MJ Hegar raised $750,000 off her viral ad, one of a few Texas Democrats boasting big numbers
Early fundraising sums show several Texas Democrats are postured to launch formidable campaigns in the fall. Full Story
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![Screenshot from MJ Hegar's campaign video, with the featured helicopter door in the background. Hegar is the 2018 Democratic nominee challenging U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock.]()
Credit: Campaign video screenshot -
With Kennedy’s retirement, Texas abortion opponents see “opportunity” in 2019 and beyond
In deep-red Texas, abortion opponents are already eyeing the new U.S. Supreme Court vacancy as a chance to push more aggressive legislation without fear of judicial override. Full Story
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![Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy speaks during a swearing in ceremony for Judge Neil Gorsuch as an associate justice of the Supreme Court in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 10, 2017.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Barria -
U.S. House rejects immigration bill that included pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, border wall funding
As expected, Republicans were unable to reconcile differences within their party to move a major immigration bill through the U.S. House chamber Wednesday. Full Story
Credit: Haley Samsel/The Texas Tribune -
Confusion, tension roil Texas-Mexico border as federal government attempts to reunify immigrant families
As an El Paso shelter prepared to take in undocumented immigrants separated from their children, President Donald Trump's tweets calling for deportations without due process drew rebukes. Full Story
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![Immigrants arrive at the Casa Vides Annunciation House shelter after being released from U.S. CBP custody on Sunday, June 24, 2018, in El Paso. According to the director of the shelter, all the migrants released on June 24 are parents and have been separated from their children.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Kids in exchange for deportation: Detained migrants say they were told they could get kids back on way out of U.S.
In a detention center near Houston, an asylum seeker from Honduras said he agreed to sign a voluntary removal order from the U.S. after federal officials promised to reunite him with his 6-year-old daughter. Full Story
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![Undocumented immigrant children at a U.S. Border Patrol processing center in McAllen, Texas.]()
Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection -
Legalizing marijuana, limiting access to assault-style weapons part of Texas Democrats' platform
Party delegates in Fort Worth also decided to back required paid sick leave for working Texans and oppose building a wall on the Texas-Mexico border. Many platform ideals contradict those of Republicans, who hold every statewide office and control both chambers of the Legislature. Full Story
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![The 2018 Texas Democratic Party convention in Fort Worth.]()
Credit: Joan Brook for the Texas Tribune -
Family separation crisis takes center stage at Texas Democratic convention
The family separations crisis quickly emerged as the top issue at the state Democratic biennial convention, fueling anger and enthusiasm as the minority party charges into a general election season determined to push back against Trump and his GOP allies in Texas. Full Story
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![Lupe Valdez, Democratic candidate for governor, and U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, vying for the U.S. Senate, at the Texas Democratic Party convention in Fort Worth on June 23, 2018.]()
Credit: Joan Brook for The Texas Tribune -
Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn tour shelters housing immigrant children separated from families
The state's Republican senators reaffirmed their commitment to keeping kids with their parents after they cross the border — so long as future immigration policy better deters people from entering the country illegally. Full Story
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![U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (left) and John Cornyn listen at a a roundtable discussion at a South Texas border patrol station in Weslaco on June 22, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
In political win for U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway, farm bill narrowly passes U.S. House
U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway, who chairs the House Agriculture Committee, has been laying the groundwork for passing the massive piece of legislation known as the farm bill for over a year. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Midland, speaks with U.S. Reps. David Rouzer and Roger Marshall and farmers at a cotton farm outside San Angelo, Texas, on July 31, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price / The Texas Tribune -
Amid family separation saga, U.S. House votes down conservative immigration package
As expected, the U.S. House rejected a hard-line immigration measure Thursday afternoon – setting the stage for a vote on a more moderate immigration bill as early as Friday. Full Story
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![President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on Jan. 30. 2018.]()
Credit: The White House -
For families who have already been separated, policy change doesn't guarantee reunification
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order he says will "keep the families together" when they're apprehended illegally crossing the border. But that does little for families who have already been split apart. Full Story
![Undocumented immigrant children at a U.S. Border Patrol processing center in McAllen, Texas.]()
Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection -
Republicans in Washington are closer to a compromise on immigration — but it's still unclear if they can pass a bill
Republicans in Congress appear closer to reaching a compromise on immigration — and ending family separations at the Texas-Mexico border — after a closed-door meeting with President Donald Trump Tuesday evening. Full Story
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![Undocumented immigrant children at a U.S. Border Patrol processing center in McAllen, Texas.]()
Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection -
We asked top Texas leaders — and every Texan in Congress — about separating immigrant families
See where statewide elected officials and members of the Texas congressional delegation come down on the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" immigration enforcement policy that separates immigrant kids from their parents. Full Story
![Undocumented immigrant children at a U.S. Border Patrol processing center in McAllen, Texas.]()
Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection -
Former first lady Laura Bush calls Trump's zero tolerance policy "cruel"
"Our government should not be in the business of warehousing children in converted box stores or making plans to place them in tent cities in the desert outside of El Paso," former first lady Laura Bush wrote in an op-ed in The Washington Post. Full Story
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![Undocumented immigrant children at a U.S. Border Patrol processing center in McAllen, Texas.]()
Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection -
In Sunday sermons, Texas faith leaders rebuke Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy
Churches, especially in deep-red Texas, often sit out partisan squabbles. But the issue of family separations is not a political one, some faith leaders say — it's a humanitarian and moral crisis. Full Story
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![Sunday service at the The First Baptist Church of Austin on June 17, 2018.]()
Credit: Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune -
Beto O’Rourke, Veronica Escobar lead Father's Day march on tent city housing separated immigrant children
Days after a tent city went up near El Paso, demonstrators near the facility took aim at the Trump administration's policy of separating immigrant children from parents seeking asylum. Full Story
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![The tent city at Tornillo Port of Entry near El Paso on June 16, 2018. The facility was created to house immigrant children who were separated from their parents when they crossed the border.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Ted Cruz outlasts Jimmy Kimmel in grueling Blobfish Basketball Classic
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, defeated late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel in a one-on-one basketball game that tested the patience of both players and spectators. The final score was 11-9. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, drives to the basket against late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel in their one-on-one showdown Saturday in Houston. The game benefited charity.]()
Credit: ABC News -
Texas GOP convention finds unity on Trump, but intraparty tensions still flare
During this week's state Republican Party convention, various speakers took turns praising President Donald Trump. But the bitter race for state party chair and a debate over censures illustrated divisions among Texas Republicans. Full Story
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![There was a full house during a committee hearing at the second day of the the Republican Party of Texas convention in San Antonio on June 15, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Trump administration opens tent city near El Paso to house separated immigrant children
A center for unaccompanied immigrant minors is up and running in West Texas, just one day after federal officials announced the location, state Rep. César Blanco confirmed to The Texas Tribune on Friday. Full Story
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![A view of the access to the Tornillo-Guadalupe international bridge in the municipality of Guadalupe, in the Juarez Valley, Mexico, on Jan. 18, 2017.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Tomas Bravo -
Vulnerable Texas Republicans in Congress take different approaches to immigration bills
Republican congressmen from Texas facing tough re-election fights are betting on very different strategies to win over key voters. Full Story
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![Left to right: U.S. Reps. John Culberson, R-Houston, Will Hurd, R-Helotes, and Pete Sessions, R-Dallas.]()
Credit: Official House portraits/Callie Richmond
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