder and president of Texans for Strong Borders (right) in Fort Worth on Oct. 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for the Texas Tribune -
Texas sues to stop Border Patrol agents from cutting state’s razor wire at the border
Attorney General Ken Paxton’s latest lawsuit against the federal government claims Border Patrol agents cut through concertina wire purchased and deployed at the border by the state. Full Story
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![A U.S. Border Patrol agent cuts through razor wire to let in a group of asylum seekers who crossed the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, U.S., September 28, 2023.]()
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Texas lawmakers weigh spending $1.5 billion on more border barriers. Experts say walls alone won’t stop migrants.
The House Appropriations Committee passed House Bill 6 on Monday. If it becomes law, the bill would fund an estimated 50 miles of new barriers at the 1,200-mile Texas-Mexico border. Full Story
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![Immigrants who illegally crossed the Mexico-U.S. border are apprehended by the U.S. border patrol in the Rio Grande Valley sector, near McAllen, Texas, U.S., April 5, 2018.]()
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Texas strings concertina wire along New Mexico border to deter migrants
Gov. Greg Abbott said the barrier — two rows of wire strung between metal posts near Interstate 10 — was necessary because migrants are crossing the border at New Mexico and walking into El Paso. Full Story
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![A Welcome to Texas sign stands behind concertina wire set up along the Rio Grande, close to the Texas-New Mexico border in El Paso on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. Texas National Guard troops installed the concertina to prevent migrants who cross in New Mexico from entering Texas.]()
Credit: Paul Ratje for The Texas Tribune -
How Texas lawmakers are trying to deter illegal immigration and secure the border
Two Texas House members and an immigration lawyer sat down with Matthew Watkins, the Tribune’s managing editor of news and politics, to discuss the current state of Texas’ border and immigration bills that lawmakers are weighing during the special session. Full Story
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Biden administration settles lawsuit over Trump-era migrant family separation policy
If the settlement is approved, the federal government would be prohibited from adopting a similar policy for the next eight years. Affected immigrants would be allowed to be in the country legally and receive work permits and other benefits. Full Story
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![Migrants who have turned themselves in to Border Patrol are processed by state troopers before being transported to a border patrol detainment facility in Eagle Pass on July 14, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Immigrating legally means navigating a system both political parties say is broken. Here’s why it’s so difficult.
After her brother was gunned down in 2012, Jessica Mejía and her mother wanted to legally migrate to the U.S. But like millions of migrants who want to move to the U.S., they discovered how difficult it is. Full Story
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![Carmen Ramirez and her daughter, Jessica Mejia in their Baytown, Texas home on Thursday, August 24, 2023. Ramirez and Mejia, originally from Colombia, are pursuing US citizenship and preparing to take the naturalization test together.]()
Credit: Briana Vargas for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate moves border bill that allows state police to arrest migrants at U.S.-Mexico border
Two immigration bills advanced in the Senate on Thursday evening. A bill that would increase the minimum sentence for smuggling migrants passed with bipartisan support and will head to the House. Full Story
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![Smugglers use a raft to transport migrants from Mexico across the Rio Grande into the United States, in Roma, on Aug. 26, 2022.]()
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Biden administration presses forward with Texas border wall plans, angering allies
Even as the president says the barriers don’t work, his administration says it will waive environmental laws to build them quickly. Full Story
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Education savings accounts and illegal immigration will be part of third special legislative session’s focus
Gov. Greg Abbott announced the items lawmakers can consider when they return Monday. His agenda also includes COVID vaccine mandates and the Colony Ridge development outside Houston. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks about the recent 88th Legislative Session to an audience at the Texas Public Policy Foundation offices in Austin, on June 2, 2023. Abbott recounted policy victories in regards to fentanyl and the border crisis, as well as limiting gender affirming care and banning DEI practices in higher education. Abbott ended the event by promising to call a special session for school choice, after the current special session for property tax resolves.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
4 Texas Republicans join ultraconservatives to sink GOP attempt to keep federal government open
The funding bill was a long shot, but far-right U.S. representatives said it didn’t go far enough in promoting their priorities, including border security and defunding investigations into Donald Trump. Full Story
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![A general view of the U.S. Capitol, September 25, 2023 in Washington D.C..]()
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Houston-area development has become a right-wing lightning rod on immigration
After conservative media portrayed the Colony Ridge development north of Houston as a haven for illegal immigrants, Gov. Greg Abbott said the upcoming special legislative session will look into the issue. Full Story
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![Governor Greg Abbott remarks on the property tax cut bill for Texas Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in New Caney.]()
Credit: Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribune -
First defendant in San Antonio tractor-trailer tragedy pleads guilty to smuggling charges
Fifty-three migrants died in what remains the nation’s deadliest human smuggling event. Eight children and one pregnant woman were among the victims discovered in the sweltering trailer parked next to an isolated road in 2022. Full Story
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![Law enforcement officers work at the scene where people were found dead inside a trailer truck in San Antonio on June 27, 2022.]()
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Mexico agrees to deport migrants after El Paso reaches “breaking point”
Mexican immigration officials said they will negotiate with five countries’ governments to ensure they will take back their citizens. The agreement was announced after shelters in El Paso said they are over capacity. Full Story
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![Migrants, mostly from Venezuela, gather near the border wall after crossing the Rio Bravo river with the intention of turning themselves in to the U.S. Border Patrol agents to request asylum, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico September 22, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez
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