Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle threw their support behind a new requirement that the unit use only commissioned peace officers for enforcement actions.
Immigration
In-depth reporting on border issues, policies, communities, and the impact of immigration across the state, from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Immigration
Biden administration mobilizes troops, prepares new asylum restriction before ending Title 42
The administration’s moves come ahead of Thursday’s planned end of the public health policy that allowed U.S. agents to quickly expel migrants without letting them request asylum.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Thwarting Democratic efforts, House Republicans revive border policing unit in early-morning vote
The proposed unit would let those who are not law officers arrest or detain suspected undocumented immigrants in border-region counties.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Driver of SUV in Brownsville crash that killed 8 migrants had drugs in his system, police say
George Alvarez, the man charged in the deaths of eight people after his vehicle rammed a crowd in front of a Brownsville migrant shelter, had cocaine, benzodiazepines and marijuana in his system at the time, police said Tuesday.
Posted in
Immigration
Migrants waiting to cross the border say government’s app for asylum-seekers is a mess
Hundreds of migrants have waited on the U.S. bank of the Rio Grande for days to be apprehended. Others say they want to follow the rules to enter legally — if they could just get the government phone app to work.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Driver charged with manslaughter after running red light and killing eight pedestrians in Brownsville
Police said it’s still not known if the driver intentionally struck the crowd of immigrants waiting at a bus stop.
Posted in
Immigration
Here’s what you need to know about Title 42, the pandemic-era policy that quickly sends migrants to Mexico
The public health order that quickly expels migrants to Mexico was launched early in the pandemic. The Biden administration plans to end its use May 11.
Posted in
Operation Lone Star
Gov. Greg Abbott focuses on border security in first address since Allen and Brownsville tragedies
Abbott announced the deployment of new “Texas Tactical Border Force” units to El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley on Monday and Tuesday.
Posted in
Politics
For a Texan who wants to build bridges in Congress, U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales has burned quite a few
The two-term Republican, criticized by his own party for breaking with the GOP on key votes, is not inclined to change his ways.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Eight killed outside Brownsville migrant shelter after car crashes into pedestrians
The driver has been detained, but authorities say it is unclear what caused the fatal crash at a Brownsville bus stop.