New: The wrongful deportation of an Austin man, let back into the U.S. on Sunday, highlights what many have warned about for years: When local police join forces with the feds, it can lead to U.S. citizens being hassled, detained and even deported. 🧵 www.texastribune.org/2026/09/02/t...

Texas man’s deportation raises questions about ICE partnerships

The federal government let U.S. citizen Brian José Morales García return to Texas on Sunday after deporting him to Mexico following a traffic stop in Central Texas.

texastribune.org

NEW: A 25-year-old man from Central Texas who was deported to Mexico despite insisting he was an American citizen returned to the country Sunday after the federal government reached an agreement w/ his lawyers in light of new evidence, per his lawyers. www.texastribune.org/2026/08/30/t...

Feds allow return of U.S. citizen deported after traffic stop in Central Texas

Brian José Morales García maintained he was born in Denver after the federal government accused him of having entered the country illegally.

texastribune.org

Earlier today at the Texas GOP convention in Houston, an elephant arrived and peed in an aisle between the press and delegates. Here is a video.

A man who says he was born in Colorado was deported recently after being pulled over in Texas, after which immigration officers denied his offers to show them proof of citizenship he says he had at home.

ICE deported man to Mexico who says he’s a U.S. citizen

Brian José Morales García has a birth certificate showing he was born in Denver. ICE agents accused him of lying and says he entered the country illegally.

texastribune.org

New: People seeking a host of professional licenses in Texas, from electricians to dog breeders, will soon have to prove they are in the country legally under a new rule adopted Tuesday that could affect thousands of workers. #txlege www.texastribune.org/2026/03/24/t...

Texas to require proof of immigration status for licenses

Officials approved the change after hearing from speakers who argued it would hamper the state’s economy and push immigrants to work without licenses in the black market.

texastribune.org

New: Texas Democrats more than doubled their turnout from 2024 during the primary elections on March 3 in the Rio Grande Valley, as the % of registered D voters who cast a ballot far exceeded that of recent elex. w/ this neat graphic: www.texastribune.org/2026/03/13/t...

Willie Colón, trombone and salsa legend, dies at 75

Willie Colón, trombone and salsa legend, dies at 75

Throughout his career, Colón released more than 40 albums, pioneering a salsa sound influenced by the streets of New York City and beloved by Latin immigrant households around the globe.

latimes.com

The death of Ruben Ray Martinez, which would be the earliest deadly shooting by fed officers since the start of President Trump's immigration clampdown, came to light bc of a FOIA lawsuit from nonprofit watchdog American Oversight for records. www.texastribune.org/2026/02/20/t...

New: Houston-area developer Colony Ridge, accused of running a predatory lending scheme that deceived Latinos, reached a $68M settlement w/ Texas and the feds. This detail 👇 stuck out –– undocumented ppl can't get a driver's license or official ID in TX. Report: www.texastribune.org/2026/02/10/c...

Democrat Taylor Rehmet’s stunning upset victory in last month's Texas Senate #SD9 elex is explained in part by the massive swing by Latinos toward his campaign compared to other Dems in recent elections. to see the change, @amahaja.bsky.social made these maps: www.texastribune.org/2026/02/09/t...

This is Amalia. She spiked a fever of 104 in ICE lock up, a lawsuit says. Her oxygen levels dropped to 50% Officers stood watch during her 10-day emergency hospital stay. When she was well enough to leave, doctors said Amalia should go home. Instead, ICE put her and her mom back in detention.

Two weeks ago, the El Paso Medical Examiner ruled the death of a 55yo Cuban detainee at an immigration center in El Paso was a homicide. ICE bypassed the county ME w/ the latest death, sending the body to an Army hospital instead. www.texastribune.org/2026/02/03/t...

NEW: How Democrat Taylor Rehmet upset a MAGA candidate to flip a North Texas Senate district that Donald Trump carried by 17 points in 2024 + what folks are making of the special election, held on a Jan. Saturday w/ no other candidates on the ballot. #txlege #sd9 www.texastribune.org/2026/02/02/t...

How Democrats flipped a ruby red Senate seat in North Texas

Observers of the race said Rehmet’s working-class appeal, along with Latino and suburban backlash to GOP policies, fueled his win in a district Donald Trump carried by 17 points.

texastribune.org

Texas passed a '23 immigration law in response to record border crossings under the Biden admin. Today, a challenge to the law returns to court under v diff circumstances: crossings are low + TX is helping the Trump admin + the DOJ is no longer a plaintiff. www.texastribune.org/2026/01/22/t...

Appeals court to reconsider 2023 Texas immigration law, SB 4

Senate Bill 4 returns to the 5th Circuit with border crossings at record lows, a sharp reversal from the influx that inspired Texas’ law authorizing state police to arrest undocumented immigrants.

texastribune.org

Two weeks ago, Texas AG Ken Paxton announced that his office had arrested 35 undocumented people they turned over to ICE. So, I asked via an open records requests for arrest reports and any other relevant docs related to the apprehensions. The AG's office says there aren't any:

new from me: In the wake of the Uvalde school shooting in 2022, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn made a risky decision for a Texas Republican: He helped shepherd major gun safety legislation. Now critics are turning up the heat on Cornyn in what's shaping up to be the fight of his career. t.co/Sa9INpUBNb

In April, authorities raided what they say was a Tren de Aragua gathering. Attendees say it was a birthday party. Among those detained included a homeless barber/DoorDash driver, and three people who fled Venezuela years ago *because of* that gang 🧵 www.texasobserver.org/officials-tr...

Officials Said They Busted a Tren de Aragua Party. Attendees Beg to Differ.

A highly publicized multi-agency raid in Hays County resulted in dozens of arrests on low-level immigration charges and left an Austin mother's life in tatters. It also fit a pattern of unproven gang-...

texasobserver.org

The Texas Department of Public Safety has shifted from Biden-era border enforcement to helping expel people from the country, a job once exclusively done by federal authorities. @serranoalej.bsky.social @texastribune.org

“Operation Lone Star 2.0”: DPS arresting thousands of undocumented immigrants across Texas to aid Trump’s mass deportation

The Department of Public Safety has shifted from Biden-era border enforcement to helping expel people from the country, a job once exclusively done by federal authorities.

texastribune.org

New: Texas DPS officers are helping arrest thousands of undocumented immigrants across the state, including in large cities whose Democrat leaders have historically opposed working w/ ICE. Spokesperson tells me: "Operation Lone Star 2.0 is underway statewide..." www.texastribune.org/2025/09/12/t...

“Operation Lone Star 2.0”: DPS arresting thousands of undocumented immigrants across Texas to aid Trump’s mass deportation

The Department of Public Safety has shifted from Biden-era border enforcement to helping expel people from the country, a job once exclusively done by federal authorities.

texastribune.org

“Operation Lone Star 2.0”: Texas Dept. of Public Safety arresting thousands of undocumented immigrants across TX to aid Trump’s mass deportation DPS has shifted from Biden-era border enforcement to helping expel people from the country... From @serranoalej.bsky.social

“Operation Lone Star 2.0”: DPS arresting thousands of undocumented immigrants across Texas to aid Trump’s mass deportation

The Department of Public Safety has shifted from Biden-era border enforcement to helping expel people from the country, a job once exclusively done by federal authorities.

texastribune.org

📽️ WATCH: Andry Omar Blanco Bonilla, one of the men Trump sent to CECOT, told our reporters he was beaten the moment the plane landed. He says when he regained consciousness and saw the polished concrete floor, the bright lights, the men in uniform, he just asked God: What am I doing here? Why?

you should read my @texastribune.org colleague Carlos Nogueras Ramos' dispatch about how Midland high school may once again be named after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee five years after the school shed its Confederate moniker --> www.texastribune.org/2025/08/11/m...

Five years after shedding Confederate moniker, a West Texas high school may be Lee High again

The Midland school district rebranded Robert E. Lee High as Legacy High in 2020, part of a nationwide trend to distance public places from the Confederacy.

texastribune.org

New: Increased attention on Texas House Democratic leader Rep. Gene Wu of Houston comes with more anti-Asian insults. www.texastribune.org/2025/08/06/t...

Increased attention on Texas House Democratic leader Gene Wu comes with more anti-Asian insults

“Is Gene Wu back in China?” state Sen. Mayes Middleton, a Galveston Republican, posted on X on Monday — the first day the House did not reach a quorum due to the absent Democrats.

texastribune.org

New: Meet Goliad County Sheriff Roy Boyd, who's emerged as a model for how sheriffs can serve in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement apparatus. Sheriffs are already set to supercharge Trump’s immigration crackdown — especially in Texas. www.texastribune.org/2025/07/31/g...

How a rural Texas sheriff became a poster child for serving Trump’s immigration goals

Roy Boyd has also become one of the loudest cheerleaders for partnerships between sheriffs and ICE to offer the federal agency unprecedented access to jails and deputies.

texastribune.org

New: A Venezuelan man accused by Texas police of being a Tren de Aragua member and sent to El Salvador was initially arrested on criminal trespassing charges when he crossed the border. This week a Texas judge dismissed that case. But he remains in ES's CECOT. www.texastribune.org/2025/07/17/t...

Texas judge dismisses case against migrant deported to El Salvador for being an alleged gang member

DPS troopers labeled Pedro Luis Salazar-Cuervo, who remains in a Salvadoran prison, a Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang member based on a photo of him with a tattooed man.

texastribune.org

28-year-old Pedro Luis Salazar-Cuervo, who has no known criminal record, was accused by Texas police of being in a Venezuelan gang because they found a photo of him posing with another man with tattoos, his lawyers say. From ProPublica partner @texastribune.org:

Migrant deported to El Salvador after DPS labeled him a member of Tren de Aragua without evidence, lawyer says

Lawyers for Pedro Luis Salazar-Cuervo deny he is a gang member and say the DPS accusation hinges on a photo they found of him standing next to a man with tattoos.

texastribune.org

New: Texas police asked a Venezuelan migrant if he had tattoos. He didn't. But they found a photo of him standing next to a man who did. That was enough to label him a member of Tren de Aragua, getting him shipped to El Salvador, lawyers say. www.texastribune.org/2025/06/18/t...

Migrant deported to El Salvador after DPS labeled him a member of Tren de Aragua without evidence, lawyer says

Lawyers for Pedro Luis Salazar-Cuervo deny he is a gang member and say the DPS accusation hinges on a photo they found of him standing next to a man with tattoos.

texastribune.org

new from me: Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick got the THC ban he wanted — and an explosion of backlash. As pressure mounts on the governor to veto #SB3, Patrick is in the unfamiliar position of taking flak from conservative activists and media personalities. www.texastribune.org/2025/06/10/d...

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s push to ban THC in Texas draws rare backlash from the right

It’s an unusual situation for the lieutenant governor, long viewed by GOP activists as a stalwart conservative responsible for driving the Legislature rightward.

texastribune.org

New: Two months ago, a cadre of Texas and federal authorities crashed what they later described as a Tren de Aragua gathering in Hays County and detained 47 people, including kids. Since, the authorities involved in the raid have not said much. 🧵 www.texastribune.org/2025/06/04/t...

Months after detaining 47 people accused of being Tren de Aragua in Austin, authorities offer no evidence of gang ties

People at the raided house say they rented it for a birthday party and deny any connection to the gang. One man says law enforcement accused him of being in Tren de Aragua because of his tattoo.

texastribune.org

New: Texas would further cement its role in enforcing immigration laws under a bill the state Legislature voted to send to the governor Sunday that would require most sheriffs to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. more here: www.texastribune.org/2025/06/01/t...

Bill requiring that Texas sheriffs work with federal immigration authorities heads to governor’s desk

Senate Bill 8 would further expand the state’s role in enforcing immigration laws, long the sole jurisdiction of the federal government.

texastribune.org