Human Rights
Four Texas Abortion Court Cases to Watch in 2019
John Guandolo is on a Crusade to Turn Texas Cops Against Muslims
An ex-FBI agent living in the Dallas area, Guandolo occupies a special niche in a larger network of Islamophobes in the United States.
In late September, about 100 conservatives gathered at the Odessa Country Club to hear from two men: Republican Congressman Mike Conaway, who discussed the 357...Read More
How Climate Change Is Driving Central American Migrants to the United States
In the poor, violent Northern Triangle of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, worsening floods, drought and storms are pushing a growing number of migrants north.
Donald Trump thinks there’s an immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. He has no idea what’s coming. Thousands of Central American migrants arrive at ...Read More
State-Sanctioned Secrecy Shields Texas’ Death Penalty Machine from Scrutiny
New revelations about the source of Texas’ execution drugs underscore the risks of capital punishment shrouded in secrecy.
Shortly before he died by lethal injection earlier this year, Anthony Shore, Houston’s infamous “tourniquet killer,” exclaimed that he felt a burning sens...Read More
Who Writes History? The Fight to Commemorate a Massacre by the Texas Rangers
In 1918, a state-sanctioned vigilante force killed 15 unarmed Mexicans in Porvenir. When their descendants applied for a historical marker a century later, they learned that not everyone wants to remember one of Texas’ darkest days.
In 1918, a state-sanctioned vigilante force killed 15 unarmed Mexicans in Porvenir. When their descendants applied for a historical marker a century later, they...Read More
How Madeline Snyder, a Trans Woman in Tyler, Got Her Driver’s License Fixed
After she came out, Maddie Snyder worried she wouldn't be able to get her name and gender updated on her driver's license. Then the local LGBTQ community rallied to help her, and Texas attorneys across the state are pitching in.
How Madeline Snyder, a Trans Woman in Tyler, Got Her Driver’s License Fixed After she came out, Maddie Snyder worried she wouldn’t be able to get her na...Read More
Border Patrol Calls Cops on Lawyers, Activists Trying to Attend ‘Stakeholder’ Meeting
Police asked civil rights attorneys and opponents of the border wall to leave a Border Patrol station in McAllen, where an invite-only border wall meeting was taking place.
Outside the McAllen Border Patrol station Wednesday morning, a group of about nine anti-border wall activists and civil rights attorneys attempted to attend a q...Read More
Ken Paxton’s Strange Quest to Execute an Intellectually Disabled Man
Prosecutors have agreed to spare Bobby Moore’s life due to his intellectual disability. Texas’ highest criminal court and top legal official want to kill him anyway.
As a teenager, Bobby Moore couldn’t tell time. Before dropping out of school in the ninth grade, he was so far behind his peers that teachers told him to draw...Read More
AUDIO: Melissa del Bosque and Rachel Poser on Border Patrol’s Unchecked Mission Creep
Listen to reporter Melissa del Bosque and Harper's editor Rachel Poser discuss del Bosque's groundbreaking feature, “Checkpoint Nation.”
On October 8, the Texas Observer published a powerful look at what’s come to be known as the border zone — a buffer of about 100 miles that runs along a...Read More
Harris County Clerk Scrubs Soros Conspiracies from Site. Will Other GOP Leaders Follow Suit?
Under pressure, Republican Stan Stanart has dropped his anti-Semitic campaign pitch.
After pushback from media and a top Houston GOP official, Republican Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart scrubbed his re-election website Tuesday night of George S...Read More