Once a laborer, this immigrant now owns his farm. He and his daughter are among few Hispanic farmers in Texas.
According to the most recent census, Texas has fewer than 26,000 Hispanic farmers compared to 236,000 white farmers. Full Story
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![From left, Amaldo Serrato and his daughter, Yuleida Serrato look over a failed dry-land cotton field that they had to plow under because it was too dry. The Serrato family own and run their multigenerational family farm in and around Floydada. Amado Serrato, his wife and father came to the United States, where they and their American born kids have created a successful agricultural business.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
T-Squared: The Texas Tribune has joined The Trust Project!
The Trust Project’s eight Trust Indicators are the first major global transparency standard for news. They include honesty, accuracy and fairness; owning up to mistakes; disclosure of our funding; and details on our journalists’ expertise. Full Story
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Texas Medical Board remains silent on abortion laws, despite calls for more guidance
The Texas Supreme Court has asked the licensing board to offer doctors guidance on how to interpret the medical exception to the state’s abortion ban. Some doctors say that wouldn’t be enough reassurance. Full Story
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![Amanda Zurawski, Samantha Casiano, Molly Duane, senior staff attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, and Ashley Brandt, address the press following the first day of testimony for Zurawski v. State of Texas outside the Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility in Austin on July 19, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans in one rural county will hand count ballots. Experts say it’s “a recipe for disaster.”
While hand counting ballots is legal, the Texas Secretary of State has warned local party leaders the effort could be costly and time-consuming. Full Story
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![Voters stand in line at Highland Hills Library to cast their ballots on Election Day in Dallas. Nov. 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Worried about safety, a small West Texas town challenges planned cross-border pipeline
Critics are calling on federal regulators to increase their scrutiny and oversight of the proposed pipeline, which would send gas from Texas to the Mexican coast for export to other countries. Full Story
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![The skyline of Van Horn, Texas, where residents are raising concerns about a proposed natural gas pipeline.]()
Credit: Martha Pskowski/Inside Climate News -
Feds sue Colony Ridge developer, accusing it of preying on Latino homebuyers
Federal authorities accused the Houston-area developer of targeting Latino home buyers with predatory loans and false promises. The housing development drew the attention of state lawmakers after right-wing publications claimed it is a magnet for undocumented immigrants. Full Story
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![An overhead view of the Colony Ridge development on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023, in New Caney, Texas.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Texas flies over 120 immigrants to Chicago in expansion of Gov. Greg Abbott’s busing plan
The flight comes after Chicago officials reportedly cracked down on buses coming from Texas with immigrant passengers. Since last year, Texas has bused over 80,000 immigrants to Democratic-led cities across the U.S. Full Story
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![Venezuelan migrants wait in line to board a bus to New York at the Centro de los Trabajadores Agricolas Fronterizos in El Paso, Texas, U.S., September 2, 2022.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Paul Ratje -
Struggling to find teachers close to home, some Texas schools are looking overseas for help
Public schools got little help from lawmakers this year to address the state’s chronic teacher shortage, so they’ve turned to other creative solutions — like leaning on cultural exchange programs to recruit international teachers. Full Story
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![Ilona Cabudsan in front of Aldine ISD's Hambrick Middle School, in Houston, on Dec. 18, 2023.]()
Credit: Joseph Bui for The Texas Tribune -
Texas gained more people than any other state in the last year
Texas grew by nearly half a million people in the past year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But it was South Carolina that led the nation with its rate of population growth. Full Story
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![Pedestrians walk through downtown Dallas on Nov. 07, 2023.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Amarillo City Council says it needs more time to debate abortion travel ban
After weeks of debate, the council took no action at a politically-charged meeting Tuesday. It is the largest city in Texas to debate an ordinance that would outlaw travel on its roadways to get an abortion. Full Story
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![Members of the Amarillo City Council meet to consider banning travel to access abortion services during a work session Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023 in Amarillo.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
T-Squared: Texas Tribune is now on Bookshop.org!
Our partnership will feature authors who speak at our Texas Tribune Festival and other events, as well as our journalists’ recommendations of great Texas reads. Purchases support local bookstores and local journalism. Full Story
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An El Paso woman is suing her doctor for negligence over an unwanted pregnancy
Grissel Velasco paid her doctor to perform a tubal ligation about a decade ago, but still became pregnant. Full Story
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![An El Paso mother's medical negligence lawsuit against her doctor for not tying her tubes and not telling her is now in the hands of the Texas Supreme Court. It comes as others throughout Texas are challenging state laws related to reproductive rights and bodily autonomy.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Grissel Velasco -
Immigrant rights groups sue Texas to halt new law allowing arrests of migrants
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. Full Story
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![A group of migrants follow a state trooper vehicle after turning themselves in in Eagle Pass, Texas on July 29, 2023. They crossed through a cap in the concertina wire in the Urbina’s property. 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.]()
Credit: Veronica G. Cardenas for The Texas Tribune -
T-Squared: Emily Iazzetti is our new membership manager; Kassie Kelly is our next grants officer
Over 12,000 Texas Tribune members accounted for more than $1 million of the organization’s revenue this year — a milestone. Small and recurring donations make our work possible. Full Story
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![Left: Emily Iazzetti joins The Texas Tribune as its new membership manager. Right: After nearly two years of overseeing the Tribune's membership program, Kassie Kelly is transitioning out of that role to become the new grants officer.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
After years of losing battles with GOP leaders, some big city Texas mayors strike friendlier tone
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and incoming Houston Mayor John Whitmire, two veteran Democratic legislators, are trying to repair their cities’ fraught relationships with the state’s GOP leadership. Full Story
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![Left: Senator John Whitmire, D-Houston, speaks at a press confrence to announce legislation aimed at reforming the state’s bail system on Feb. 4, 2019. Right: Austin Mayor Kirk Watson speaks with the press to discuss the city's response to mass power outages after a ice storm, at the Combined Transportation, Emergency, and Communications Center in Austin on Feb. 3, 2023.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune, Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
A Texas high school is piloting the state’s first-ever Asian American studies course. Could politics stand in its way?
The course highlights Asian Americans’ contributions in U.S. history. It also seeks to offer an honest look at the mistreatment, like the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Full Story
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![Round Rock High School junior Indira Moparthi studies on her laptop after school on Dec. 13, 2023. Moparthi is one of dozens of students who are enrolled in Round Rock High School's first ever Asian American Ethnic Studies course this semester.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott signs bill making illegal immigration a state crime
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. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott signs six bills during a border security bill signing session at the state capitol in Austin on June 8, 2023. “Washington D.C. has failed to do its job to secure the border,” Abbott said. “As a result, Texas has had to take unprecedented steps in responding to the crisis caused by the Biden administration on the border, and in response the Texas legislature has stepped up to make sure that we will be able to more robustly respond.”]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Shuttered for decades, a downtown theater in a rural Texas town is getting new life and new mission
Rural Texas towns like Levelland on the South Plains are increasingly turning to the arts to help revitalize their downtowns and provide more attractions for families. Full Story
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![Workers remove a plywood covering on the front of the Wallace Theater in Levelland on Dec. 5th, 2023. The historic theater, which has been vacant since the 1980s, is now under restoration and is expected to reopen by Dec. 2024.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
We ranked Texas senators across the ideological spectrum based on their 2023 votes
Here’s a look at Senate members, ranked from most conservative to most liberal, based on their votes cast during the 2023 regular session and four special sessions. Full Story
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![Senators cast their votes on the tenth day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial at the state capitol in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 15, 2023. The Senate announced that a verdict would be delivered that morning.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ debate over school chaplains escalates school board culture wars
A new law lets schools use safety funds to pay for unlicensed chaplains working in mental health roles. Supporters say it helps address student mental health while critics blast it as a Christian nationalist attempt to convert children to a specific form of faith. Full Story
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![Odessa High School students walk between classes on Sept. 13, 2023, in Odessa.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune