Abbott’s immigration rhetoric criticized again after interview response about shooting migrants
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.
U.S. Department of Justice says it’ll sue if Texas enforces new law punishing illegal border crossing
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.
Texas Legislature sends $1.54 billion bill for border barriers to Gov. Abbott
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.
Texas Legislature tries again with bills making illegal border crossings a state crime
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lawmakers call for federal investigation into Texas Guard intel ring
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.
Texas National Guard disbanded intelligence wing after members used WhatsApp to spy on migrants
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.
State investigating claim that DPS troopers were told to push migrants back into the Rio Grande and deny them water
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.
Dan Patrick says Senate won’t budge on property tax relief — but there’s no House to negotiate with
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.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigation finds multiple failings in the death of 8-year-old girl in federal custody
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.”
After Title 42’s end, Texas DPS pauses Austin patrols so officers can head to the border
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.
Border didn’t see a “major influx” of migrants when Title 42 ended, federal official says
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.
In the final hours of Title 42, migrants line up and border cities brace for the unknown
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.
Family of dead National Guardsman urges Legislature to make death benefits bill named for him retroactive
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.
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.
The fringe ideology of “constitutional sheriffs” is attracting believers within Texas law enforcement
Some 50 Texas sheriffs and numerous elected officials have attended trainings on the unsupported notion that sheriffs can single-handedly overrule state and federal law. The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, which offered state peace officers credit for the seminars, is now investigating.
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.
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.
Anticipating a surge in border crossings amid cold temperatures, El Paso declares a state of emergency
With Title 42 ending Wednesday, El Paso officials expect the number of migrants crossing the border could double. Declaring a state of emergency should open more options to provide migrants shelter from below-freezing temperatures.