The Texas Tribune

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expressed regret Monday after facing intense criticism for labeling all the victims of the Cleveland, Texas shooting rampage on Friday as “illegal immigrants,” even though it appears at least one of them was not undocumented.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on whether the Biden administration has the right to decide which undocumented immigrants federal agents should prioritize for deportation.

GOP donors spent millions to unseat Hidalgo, a Democrat who leads the state’s most populous county, and take back a seat they lost four years ago. Republican Alexandra del Moral Mealer conceded the race Wednesday morning.

Rep. Mayra Flores (R-TX) cried foul Wednesday after getting rejected from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the most influential Latino group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, whose bylaws explicitly block Republicans from joining due to major policy differences between members in the past.

The Biden administration is also creating a pathway to allow “qualified” Venezuelans into the country. Venezuelans have been fleeing their home country in record numbers, and the number crossing the U.S.-Mexico border has surged.

The proposed congressional map also increases the number of districts where Trump would have had a majority of voters over Biden in 2020 and protects Republican incumbents who might have been vulnerable by packing their districts with more Trump voters.

The governor’s decision to go all in on border security is evolving rapidly, and many of those on the ground don’t know how it’s going to work.

White Texans are being vaccinated at nearly twice the rate of Hispanic Texans and more than six times the rate of Black Texans, according to state data.

A federal consumer watchdog agency has launched an investigation into a company that aggressively sued thousands of Latino borrowers in Texas during the coronavirus pandemic while depicting itself as a financial ally of the community.

Electric bills are likely to rise for everyone, experts and consumer advocates say, but some Texans on variable rate contracts have been hit with immediate, massive price spikes. Lawmakers and the governor have promised to help, but haven’t said how.

Texans of color, disproportionately devastated by death and unemployment during the last year, tend to live in neighborhoods with older homes, more vulnerable pipes and fewer food options. That’s made it harder to withstand the cold temperatures and power outages.

The Texas Tribune is tracking the fallout from the massive winter storm in Texas, which has brought widespread power outages and transportation problems.

Texas residents said the storm —and ensuing partial collapse of the state’s power system— sapped what mental reserves they had left after eleven months of a global health crisis that has cost thousands of jobs and claimed more than 40,000 lives in the state.

At least 10 people have died in weather-related incidents across the Houston area, the Houston Chronicle reported earlier today.

The state’s power grid operator said the blackouts will last at least through Monday morning.

Cecilia Ballí and two colleagues spoke to 100 Texas Latinos to better understand what drives civic engagement and whom they prefer as candidates.

Voters in the historically Democratic stronghold of South Texas are left wondering whether this was simply a strange election during an unusual year or a sign of a profound political realignment in the region.

Joe Biden is not faring as well among Latino voters in the polls as Hillary Clinton did in 2016. But Democrats in Texas are working to motivate the key voting bloc.

U.S. citizens who have undocumented family members were barred from receiving stimulus checks earlier this year. They’re hoping that Congress doesn’t leave them out again.

In an interview, Vance Ginn said the intention of his Twitter thread was to outline the more thorough data provided by the state. He also said his tweet with a GIF was “woefully taken out of context out of bad faith.”

Without money to pay rent, facing pressures from landlords and afraid of courts, people without legal immigration status have limited options.