https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/uriel-j-garcia/The latest news by Uriel J. García.enFri, 09 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/09/texas-daca-court-ruling/A federal judge in Houston is expected to rule for the second time that the Obama-era program is illegal. The possible end of DACA could upend the lives of more than 95,000 Texans enrolled in the program.Uriel J. GarcíaFri, 09 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/09/texas-daca-court-ruling/Itzayana Mondragon sits with her son, Dylan, at her home in Austin. Mondragon is a DACA recipient who worries about the unclear future of the program and her immigration status. She’s been in the U.S. since she was less than a year old and fears the idea of going back to Mexico.Itzayana Mondragon sits with her son Dylan at her home in Austin on June 5, 2023. Itzayana is a DACA recipient who worries about the unclear future of the program and her immigration status. Itzayana has been in the U.S. since she was less than a year old and fears the idea of going back to Mexico with her life here.Sergio Flores for the Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/07/texas-senate-border-bills-immigration/Rather than accept the House legislation as is, senators passed their own — more expansive — proposals for border security. But unless the House convenes again, the bills can’t go to the governor’s desk.Uriel J. GarcíaWed, 07 Jun 2023 17:15:52 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/07/texas-senate-border-bills-immigration/State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, talks about a bill on the Senate floor at the Capitol in March. On Tuesday, the chamber passed border enforcement and anti-smuggling bills that go further than the House legislation.State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, talks about a bill on the Senate floor at the state Capitol in Austin on March 14, 2023.Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/06/texas-senate-special-session/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.Karen Brooks Harper and Uriel J. GarcíaTue, 06 Jun 2023 12:12:21 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/06/texas-senate-special-session/Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recaps the 2023 regular legislative session at Texas Public Policy Foundation in downtown Austin last week.Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recaps the 88th Legislative Session with Sherry Sylvester, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, at TPPF Headquarters in downtown Austin, on May 30, 2023.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/05/texas-san-antonio-migrant-flight-marthas-vineyard-criminal-charges/The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office didn’t say who it has accused of unlawful restraint in connection with last year’s flight to Martha’s Vineyard paid for by Florida. On Monday, California announced it’s investigating similar flights from El Paso to Sacramento.Uriel J. GarcíaMon, 05 Jun 2023 18:31:36 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/05/texas-san-antonio-migrant-flight-marthas-vineyard-criminal-charges/Migrants arrive at Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., on Sept. 14, 2022, after they were recruited in San Antonio by an operative working for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration and flown to the small community. On Monday, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office filed criminal charges related to the transport of the migrants.A migrant arrives at Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts on Sept. 14, 2022.Ray Ewing/Vineyard Gazette/Handout via REUTERShttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/30/texas-special-session-property-taxes/The House passed a bill without Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s preferred increase to homestead exemptions — then abruptly adjourned for the special session. That basically tells the Senate to take the House bill Gov. Greg Abbott backs or leave it.Joshua Fechter, Uriel J. García and Alex NguyenTue, 30 May 2023 16:49:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/30/texas-special-session-property-taxes/Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recaps the 2023 regular legislative session with Sherry Sylvester, distinguished senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, at TPPF headquarters in downtown Austin on May 30, 2023.Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recaps the 88th Legislative Session with Sherry Sylvester, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, at TPPF Headquarters in downtown Austin, on May 30, 2023.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/22/texas-uvalde-shooting-robb-students-family-trauma/The three Treviño children have suffered from panic attacks and nightmares since a mass shooting a year ago this week left 19 of their schoolmates and two teachers dead. Their parents are striving to help their kids feel normal again.Uriel J. García and Evan L’RoyMon, 22 May 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/22/texas-uvalde-shooting-robb-students-family-trauma/Illiaña Treviño and her sister Ameliaña have their hair braided at the Plaza Barber Shop.Illiana, 12, and her sister Amelia Treviño, 13, have their hair combed and braided at the Plaza Barber Shop in Uvalde on March 23, 2023. Both the girls get their braids done before every softball game.Evan L’Roy/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/15/texas-border-migrant-encounters-title-42-drop/Federal officials had about 10,000 encounters with migrants per day at the U.S.-Mexico border before the emergency health order ended late Thursday. Since Friday they have had about 5,000 encounters per day.Uriel J. GarcíaMon, 15 May 2023 12:49:42 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/15/texas-border-migrant-encounters-title-42-drop/A migrant family from Peru walks on the Mexico side of the Rio Grande after crossing the river late last week shortly after Title 42 ended and being turned away by the National Guard in El Paso.A migrant family from Peru walks towards the nearest port of entry after they crossed the Rio Grande back into Mexico after the family asked Texas National Guard Troops to be let inside a makeshift migrant camp to be processed about two hours after Title-42 ended at 9:59 p.m. local time, Friday, May 12, 2023, in Cd. Juarez, Mexico. The family was denied entry. Photo by Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas TribuneIvan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/12/texas-border-immigration-title-42-migrants/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.Uriel J. GarcíaFri, 12 May 2023 12:07:37 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/12/texas-border-immigration-title-42-migrants/A dust storm hits several hundred migrants as they wait on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande to be picked up and processed by immigration officials on Monday in El Paso.A dust storm hits several hundred migrants as they wait on the U.S. side (back) to be picked up and processed by CBP, Monday, May 8, 2023, in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/11/texas-border-migrants-title-42-ends-el-paso/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.Uriel J. GarcíaThu, 11 May 2023 19:05:07 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/11/texas-border-migrants-title-42-ends-el-paso/Migrants line up on the U.S.-Mexico border prior to boarding a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol bus near El Paso on Thursday.Migrants line up on the U.S.-Mexico border prior to boarding a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol bus near El Paso on May 11, 2023.REUTERS/Julio Cesar Chavezhttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/09/texas-border-title-42-migrants-phone-app/Hundreds of migrants have waited on the U.S. bank of the Rio Grande for days to be apprehended. Others say they want to follow the rules to enter legally — if they could just get the government phone app to work.Uriel J. GarcíaTue, 09 May 2023 14:19:08 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/09/texas-border-title-42-migrants-phone-app/Joseline Decaires Jiménez, a migrant from Venezuela, tears up as she sits on a bus headed from El Paso to a shelter in Denver — leaving her family behind in Mexico. Jiménez was separated from her husband and two daughters while trying to apply for asylum through the CBP One mobile app.Migrant Joseline Decaires Jiménez of Venezuela tears up as she sits on a bus headed to Denver, Monday, May 8, 2023, in El Paso, Texas. Jiménez husband and two daughters are still in Juarez waiting to be allowed to enter the U.S. via the CBP One app. Photo by Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas TribuneIvan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/05/texas-border-truck-inspections-dps-brownsville/Truckers have reported waiting up to 24 hours to cross the border because of the inspections. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered similar inspections last year to stop smuggling, but troopers found no contraband after checking more than 4,000 vehicles.Uriel J. GarcíaFri, 05 May 2023 18:03:01 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/05/texas-border-truck-inspections-dps-brownsville/Commercial trucks are inspected by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper at an inspection station near the Veterans International Bridge in Brownsville on Friday. DPS began inspecting commercial vehicles again this week in Brownsville, causing long delays.Commercial trucks are inspected by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper at an inspection station near the Veterans International Bridge in Brownsville on April 12, 2022.Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/05/texas-border-migrants-title-42-juarez/A Venezuelan couple with two children waited in Mexico for weeks for a chance to claim asylum. They decided to cross the border after a relative died in a detention center fire and other family members successfully made it across.Uriel J. GarcíaFri, 05 May 2023 15:00:52 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/05/texas-border-migrants-title-42-juarez/Abel Oviedo of Venezuela hugs his two sons, David, 4, and Matias, 2, on April 20 at a home where his family lived on the outskirts of Ciudad Juárez. Oviedo lost his half-brother, Orlando Maldonado, on March 27 after a migrant detention center caught fire, killing 40 men and injuring more than 25.Migrant Abel Oviedo, right, of Venezuela hugs his two sons, David, 4, and Matias, 2, at the home he is staying at in the outskirts of town, Thursday, April 20, 2023, in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. Oviedo lost his half-brother, Orlando Maldonado, after a migrant detention center caught fire, killing 40 men and injuring more than 25, on March 27th in the center of town. Photo by Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas TribuneIvan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/27/texas-immigration-title-42-biden-policy/As it prepares for the end of Title 42, which lets U.S. officials rapidly expel migrants, the Biden administration said it will open centers in Guatemala and Colombia where people can apply to legally enter the three participating nations.Uriel J. GarcíaThu, 27 Apr 2023 13:52:17 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/27/texas-immigration-title-42-biden-policy/A migrant family embraces each other moments after crossing the Rio Grande and into El Paso from Ciudad Juárez on Dec. 19, 2022. As the Biden administration prepares for the end of Title 42, which allows U.S. immigration agents to quickly expel migrants without allowing them to request asylum, it has announced new policies aimed at reducing illegal immigration.A migrant family embraces each other moments after crossing the Rio Grande and ino El Paso from Ciudad Juárez on Monday, Dec. 19, 2022.Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/13/texas-house-border-protection-unit/House Bill 20 introduced by Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, would create a unit whose officers can “arrest, apprehend, or detain persons crossing the Texas-Mexico border unlawfully,” and deter those attempting to cross the border.Uriel J. García and William MelhadoThu, 13 Apr 2023 01:10:48 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/13/texas-house-border-protection-unit/https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/28/migrant-deaths-juarez-mexico-el-paso-fire/Mexico’s president said the fire started in the Ciudad Juárez center when migrants learned they would be deported and set fire to mattresses in protest. Twenty-nine injured migrants were sent to local hospitals.Uriel J. GarcíaTue, 28 Mar 2023 07:34:23 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/28/migrant-deaths-juarez-mexico-el-paso-fire/Medics give aid to a migrant who survived a fire that broke out at a Mexican immigration detention center in Ciudad Juárez on Monday. At least 39 people died in the fire.Medics give aid to a migrant who survived a fire that broke out at a Mexican immigration detention center in Ciudad Juárez on Monday, March 27, 2023. 37 people died in the fire.Omar Ornelas-USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERShttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/15/uvalde-families-public-records-lawsuit/The lawyers for some of the Uvalde families say there is “a compelling need” for records into the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary to be publicly released.Uriel J. GarcíaWed, 15 Mar 2023 11:36:38 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/15/uvalde-families-public-records-lawsuit/Velma Duran, the sister of Irma Garcia, one of the two teachers killed in the Robb Elementary school shooting, confronts Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw after he finished testifying to the Homeland Security & Public Safety committee hearing at the state Capitol in Austin on Feb. 28, 2023. “They stood around and enabled the shooter to obliterate my sister. You couldn’t recognize her,” Duran said to McCraw. “Look at me!”Velma Duran, the sister of Irma Garcia, one of the two teachers killed in the Robb Elementary school shooting, confronts Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw after he finished testifying to the Homeland Security & Public Safety committee hearing at the state Capitol in Austin on Feb. 28, 2023. “They stood around and enabled the shooter to obliterate my sister. You couldn’t recognize her,” Duran said to McCraw. “Look at me!”Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/10/border-security-texas-house-bill/House Bill 20 by state Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, would test the boundaries of the state’s ability to enforce immigration law, which courts have historically ruled falls under federal purview.Uriel J. GarcíaFri, 10 Mar 2023 19:47:55 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/10/border-security-texas-house-bill/Department of Public Safety agents arrest an undocumented migrant after he was caught on private property as part of Operation Lone Star in Kinney County near Brackettville on Nov. 9, 2021.Department of Public Safety agent arrest an undocumented migrant after he was caught on private property as part of Operation Lone Star in Kinney County near Brackettville, on Nov. 9, 2021.Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/08/uvalde-district-attorney-fights-release-public-records-despite-family/Joining the Texas Department of Public Safety’s fight against the release of records, the district attorney claims the support of every family who lost a child in the 2022 mass shooting. Attorneys representing many of the families refute that claim.Uriel J. García, The Texas Tribune, and Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaWed, 08 Mar 2023 12:50:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/08/uvalde-district-attorney-fights-release-public-records-despite-family/A memorial sprung up last year in Uvalde for victims of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.A cross in memory of Eva Mireles is decorated for the holiday season, at the Memorial Plaza in Uvalde on Dec. 21, 2022.Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/02/16/title-42-supreme-court/The case is expected to become moot in May when the Biden administration lifts the nation’s COVID-19 emergency order. Once that order lifts, Title 42 is expected to automatically end.Uriel J. GarcíaThu, 16 Feb 2023 17:58:16 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/02/16/title-42-supreme-court/People apprehended by state troopers after crossing the border were brought to the International Bridge in Eagle Pass and handed over to Border Patrol custody on May 28, 2022.People who were apprehended by state troopers after crossing the border were brought to the International Bridge in Eagle Pass, where they were handed over to Border Patrol custody on Thursday, May 28, 2022.Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/01/30/texas-border-czar-greg-abbott-mike-banks/The governor said Mike Banks, a recently retired Border Patrol agent, will work with the Texas National Guard and state troopers to find ways to deter people from crossing the border illegally.Uriel J. GarcíaMon, 30 Jan 2023 17:45:30 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/01/30/texas-border-czar-greg-abbott-mike-banks/Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference with nine other governors about the Texas-Mexico border at Anzalduas Park in Mission on Oct. 6, 2021. Abbott announced Monday the hiring of a Texas “border czar” to oversee efforts to discourage illegal immigration.Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference with nine other governors regarding the southern border at Anzalduas Park in Mission on Oct. 6, 2021.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune