Patricia Ortiz

1 week ago | houstonpublicmedia.org | Patricia Ortiz

A University of Houston assistant professor says he is preparing to return to South Korea after telling students over the weekend he could no longer teach their class because of the “unexpected termination of my visa.”In a message he sent to students that was shared online, Hyeongseon Jeon said he would teach one last class on Tuesday before another professor fills in for him for the remainder of the semester.

2 weeks ago | houstonpublicmedia.org | Patricia Ortiz |Lucio Vasquez

The University of Houston said a “small number” of its international students have been impacted by a nationwide effort to revoke visas and remove the legal immigration status of students from abroad. “Since March 25, a small number of our international students have been impacted by SEVIS terminations and/or visa revocations,” the university said in a Wednesday statement, referring to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System.

2 weeks ago | houstonpublicmedia.org | Patricia Ortiz

Almost all population growth in Harris County last year came from international migration, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by a fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute. Census data released last month showed that two Houston-area counties, Liberty and Montgomery, are among the fastest-growing in the nation. Harris County ranked first in the nation for numeric growth, adding 105,852 new residents from 2023 to 2024.

3 weeks ago | houstonpublicmedia.org | Patricia Ortiz

The Texas Senate on Tuesday approved Senate Bill 8, which would require sheriffs in the state’s largest counties — including Harris County — to collaborate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Any county with a population over 100,000 would be required to enter into a 287(g) agreement with ICE, allowing local and state law enforcement agencies to help enforce federal immigration laws. Such agreements would be optional for smaller counties under Senate Bill 8.

3 weeks ago | houstonpublicmedia.org | Patricia Ortiz

The Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project (GHIRP) is a plaintiff in a nationwide lawsuit that aims to restore legal representation for unaccompanied children in immigration courts. Nonprofits like GHIRP were told last week to stop almost all of their services, and then notified that they would only be allowed to do legal screenings and “know your rights” presentations for a period of six months.