U.S. Supreme Court continues blocking Texas immigration law
Senate Bill 4 would allow Texas police to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the border. Full Story
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Uriel J. García is an immigration reporter based in El Paso. Before joining the Tribune in 2021, he worked at the Arizona Republic where he covered police violence and immigration enforcement. He started his journalism career at the Santa Fe New Mexican where he covered the city's immigrant community and criminal justice issues. Originally from Mexico and a native Spanish speaker, Uriel grew up in Phoenix and graduated from Arizona State University.
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![National Guard members tell migrants that they cannot cross through that area and that they need to walk until the end of the property to turn themselves in Eagle Pass, Texas on July 29, 2023. As there is concertina wire installed along the Urbina’s property, migrants are told to walk to the end of the property. Many make that walk which can be difficult to do through slippery rocks in the water, the current and the inclined river bank, while some find spots through the concertina wire and manage to get through. Some will be sent back after being arrested for trespassing private property without allowing them to go through the immigration process in the U.S.
Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
Texas law allowing police to arrest migrants suspected of being in country illegally blocked by federal judge
Senate Bill 4 was Texas’ latest attempt to deter people from crossing the Texas-Mexico border amid a surge in migration. Full Story
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![Migrants traverse the bank of the Rio Grande at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, on Jan. 19, 2024.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton’s Annunciation House investigation is the latest attack on religious organizations aiding migrants at the border
For years, conservative religious groups and Texas politicians have accused groups housing newly-arrived migrants of encouraging, and profiting from, illegal immigration. Full Story
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![Migrants wait inside a local migrant shelter, Annunciation House, after leaving immigration court, Tuesday, August 23, 2022, in El Paso.]()
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In two Texas border towns, Biden and Trump push for different immigration approaches
Immigration is a driving issue in the almost-certain presidential rematch between the Democratic incumbent and ousted Republican. Full Story
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![President Joe Biden gives remarks during a visit to Brownsville on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024.]()
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El Paso leaders rally around migrant shelters after Attorney General Ken Paxton’s threat to shut them down
Paxton’s office demanded records of migrants that Annunciation House has helped and threatened to shut down the Catholic shelter network. Full Story
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![Ruben Garcia, director of Annunciation House, speaks at a press conference on Feb 23, 2024. Earlier this week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, announced a lawsuit against the migrant shelter Annunciation House for allegedly operating a stash house and human trafficking. Annunciation House has been providing aid and shelter to migrants in El Paso for more than 40 years.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Texas to build 80-acre base in Eagle Pass for National Guard troops
Gov. Greg Abbott announced Friday that the base will hold up to 2,300 soldiers who have been deployed to the border. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott arrives at a press conference with several other states leadership at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass on Feb. 04, 2024.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune -
Texas and Biden administration lawyers face off in court over new law making illegal border crossing a state crime
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. Full Story
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![Migrants speak with a State Trooper at the bank of the Rio Grande at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, on Jan. 19, 2024.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
FBI foils 2022 plot by militiamen to “start a war” at the Texas-Mexico border
A Tennessee man arrested Monday hoped to travel to the southern border with a militia group that allegedly plotted to go “to war with the border patrol,” believing that the country was being invaded by migrants. Full Story
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![Shipping containers line the bank of the Rio Grande at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, on Jan. 19, 2024.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
New state law increasing sentences for human smuggling takes effect
Senate Bill 4 bumps the minimum sentence from two years to 10 years for human smuggling or operating a stash house. Full Story
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![Jesus Vasquez, originally from Honduras, lights candles at a makeshift memorial to the 53 people who died after being left in a truck trailer in a human smuggling operation, on June 30, 2022 outside San Antonio.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Texas' standoff with the feds in Eagle Pass is igniting calls for secession and fears of violence
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. Full Story
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![A Texas National Guard humvee parked at the gates of Shelby Park, in Eagle Pass, on Jan. 16, 2024. Texas has closed off Shelby Park, cutting access to federal agents to part of the Texas-Mexico border and escalating tensions between the Biden administration and Gov. Greg Abbott.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune
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