Julián Aguilar
reports on politics and border affairs from the Texas-Mexico border. His focuses include immigration reform and enforcement, voter ID, international trade, border security, and the drug trade. His political coverage has included local, legislative and congressional races in Texas, as well as local and national elections in Mexico. Before joining the Tribune, he was a freelance writer for the Fort Worth Weekly; a government and crime reporter for the Laredo Morning Times; and a political writer for the Rio Grande Guardian. A native of El Paso, he has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Texas and a master's degree in journalism from the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism at the University of North Texas.
Recent Contributions
An international bridge connecting Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas.
Nine months into a federal pilot program created to reduce wait times at international ports of entry, operators of bridges on the Texas-Mexico border say it appears to be accomplishing that goal.
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photo by: Ivan Pierre Aguirre
Parishoners attend a Friday service at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in El Paso.
Catholicism remains the religion of choice for most people in El Paso, but membership in the church has declined. How the church adapts to modern societal beliefs will be reflected by what happens to its membership there.
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U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego, left, faces Republican Will Hurd, right, in the CD-23 contest next month.
In the battle to represent Congressional District 23, U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, and Republican Will Hurd have built substantial war chests for the homestretch in what many view as the state’s only toss-up race for Congress.
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Historian Antonio Ramos poses as a Maderista soldier at a marketplace in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, on Oct. 8, 2014.
Hopes are riding on a new effort in which tour buses will come to Ciudad Juárez regularly from El Paso. Officials want the tours to help shed Juárez's image as a danger zone and showcase the city as a destination for area tourists.
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Border Patrol Agent Robert Dominguez.
The Obama administration deported a record-breaking 438,421 people in 2013, an increase of about 20,000 from 2012. That included about 198,400 immigrants with criminal records.
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If Dos Republicas is able to mine substandard coal in Maverick County, it will be carried by train from the site in rural Maverick County through the center of Eagle Pass, Texas - Saturday, February 4, 2012
For several years, residents in Maverick County have waged a war against a company that wants to mine low-grade coal on 6,300 acres of land in this impoverished borderland. A recent twist in the saga is giving them new hope.
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Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in El Paso.
A multistate effort urging churches and other places of worship to provide sanctuary for undocumented immigrants began this month. The effort could come to Texas, where some leaders say such shelter is already being provided.
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Candidate for Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst addresses the media in the parking lot of an Austin HEB before voting early in the 2014 runoffs, May 19, 2014.
In a speech in Washington, D.C., on Friday, outgoing Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst doubled down on claims that Muslim prayer rugs had been found on the Texas-Mexico border.
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The M35 truck is an example of what is available to local, state and federal agencies through the federal government's 1033 program.
A federal program that transfers surplus military equipment to local communities is drawing a mix of responses from border officials whose regions have benefited from the initiative.
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U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is interviewed by Karen Tumulty of The Washington Post at the Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 20, 2014.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said on Saturday that he lamented his party’s contribution to what he said was a dysfunctional government, and he criticized the Obama administration's handling of the current crisis over the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
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photo by: Ivan Pierre Aguirre
A woman, who asked not to be identified because she fears for her safety, stands near the pulpit at the end of service at First Baptist Church on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2014, in El Paso. The woman fled Boko Haram in Nigeria and is now seeking asylum.
Four years after fleeing Somalia, Dekha Hassan-Mohamed is living in El Paso after winning an asylum claim and bucking a national trend. Her lawyer is seeking the same protection for another client who fled Nigeria. Both women are grateful for the new chapters of their lives in El Paso.
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Texas Governor Rick Perry, flaned by Adjutant General John Nichols, l, and DPS Director Steve McCraw, talks to National Guard troops at Camp Swift on August 13, 2014.
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photo by: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
US Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX 28th District) speaks with Rep. Doug Miller R-New Braunfels, during a visit to the Texas Capitol on February 19th, 2013.
The congressional debate about how to address the influx of unaccompanied Central American minors crossing illegally into Texas is likely to re-emerge later this year when lawmakers debate an omnibus budget bill, according to a Texas lawmaker.
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photo by: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst comes out to greet crowd after loosing his reelection bid to Sen. Dan Patrick
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst issued a harsh rebuke of the Mexican government on Thursday for issuing what he called an “offensive” statement on the border surge that coincided with the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas at Texas Public Policy Foundation speech on Jan.10, 2014.
Ted Cruz calls deferred action for undocumented immigrants "amnesty" and blames it for fueling the surge of Central Americans breaching Texas’ southern border. Repeal is unlikely — but here's a look at how it would affect Texas.
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