Texas

Unaccompanied Minors Face New Hurdles as Trump Administration Levies Unprecedented Fees

byOisakhose Aghomo

  Immigrant children seeking asylum in the United States are facing thousands of dollars in new fees and other hurdles mandated this year by Congress, Texas refugee advocates say. “Policy changes that we’ve seen over the past few months …  all have one thing in common, and that is targeting the rights of migrant children […]

High School Marchers Protest Restrictions on Speech and Academic Freedom: ‘We are Done Being Polite About Our Rights.'”

byA.J. Muonagolu

College and high school students marched to the Texas State Capitol Friday to protest new state laws that they say limit student speech and harm public education.
“To Texas lawmakers, hands off our youth — because we are done being polite about our rights.” high school student Kara Newton yelled through a megaphone to protesters. “We are done being complacent. We want change and we want it now!”

On the Edge of Closure: The Daily Struggle of Rural Hospitals in Texas

byErika González

Hundreds of workers in Texas’ rural hospitals face long shifts but without any certainty that their hospital will still be there next year. 
Texas leads the nation in rural hospital closures, according to the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals. In the past 20 years, 26 rural hospitals have shut their doors.

Paxton Urges Conservatives to ‘Take on the Evil’ of the Left to ‘Save America’

byNatalia Rodriguez

State and federal Republican officials called for conservatives to wage war against leftist ideologies in a Turning Point USA event on the University of Texas campus Monday, stating that it was their “life purpose to destroy them.”

Amid Crisis in Veterans Care, Texas Embarks on a ‘Psychedelic Revolution’

byMichael Karlis

The staggering number of veteran suicides, combined with Texas’ large population of former service members, has led the state to becoming what some experts are calling the center of the “psychedelic revolution.”
A slew of bills in the Texas Legislature have garnered broad, bipartisan support, including House Bill 3137, which would mandate the largest appropriation of public funds for psychedelic research in U.S. history.

Lunches for Texas Students Expected to Suffer After USDA Pulls Plug on Local Food for Schools Program

byMadeline de Figueiredo and Rebecca Butler

The Local Food for Schools initiative was set to distribute $660 million to state agencies in fiscal 2025, aiming to help schools and child care facilities buy locally grown food in 40 states.

At Anti-Trump Rally, Less Chanting and More Organizing

byMichael Karlis

Organizers said more than 1,000 demonstrators descended upon the Texas State Capitol over the weekend to protest against what some experts say is the Trump administration’s increasingly authoritarian rule.  Saturday’s protest, organized by the 50501, Hands Off! and Resist Austin movements — three grassroots campaigns aiming to prevent “plutocrats” from “undermining the rule of law”  […]

‘I Am Gonna Scribe the Beauty of This City I Grew Up In’: Austin’s First Poet Laureate Vows to Tell Hard Truths

byShunya Carroll

  As he was inaugurated as Austin’s first poet laureate, Zell Miller III said last week that he will use the platform to promote literacy and tell the hard truths of the city’s history. “I am gonna scribe the beauty of this city I grew up in,” Miller said during a ceremony at the Austin […]

Hungry Texans Lose Access to Millions of Pounds of Food as USDA Cuts Deliveries to Texas Food Banks

byMadeline de Figueiredo

Recent cuts by the U.S. Department of Agriculture have forced the cancellation of 396 food deliveries to Texas food banks, putting at risk nearly 12 million pounds of food valued at $19 million and intended for emergency food assistance. 

Mother of 3 Detained in Hays County ICE Raid Say Siblings Have No Gang Ties

byMeredith McKelvey

A 16-year-old boy and his older siblings, both in their early 20s, were detained with more than 40 others during a law enforcement raid at a party in Hays County. According to a press statement, the raid was the result of a federal investigation into a Venezuelan gang that has become a target of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement.
The siblings’ mother told Reporting Texas that the authorities are wrong.
“I want the public to know that my children are not linked to any gang, as the government is saying,” the mother said.
The siblings remain detained at an undisclosed location.

Draggieland Pageant Goes on After Judge Nixes A&M’s Drag Show Ban

byShunya Carroll

Maria Maria hit each choreographed step like an athlete. Her routine elevated classic New York voguing to a gymnast’s floor routine. The four to the floor pop medley was almost drowned out by the crowd’s cheering. 
This wasn’t a national stadium tour. It was Draggieland.
The biggest drag show in College Station prevailed Thursday over Texas A&M University’s attempt to ban drag performances on campus.

Texas’ Suicide Hotline, Overburdened and Underfunded, Could Get Support from a Proposed Bill.

byMadeline De Figueiredo

Each month, thousands of Texans reach out for support in difficult moments by dialing 988, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. But, for some, their calls are met with long wait times and multiple transfers to out-of-state centers. Texas faces a $7 million shortfall in funding for the 988 system.