News & Commentary

Earlier this week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced in a press release his office’s support for a lawsuit that would allow states to deny drivers’ licenses to immigrants who hold federal work permits. In other words, if he can’t do anything about immigrants having the right to a job, at least he can try to stop them from traveling to it.

More from ACLU of Texas’ Humans of the Border. An interview with a Mexican journalist who asked that her name not be used.

They used the bathroom at a ball game and got arrested. The community asked why. Turns out they’d been spied on by a government camera. But the Border Patrol told a different story.

A beginner drag queen discovers that in South Texas, queer history and family history can be one and the same

Facebook is who I am. Really. Why do I have all the selfies? Well, I don’t have a partner, someone to always tell me, “You’re beautiful.” Selfies build up my self-esteem. I have yet to figure out my interaction with men. When they first meet me they love that I’m independent and can hold it down. They work really hard to get me. But once they have me they feel … what’s the word?...emasculated.

Everywhere you look—straight ahead, to the side and even skyward—uniformed officials in grim vehicles, and big objects fat with helium, are watching you. Watching you. Watching. You can always grab your cellphone, tap the camera app, and watch back. That’s what I’ve done since arriving in the Rio Grande Valley just before the Presidential election, to work as ACLU Texas’ reporter for immigration issues. My photos are piling up, especially since the election. Here are a few. If you don’t live here, in our country’s ultimate surveillance zone, give a look. Watch what it’s like to be watched.

The day after the Presidential election felt like a giant funeral in Brownsville, Texas—especially for people like Ninfa Alemán and her children.

Last month the Department of Justice (DOJ) came to its senses and announced it would phase out its use of private prisons, citing inadequate services, safety, and savings. One week later, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it, too, would review its relationship with the private prison industry, and produce that review by November.

The government cannot round up 11 million undocumented immigrants without resorting to unconstitutional policing practices.