When officials wouldn’t budge, he signed a form the Americans described to him as his own deportation order — all of it written in English, which he doesn’t understand. trib.it/l3
6/ Now, Xol remains separated from his 7-year-old son. By more than 1,000 miles.
8/ The Trump administration rolled back the zero-tolerance policy in June.
Then the country’s attention drifted away from the crisis, as hundreds of immigrant families reunited.
But hundreds of children remain separated. trib.it/l3
9/ A judge said earlier this month: “For every parent who is not located, there will be a permanently orphaned child." trib.it/l3
10/ Xol said he brought his son with him on the advice of a local smuggler, who told him that parents with children have an easier time getting into the country than adults traveling solo.
He hoped to enroll his son in school in the U.S. trib.it/l3
11/ Not everyone in their group survived the journey North. At one point, Xol heard screams from the other crates.
14/ The case was at a standstill until late last week, when @MichaelAvenatti and his Laredo-based associate, civil rights attorney Ricardo De Anda, agreed to represent the family. trib.it/l3
15/ But for now, Byron remains in the shelter in Texas.
He turned 8 in June. But he didn't celebrate it.
"No, no," he said on a recent call home. "Here I didn’t have a birthday."
🗣Early voting in the Texas primary election begins today 🗳
Most years, less than a quarter of registered voters in the state cast primary ballots.
Follow this thread for everything you need to participate in 2022. trib.it/G-e#TX2022
2/ Members of the same party run against one another in primary elections to decide who will be the party’s candidate in the general election for each race.
Our guide has what you need to know about important deadlines and what to expect at the polls. bit.ly/3GP066b
3/ You can personalize your ballot to see candidates running in the Democratic and Republican primaries here: bit.ly/3v4ht0D
Texans hunkered down this week, anxious after the traumatizing collapse of the power grid in February 2021 and fearing a severe storm could come again.
The grid didn't fail this time, but here’s what you should know about changes made to it since 2021. trib.it/G-k
2/ In the wake of the 2021 storm, some conservative politicians in the state incorrectly scapegoated renewable energy as the primary cause of the outages.
But the state’s grid largely runs on fossil fuels. trib.it/G-l
3/ After the grid failure, Texas lawmakers passed energy grid legislation aimed at preventing electricity blackouts.
But it will likely take years before those changes are fully implemented. trib.it/G-m
This week’s cold front could be the first significant test of the state’s main power grid since last February’s freeze left millions of Texans without power for days in subfreezing temperatures.
There could be local power outages in the state. bit.ly/3uiS0Qo
“No one can guarantee there won’t be [power outages],” Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday, just over two months after he promised the lights would stay on this winter. bit.ly/3ujdooz
Catch up on our reporting about whether the state's power grid is prepared to handle another deep freeze: bit.ly/32OEiJM
Baseless claims of widespread voter fraud repeated by Texas Republicans have influenced policy decisions.
The state has dozens of residents charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot — including one who's running for office.
Here’s how the insurrection is still affecting Texas. 1/
2/ Rejection of President Joe Biden’s victory was at the root of the insurrection that day, and Texas Republicans have continued to echo false claims of widespread voter fraud.
New voting restrictions in some states — including Texas — have followed. n.pr/3HJXSpA
3/ Legislation passed in 2021 further tightens state election laws and constrains local control of elections by limiting counties’ ability to expand Texans’ voting access. bit.ly/3zzNSMp
The U.S. Supreme Court allowing Texas' abortion law to remain intact creates a roadmap for other states that may seek to limit other constitutional rights, legal experts say.
On Saturday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom took a step toward that prediction. Here's how we got here:
2/ Though the constitutional right to an abortion has been recognized by federal courts since Roe v. Wade nearly 50 years ago, Texas' law is designed to get around that.
It's enforced by lawsuits brought by private citizens rather than the state. bit.ly/3EMBkmR
3/ Under the law, anyone can sue anyone who performs, aids or intends to aid in an abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy — regardless of whether they have a personal stake in the abortion performed.
It marks an unprecedented change to who has standing to bring a lawsuit.