Gallego Out While Cornyn Cruises to Victory
For the third time in as many elections, CD-23 is changing hands, this time going back to the GOP after challenger Will Hurd ousted incumbent Democrat Pete Gallego.
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.
For the third time in as many elections, CD-23 is changing hands, this time going back to the GOP after challenger Will Hurd ousted incumbent Democrat Pete Gallego.
As officials in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez celebrate a drop in crime in the Mexican border city, residents in nearby Guadalupe, Chihuahua continue fleeing to Texas in droves amid continuing violence and corruption.
Full StoryIn his second race after switching to the GOP, incumbent state Rep. J.M. Lozano thinks HD-43 voters are more comfortable with his party choice. But Democratic challenger Kim Gonzalez isn't going to let it go.
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Months after Texas beefed up its border security presence in the Rio Grande Valley, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst wants to know what it would cost to expand the projects through 2016.
Full StoryNine 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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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.
Full StoryIn 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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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.
Full StoryThe 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.
Full StoryFor 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.
Full StoryA 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.
Full StoryIn 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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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.
Full StoryU.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.
Full StoryFour 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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