The latest immigration news from The Texas Tribune.
A prediction that one of the most notorious cartels operating on the Texas-Mexico border could soon meet its demise was premature, according to a new report on Mexican cartels, which now predicts violence will continue. Full Story
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President Obama today blamed Republicans for his administration’s failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform, saying several conservative lawmakers who once supported the measure have buckled under political pressure. Full Story
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Ramshaw on the lioness of the Texas House, Dehn and Tan review 20 years of Rick Perry's political ads, Murphy's latest database includes the governor's political accounts over the last decade, Aaronson's visualizations of what was said in the biggest legislative debates, M. Smith on the woman in the middle chair at the State Board of Education, Galbraith on how the drought is forcing ranchers to sell their herds, Grissom has the story on a cattle rustler who's asking the courts to give him an old-fashioned sentence, Hamilton covers Rick O'Donnell's latest salvo at higher education, Aguilar on whether and how the sanctuary cities issue will translate at the ballot box next year, yours truly on Ron Paul's candidacy and the candidate in his own words: The best of our best from July 18 to 22, 2011. Full Story
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Republican U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith’s attempt to strip the Obama administration of its immigration enforcement powers has drawn a harsh rebuke from Texas Democrats in the U.S. House. Full Story
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The controversial “sanctuary cities” bill failed to pass, but other immigration-related bills advanced and were signed by the governor. Explore this interactive to pinpoint the days lawmakers debated issues related to immigration. Full Story
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The contentious sanctuary cities legislation debate left a bitter aftertaste for some Texas Latinos, but will it translate into change at the ballot box next year? Full Story
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The Trib captured every debate, tirade and joke uttered into the mikes in the House and Senate during the 82nd legislative session in our online transcripts. Our latest data apps help you identify when important debates occurred by visualizing the frequency of keywords. Full Story
For the latest installment of our unscientific survey of political and policy insiders, we asked what state issues will get national play if Gov. Rick Perry runs for president, how his record will be used for and against him and whether all the attention might affect races here. Full Story
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The U.S. Consulate is warning U.S. citizens that new information suggests cartels may be targeting ports of entry, consulate employees and “the public in general” in response to a crackdown on criminal gangs in Ciudad Juárez by the Mexican military. An emergency alert was issued Friday. Full Story
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Check our new Perrypedia — a home for stories and data about you-know-who, Ramshaw on health care in the colonias, Root's look back at Rick Perry's years as a Democrat, M. Smith on the pressures facing the TEA, yours truly on David Dewhurst's impact on the U.S. Senate race, E. Smith's panel discussion on the Cameron Todd Willingham case, Hamilton on Perry and higher ed, Murphy on who's paying the pole tax, Grissom on Alto's decision to close its police department, Aguilar on labor and security worries over trucking on the border and Galbraith on what government can't do during a drought: The best of our best content from July 11 to 15, 2011. Full Story
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At least 59 inmates escaped from a state prison in the Mexican border city of Nuevo Laredo today. Full Story
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The Department of Justice's decision this week to require firearms dealers in Texas and three other border states to report the multiple sales of long rifles will come down to a funding battle in Washington. Full Story
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A senior member of Texas’ congressional delegation wants to strip the Obama administration of its immigration enforcement duties, alleging the president is attempting to create a “backdoor” amnesty for illegal immigrants. Full Story
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Some Texas Republicans are embracing a cross-border trucking agreement between the U.S. and Mexico that labor unions worry could kill jobs and drastically reduce border security. Full Story
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In the latest edition of our unscientific poll of Texas insiders, we turn to a pollster to tease out some differences in how the insiders and the voting public answer the same questions. Spoiler alert: They disagree. Full Story
The idea was to rein in the amount of unauthorized immigrants with IDs or driver's licenses. But steps lawmakers took in that direction have some concerned they cast too wide a net. Full Story
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Along the Texas-Mexico border, colonias residents tell identical stories: of migrating with dreams of safety and prosperity, of getting swindled into buying worthless land, of sticking it out so their children will get educated. And of getting sick. Full Story
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Aguilar on a change in law that affects applications for state-issued IDs, Galbraith on how the drought is taking its toll on wildlife, Hamilton on an outsider's attempt to lower the cost of higher ed, Murphy visualizes the partisanship of House members, Ramsey on who becomes Lite Guv if David Dewhurst takes another job, Ramshaw on life in the colonias and three stories about Rick Perry — Grissom on how his death penalty stance might play in a 2012 presidential race, Root on how he cemented his reputation as one of the state's most powerful governors and Tan on the growing demand for him to speak elsewhere: The best of our best content from July 4 to July 8, 2011. Full Story
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Conditions have clearly improved in Texas' colonias since devious developers first established them for migrant workers in the 1950s. But many efforts have fallen short, the result of bureaucratic nightmares and a spiral of confusion and fees. Full Story
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On the Texas side of the U.S. border with Mexico, an estimated half a million people live in colonias, impoverished subdivisions that often lack basic services. Take our video tour of some of the worst — and most improved — conditions. Full Story
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