INSIDER
Our journalists brought life to the experiences of everyday Texans, held powerful institutions accountable and surfaced stories that went beyond the daily news cycles.
Some Texas lawmakers including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick slammed the Biden administration over the auction of wall materials. But the sale was directed by Congress — and Texas has already bought some of it.
Thousands of people have been arrested under Texas’ human smuggling law. Now they face at least a decade in prison under sentencing guidelines that took effect this year.
The grants will go to private and public sector recipients in Texas for a variety of public safety priorities, including securing the southern border.
The latest episode brings us to Starr County, a former Democratic stronghold that flipped from blue to red in the presidential election for the first time in over a century.
The congressman said he joined other Democrats in opposition to the use of the floating barriers and razor wire at Texas’ border because of the lack of permits.
Officials with the Texas General Land Office on Tuesday outlined plans for a 1,402-acre ranch it has offered to the incoming Donald Trump administration for housing undocumented immigrants before deportation.
With Donald Trump returning to the White House, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have both recently signaled new openness to winding down the state’ border security operation.
Texas is positioned better than any state to help Trump carry out his ambitious anti-immigration agenda. But it is also vulnerable to those policy’s impacts.
A Starr County property was purchased to build border wall, while Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said the state has many options for a sprawling ranch in West Texas.
Reporters from both organizations spent a day documenting the reality on the border. Here’s a summary of what they found.
Texas sued to stop an executive order issued by President Biden on his Inauguration Day to stop border wall construction and divert funds that had already been allocated for the project.
After Texas deployed the barrier, a panel ordered it removed. The full appeals court says it can stay while a lower court hears a case on the merits.
County officials issued a disaster declaration Tuesday, saying the state’s mass arrests at the border have cost the county millions of dollars and overwhelmed its criminal justice system.
Wednesday’s ruling is the second time a Texas judge has ruled against the attorney general for investigating shelters helping migrants.
Poll after poll shows Texas voters rank immigration and the border as the most pressing issues.
Migrant apprehensions in Texas decreased by nearly one-third in June, the first month of a new order by President Joe Biden that widely limited asylum claims.
The federal government has deployed National Guard to the border for years, but more than a dozen states have dug into their own budgets to send even more personnel
Texas has sent thousands of soldiers to the border as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s multibillion-dollar initiative Operation Lone Star. No border town has felt their presence more than Eagle Pass.
The state has built about 34 miles of wall spread out across at least six counties on Texas’ 1,254-mile border with Mexico.
Migrants in Mexico said they’ve been shot by the rounds, which leave bruises and disperse a chemical irritant. The state says Guard members are trained not to aim directly at people.
Abbott has credited his Operation Lone Star for a recent drop in migrant encounters on the Texas-Mexico border.
Authorities said the 26-year-old turned around at a Border Patrol checkpoint and fled from police in Kinney County.
A new law allowing local authorities to deport migrants remains tied up in court. Even if it goes back into effect, logistical challenges could complicate enforcement.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments about whether to allow back into effect a law allowing state and local authorities to deport migrants.
Hours after the U.S. Supreme Court had allowed Senate Bill 4 to go into effect, a federal appeals court let an earlier injunction stand. SB 4 lets Texas police arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the Texas-Mexico border.
The ruling allows Texas to start enforcing SB 4 while a lawsuit over its constitutionality remains pending before a federal appeals court.
Immigration is a driving issue in the almost-certain presidential rematch between the Democratic incumbent and ousted Republican.
An Austin judge will decide whether Senate Bill 4 will go into effect on March 5. The new law allows police to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the border.
Despite all the hubbub about vouchers and the attorney general’s impeachment, it’s still about the border.
The calls for Texas to defend itself and defy the federal government have set fire to a long-simmering fight over states’ rights, emboldening right-wing figures.
A park on the Rio Grande is the new focus of a long battle over border enforcement that’s reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Justice Department says agents can’t access 2.5 miles of the border and a boat ramp in Eagle Pass.
Asked how far Texas could legally go to secure the border, Gov. Greg Abbott said the state isn’t shooting people who illegally cross the border because the Biden administration would charge officials with murder.
The state has until Jan. 3 to say it won’t arrest people accused of unauthorized entry from Mexico. If not, the Biden administration will sue, saying immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility.
The lawsuit asks a judge to prevent the state from enforcing Senate Bill 4, which will authorize Texas police to arrest immigrants suspected of crossing the border illegally.
The new law would authorize police to arrest people they suspect crossed the Rio Grande between ports of entry. Abbott also signed a bill earmarking more than $1 billion for more border barriers.
Less than a week after a Del Rio-based federal judge ruled against Texas in the ongoing fight over the state’s razor wire, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals paused that decision while it reviews the case.
Senate Bill 3 would also appropriate $40 million for state troopers to patrol Colony Ridge, a housing development outside of Houston, and allow the state to send money to local jurisdictions to offset the cost of enforcing another immigration-related bill.
Judge Alia Moses ruled in the federal government’s favor but chided the Biden administration for not allowing migrants to use international bridges to claim asylum.
Renteria’s attorneys unsuccessfully argued that the El Paso District Attorney’s Office violated his constitutional rights by not releasing all documents in his case. He was the eight person executed in Texas in 2023.
Mexico said Texas’ Senate Bill 4 will violate the human rights of Mexican immigrants living in Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott said he plans to sign the proposal into law.
The Texas House also voted to spend $1.5 billion on new state border walls, though that measure must be reconciled with the Senate version before it’s sent to Gov. Greg Abbott for consideration.
Immigration experts say the most recent proposals would raise constitutional challenges in the U.S. and Mexico, as federal courts have repeatedly ruled that immigration law enforcement falls under federal jurisdiction.
The Senate on Sunday afternoon failed to take action on a border security bill, leaving virtually no time to pass the bill before the special session ends on Tuesday.
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.
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.
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.
Chris Russo has anonymously aligned himself with Nick Fuentes’ white supremacist movement on various social media platforms under the username “Optics Respecter.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
Even as the president says the barriers don’t work, his administration says it will waive environmental laws to build them quickly.
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.
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.
The UT poll also touched on a range of other topics, including Texas voters’ opinions on the upcoming presidential election and the U.S. Senate race.
The lawmakers’ remarks came after an investigation published Tuesday by Military Times and The Texas Tribune revealed how Texas Guardsmen at the state’s border with Mexico spied on migrants via WhatsApp and allegedly mishandled secret documents.
Four members of the unit working on Gov. Greg Abbott’s border mission have been punished after whistleblowers reported the surveillance operation violated long-standing rules against state-run spy operations.
Texas Department of Public Safety and the Military Department would not confirm the status of National Guard member who is accused of shooting across the Rio Grande and wounding a man.
In a court hearing over the barrier near Eagle Pass, the U.S. Justice Department argued it was installed without federal authorization, while lawyers for the state said it notified the proper authorities.
The lawsuit alleges that four migrants who were arrested under Operation Lone Star remained locked up as long as six weeks after their criminal trespassing cases were dismissed or they served their sentences.
After initially supporting the governor’s efforts to stem illegal immigration, many residents say Operation Lone Star has gone too far.
In this week’s episode, we discuss the half-million people booted from Texas’ Medicaid rolls and the state’s deployment of razor wire and buoys along the border in Eagle Pass.
Escalating their fight over Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ handling of immigration at the southern border, far-right representatives say they will oppose any appropriations for his agency.
The string of buoys is a safety hazard that violates treaties and harms relations with Mexico, Justice Department lawyers tell a federal judge.
Operation Lone Star originally targeted single men suspected of crossing the border illegally in mass trespassing arrests, but some claimed that not arresting women violated equal protection laws.
The U.S. Department of Justice made good on its warning last week that it would sue Texas unless the state agreed to remove the barrier in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass.
The Office of the Inspector General is investigating the claims, which include pushing small children and women with nursing babies back into the river and turning away a 4-year-old girl who later passed out on the riverbank from the heat.
The Mexican government plans to send an inspection team to see if Texas’ buoys have crossed into Mexico’s side of the border.
The Florida governor calls for deputizing local law enforcement to police the border and deport migrants, saying his plan is “more aggressive” than the former president’s proposals.
The Republican from Texas introduced the legislation after meeting with Mexico’s president and calling for more cooperation between the two countries.
The governor revealed plans for a floating river barrier at a Capitol signing ceremony for six new laws related to border security. The first 1,000-foot section will be set up near Eagle Pass.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says the Senate won’t accept a property tax relief bill the lower chamber left behind before adjourning for the special session. A bill targeting migrant smuggling also appears imperiled.
After discovering that contracted medical staff ignored the mother’s pleas to take the girl to the hospital as her condition declined, the federal agency said it is taking action to ensure an in-custody death “never happens again.”
The mistake meant about 7,400 soldiers sent to the Texas-Mexico border under Operation Lone Star were hit with higher-than-expected federal income taxes.
The House has already passed the bill, but the two chambers will need to iron out the differences in their versions before it is sent to Gov. Greg Abbott.
Although border encounters have fallen since Title 42 ended Thursday, Texas’ top Republican asks for “all available law enforcement personnel and resources.”
Federal officials had about 10,000 encounters with migrants per day at the U.S.-Mexico border before the emergency health order ended late Thursday. Since Friday they have had about 5,000 encounters per day.
Despite no major influx in border crossings, state troopers will be relocated to border cities. Austin and the Texas Department of Public Safety faced criticism for the racial disparities in state trooper arrests in the capital.
Although migrants lined up by the hundreds in El Paso and other border crossings as the public health order was winding down, a Biden administration official said there wasn’t a rush to the border when Title 42 was lifted.
Long lines formed again next to the border wall in El Paso — a scene repeated in other parts of the southern border — as migrants anticipated the end of a policy that has allowed immigration agents to quickly expel them.
Abbott announced the deployment of new “Texas Tactical Border Force” units to El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley on Monday and Tuesday.
While the state guarantees law enforcement officers, like Department of Public Safety troopers, a $500,000 death benefit for their families if they die on duty, National Guard troops who stand shoulder to shoulder with those DPS officers on Operation Lone Star don’t have the same benefit.
“You’re willing to let children be raped to follow political orders,” Cruz told Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas at the hearing. “This is a crisis. It’s a disgrace.”
