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TX prisons now checking status Houston (AP) -- Officials say Texas' prison system is the first in the country to start checking an inmate's immigration history by running fingerprints through a new federal program. As of Tuesday, all prisoners booked into the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's intake site in Huntsville will have their fingerprints checked with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's biometric system for any immigration record. Any matches with the biometric system are reviewed and appropriate action is taken after a prisoner completes his sentence. Top priority is being given to illegal immigrants who have prior convictions of major drug offenses, murder, rape, robbery and kidnapping. The Associated Press

TX couple accused of smuggling illegals El Paso, TX -- A Lower Valley man and his wife are facing charges of illegal immigrant smuggling, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said. The KVIA News (El Paso)... TX city seeks new site for detention facility Mineral Wells officials have found another location for a proposed $35 million federal detention facility for illegal immigrants after a site northeast of the city s airport was rejected last... TX Salvadoran entrepreneurs rally for homeland At age 18, Wilfredo Velasquez sneaked into the U.S. to escape the civil war that raged in his native El Salvador. 'That was scary,' Velasquez said. He dug trenches in...

More Texas Immigration News

TX trucker jailed for transporting illegals

Gulfport, MS (AP) -- A Texas man has been sentenced to 15 months in Mississippi on a federal charge of transporting undocumented immigrants. Prosecutors say Joe Allen Foster of Houston was stopped by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in October...
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Suspected illegal attacks TX police with taser

Waco, TX -- What began as a car chase early Saturday morning ended with a man stealing a police officer's stun gun and trying to use it on another officer. 28-year old Carlos Hernandez lead police on a car chase...
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ICE targets TX smuggling operations

Dallas -- Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have started an operation aimed at rounding up suspects in immigrant smuggling rings in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. ICE says its agents and officials from other federal, state and local agencies began making...
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TX city mayor's 287(g) plan approval draws protests

Mayor Bill White is facing increasing hostility over his decision to have the city participate in a federal program that trains local jailers to act as immigration agents. Some activists have suggested the move toward stronger immigration enforcement could jeopardize...
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TX city candidates spar over immigration

Lewisville residents will elect a new mayor and City Council member. Dealing with illegal immigration and economic development are top goals for the five candidates vying for the two seats. Longtime Mayor Gene Carey is stepping down after nine years...
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TX city election highlights immigration

At a recent voter's forum for Plano City Council candidates, challenger Greg Myer vowed to rein in city spending and uphold what he called 'traditional values.' Such talk is more common to the congressional campaign trail than contests for nonpartisan...
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TX community protests planned detention facility

Marc and Ronda Olson were drawing up plans to build their retirement home near the Mineral Wells airport on property that had been in their family for over 50 years. Everything seemed fine to the Olsons, of Shreveport, until they...
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TX detainees begin hunger strike

Brownsville, TX -- Immigrant rights activists say detainees at the Port Isabel Detention Center began a hunger strike Thursday to protest alleged physical and verbal mistreatment at the facility. But U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Nina PruÒeda denied the...
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Report: Illegals a costly burden in TX

Some say illegal immigration costs Texas billions of dollars. Others say that ignores the economic benefits such immigrants contribute. The question of costs vs. benefits, though contentious and unclear, brings disparate groups to agree on this: No one knows for...
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TX House committee weighs enforcement bills

A House committee heard multiple hot-button issues at the Capitol on Tuesday, tackling abortion, human cloning, immigration and state sovereignty bills. Witnesses testified to the House State Affairs Committee in an overcrowded room full of ardent supporters and opponents of...
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TX Rep. wants increased security budget

El Paso, TX -- The top-ranking member of the State Homeland Security Intelligence Subcommittee called for reinforcements at the border. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, toured the border in El Paso Monday as he met with federal agents responsible for securing...
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TX senator 'reaches out' to Hispanics

When U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison meets with Hispanic constituents next week in Dallas, she may be looking beyond just lining up votes for what looks like a run for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2010. She may also looking...
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Three illegals suspected in assault on TX student

Weslaco, TX -- Police here arrested three illegal immigrants from Mexico on Friday in connection with the kidnapping and sexual assault of a South Texas College student. The Monitor (McAllen, TX)...
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Illegal jailed for molesting TX teen

A district judge on Friday sentenced a Mexican national who entered the country illegally to 15 years in prison for forcing his way into an apartment and assaulting a 13-year-old girl. The Avalanche Journal (Lubbock, TX)...
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Federal judge rejects TX landowner's fence challenge

McAllen, TX (AP) -- A federal judge rejected the last of the objections from one of the border fence's fiercest opponents Thursday, giving the government immediate possession of her land and clearing the way for construction to begin. U.S. District...
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TX employer sanctions bill draws ire of business

Industry groups across Texas are taking a stand against a bill by state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, that would revoke the licenses of businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. 'Texas has always been a pro-business state, so whether you think...
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TX, AZ consider bans on sanctuaries

The debate over immigration is heating up in border states like Texas and Arizona, which are considering bills to ban cities from enacting 'sanctuary policies' that discourage local police from enforcing federal immigration laws. Witnesses testified Wednesday before a Texas...
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Anguished witness removed from TX hearing

Austin, TX (AP) -- A witness who told lawmakers they 'would hear from him' if they didn't vote for a bill allowing police to enforce immigration laws was escorted from a meeting Wednesday after the committee chairman said he perceived...
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TX court stalls drivers license restriction

Austin -- A state judge Thursday agreed to put on hold stringent new Texas driver license rules that were touted last year as a crackdown on unauthorized immigrants. State District Judge Orlinda L. Naranjo made the decision in a lawsuit...
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Federal funds used to upgrade three Texas border facilities

Washington, DC (AP) -- Three sites in Texas will benefit from federal money to modernize land ports and tighten border security. U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday announced the funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, with $720...
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TX city spends $500,000 defending immigration ordinance

The Farmers Branch City Council will spend nearly a half-million dollars more to cover the cost of legal fees incurred by two groups that have challenged the city's ordinances on illegal immigration. Since 2006 to Tuesday's council decision, the city...
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Texas twins found guilty of visa fraud scheme

Brownsville brothers Alberto and Bernardo Peña were born together and worked together. They also were tried before a federal jury in Houston and were found guilty together. The jury found Friday that the 39-year-old twins conspired with each other and...
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TX county probation plan hinges on legal technicalities

The legal argument behind a controversial proposal by the Harris County District Attorney's Office to eliminate probation plea deals for illegal immigrants hinges on a simple but hotly contested question. Can people who are in the country illegally, by letter...
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TX city policies crack down on illegal aliens

Irving, TX -- Just after sunrise one morning last summer, as his two sons hurried out the door to school, Oscar Urbina might have presented a portrait of domestic stability in this Dallas suburb, a 35-year-old man with a nice...
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TX governor asks feds to close 'loopholes'

Gov. Rick Perry has requested that top Department of Homeland Security officials resolve 'vulnerabilities' that have allowed illegal immigrants to hold onto valid Texas driver's licenses and slip undetected through the state's jails. Perry asked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano...
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TX county leader charged with corruption

McAllen, TX (AP) -- Hidalgo County's first elected woman county commissioner was arrested along with her husband Thursday morning on charges alleging a scheme in which the county paid illegal immigrants for work done in their home. Hidalgo County Precinct...
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Illegal accused in rape, murder of TX teen

Hutcheson Junior High School will hold a memorial service Friday for a 13-year-old student who was found sexually assaulted and strangled in her Arlington bedroom this week. School principal RoseMary Bolden said Elizabeth Villa was a seventh grader known for...
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TX Customs agent arrested on corruption charges

McAllen, TX (AP) -- A U.S. customs officer was arrested Thursday at his post on the U.S.-Mexico border on charges alleging he allowed vehicles carrying illegal immigrants and drugs to pass through his checkpoint in exchange for bribes. Customs and...
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TX county attorney seeks end to plea deals for illegals

A Harris County District Attorney's office proposal to bar illegal immigrants from receiving plea deals sparked questions Wednesday - including some from longtime prosecutors in the same office - about the legality and practicality of such a policy. Four senior...
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DHS chief to visit Texas border, press security

Washington, DC -- Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano will visit Laredo this week as part of a three-day trip designed to reinforce the Obama administration's attention to border security and the fight against Mexico's drug cartels. Her trip will start in...
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