Feds drop charges against Afghan soldier trying to claim asylum in Texas
After months of publicity and a bipartisan congressional effort to request a pardon from the president, Abdul Wasi Safi could be set free. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1415aaad5e57382ac3e0121fd72467f6/Afghan%20Translator%20TT%2004.jpg)
-
![Abdul Wasi Safi stands in the foreground of Afghan military vehicles surrounded by HESCO barriers and concrete bunkers.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Sami-ullah Safi -
In a border graveyard, volunteers exhume migrants’ bodies and search for their families
In Maverick County, 26 bodies pulled from the Rio Grande were buried, some without attempts to identify them. Teams of Texas State students are trying to learn their names so their families can be notified. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/49b903b71de88f9c6b539c92f8debd93/0110%20Migrant%20Exhume%20KGB%2002%20TT.jpg)
![Dozens of metal crosses, painted white and starting to rust where they’d been placed in the ground over unmarked migrant graves, scatter the ground at the Maverick County Cemetery where dozens of “John Doe” graves have been exhumed in an effort to identify the bodies in Eagle Pass on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Is bipartisan immigration reform a realistic goal?
In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Washington correspondent Matthew Choi and immigration reporter Uriel J. García about U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s trip to the border and the odds of Congress passing a major immigration bill. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c427792eecf4373d02b2171bab843fd9/TribCast%20Jan%2020.jpg)
![U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., joined other Senators to speak to media after a tour of a vacant school in El Paso that is being used as a migrant shelter, on Jan. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Migrant shot and injured by National Guard soldier patrolling border
It’s the first-known incident where a soldier has shot a migrant since the mission began. The injury is non-life threatening. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/530a3c925243b19c834b4e4cd96ffa18/Operation%20Lone%20Star%20VGC%2003.jpg)
![A National Guard soldier oversees an area where the border wall ends in Del Rio, on Nov. 7, 2021.]()
Credit: Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune -
“Who ever thought I would be chief?” Texas’ Alabama-Coushatta tribe elects first female chief
Millie Thompson Williams was elected the tribe’s first female second chief, a lifetime appointment, last year. For the first time, her accession comes as women make up the majority of the tribe’s council. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4231de8b3f1b15da9d78ebd6d75e804f/0103%20Millie%20Presser%20AM%2002.jpg)
![Myra Battise helps newly elected second chief Millie Thompson Williams with her official regalia after a press conference on Monday, January 3, 2023. Battise nominated Williams for the leadership role. Williams is the first female elected as a chief in the tribe’s history.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn eyes the seemingly impossible: a bipartisan deal on immigration
Riding the success of his historic congressional session last year where he helped pass the first gun safety bill signed into law in a generation, Cornyn is hopeful that his ability to strike deals across the aisle will help Congress achieve another elusive legislative goal: an immigration deal. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a4b239ffba945df68cf7dab27f8b1e3e/Cornyn%20in%20El%20Paso%20IPA%2007.JPG)
![U.S. Sens. John Cornyn, center, and James Lankford, R-Okla., were shown items displayed by a Border Patrol agent after two Chinese nationals were detained upon entering the U.S. in Sunland Park, New Mexico on on Jan. 9, 2023. The senators were on a night tour of the border led by the National Border Patrol Council.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Afghan soldier jailed in Texas for crossing border should receive presidential pardon, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee says
The Houston Democrat said she has sent a letter to the White House asking the Biden administration to ensure Abdul Wasi Safi starts his life in America without a criminal record. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/087909e90f295671b439d48de7b41896/0113%20Sami%20Sheila%20Presser%20AM%20TT%2004.jpg)
![Sami-ullah Safi, brother of detained Afghan soldier Abdul Wasi Safi, speaks during a press conference with U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, in downtown Houston on Jan. 13, 2023.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Afghan soldier arrested at border while seeking asylum has new lawyers, meets with FBI
Abdul Wasi Safi’s physical and mental health are deteriorating as he waits at a detention center near the border. Full Story
![Abdul Wasi Safi stands in the foreground of Afghan military vehicles surrounded by HESCO barriers and concrete bunkers.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Sami-ullah Safi -
A Texas Republican has started the process to impeach the secretary of Homeland Security over border security
Pat Fallon, R-Sherman, filed articles of impeachment late Monday, delayed a week because of the contentious majority vote for the U.S. House speaker. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7de095009fb31dba39796325ddb684d9/Mayorkas%20Presser%20REUTERS.jpg)
![U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas arrives to speak about Border Enforcement Measures during a press conference on Jan. 05, 2022, at CBP Headquarters in Washington D.C.]()
Credit: Lenin Nolly/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
Joe Biden tours El Paso for first border visit of his presidency
He was greeted by Gov. Greg Abbott upon arrival at the El Paso airport. Abbott has been a chief critic of Biden’s immigration policies and has frequently called on him to visit the border over the past year. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d6f02f9c28d1c398e9e2d5a47575c819/Biden%20Abbott%20El%20Paso%20REUTERS%20TT.jpg)
![President Joe Biden shakes hands with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott upon his arrival in El Paso on Jan. 8, 2023. This is Biden's first visit as president to the U.S.-Mexico border.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque -
Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Biden administration over enforcement of “public charge” law for immigrants
Paxton has sued the Biden administration a dozen times over its immigration policies. Most of those lawsuits have been filed in Trump-appointed judges’ courts. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/07e007a0dd9212e488963c065163610e/SCOTUS%20Paxton%20Presser%20TT%20EL%2025.jpg)
![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton walks to a news interview at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on April 26, 2022. Earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Texas v. Texas, the enforcement of the Trump-era “remain in Mexico” policy that required asylum seekers to stay in Mexico as they waited for hearings in U.S. immigration court.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Ahead of El Paso visit, Biden says U.S. will allow 30,000 migrants from four countries to enter monthly
Migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela will be allowed entry and given work permits. The administration will also expand the use of Title 42 to expel more migrants to Mexico. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5e0e93a4fbaa39a43adb679ad8e0c94b/Biden%20border%20Presser%20REUTERS%20TT.jpg)
![President Joe Biden speaks about U.S.-Mexico border security and enforcement during remarks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington on Jan. 5, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque -
U.S. Supreme Court rules to keep Title 42, the pandemic-era policy to quickly turn away migrants, for now
The court ordered the Biden administration to continue enforcing the policy while Texas and other states that want to keep the Trump-era rule in place prepare their legal arguments. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2979579d7b03cd66c5521e22cbb6a629/Migrants%20El%20Paso%20Dec%2020%20IPA%20TT%2010.jpg)
![Texas National Guard and Texas DPS officers position themselves on the banks of the Rio Grande on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022, in El Paso. Over 400 personnel have been sent to this border sector by Governor Abbott after El Paso city officials declared a state of emergency.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Buses from Texas drop off more than 100 migrants in a bitterly cold Washington, D.C., on Christmas Eve
Gov. Greg Abbott reportedly sent the migrants, who arrived at Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence Saturday night. The governor has been busing migrants to Democratic-let cities since April and first sent buses to Harris’ home in September. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e4e72925a785d42744d8d5720b29804b/Migrant%20DC%20Bus%20SH%20TT%2007.jpg)
![Two buses transporting migrants from Texas arrive at Union Station on April 21, 2022. Gov. Greg Abbott’s new plan in response to the end of Title 42, a pandemic-era emergency health order which allowed immigration authorities at the border to deny entry.]()
Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune -
El Paso extends emergency declaration as surge of migrants cross border amid subfreezing temperatures
For the past six months, El Paso has been the epicenter of a migrant influx that does not appear to be letting up. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/67d584bed71d1b32a295c00f9a49602e/Migrants%20El%20Paso%20Dec%2012%20IPA%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Migrants try to stay warm inside an El Paso parking garage after being dropped off at a local bus station by Customs and Border Protection agents on Monday, Dec. 12, 2022.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: What happens in Texas if Title 42 lifts?
In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Uriel about immigration policy and the migrant crisis in El Paso. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f38ca09e490498640b7320c4a9840390/1231%20Tribcast%204.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Texas is now home to 30 million people
Texas has joined California as the only other state in the nation with a population of more than 30 million, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5f5f60303a2e675d34a95a881fc28976/MLK%20Day%20JV%20TT%2032.jpg)
![Crowds march through Austin in celebration of Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 20, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas shelters prepare for twin emergencies: arctic cold and an increase in migrants
Cities and nonprofits are using a variety of strategies to keep unhoused people warm. But some organizations warn they’re already at capacity as El Paso sends migrants across the state. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7018168d45ef467a3451799983f186bd/DTX%20Ice%20Storm%202022%20File%20ST%20TT%2007.jpg)
![The Dallas skyline during the wintery weather on Feb. 3, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Veterans groups plead Afghan soldier’s asylum case in letter to Biden
After surviving the fallout from a war in his home country and a global trek, Abdul Wasi Safi was arrested at the Texas-Mexico border on a misdemeanor charge, delaying his chance for asylum. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b1b1cc215ebaef211edd61802b82ac37/Afghan%20Translator%20TT%2003.jpg)
![Abdul Wasi Safi, second from left, stands with his hands behind his back at ease for a photo with others in his Afghan special forces unit. He wears the rank and insignia of a Dvahomi baridman, or second lieutenant.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Sami-ullah Safi -
With rifles and razor wire, National Guard and state troopers are blocking migrants at the border in El Paso
As cities on the Texas-Mexico border continue preparing for a possible influx of migrants and Title 42 remains in limbo, a shallow spot in the Rio Grande where thousands have recently crossed became the scene of a standoff Monday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c4807c3f877309b7ad6367a1b557a942/Migrants%20El%20Paso%20Dec%2020%20IPA%20TT%2007.jpg)
![Barbwire separates migrants and the Texas National Guard and Texas DPS officers on the banks of the Rio Grande, on Dec. 20, 2022, in El Paso. Over 400 personnel have been sent to this border sector by Gov. Abbott after El Paso city officials declared a state of emergency.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune