Texas Legal News

DHS Ratifies Immigration Civil Fines

The Department of Homeland Security has ratified every final immigration civil penalty decision issued between June 27, 2025 and October 13, 2026 under the interim version of 8 CFR part 281, except those reversed on appeal, pending appeal, or reopened and rescinded. The notice, signed by the Secretary of Homeland Security and scheduled for the Federal Register on October 26, 2026, also opens a narrow and short window: a person who says the interim procedures prejudiced them may raise that claim to ICE, and the notice states that all claims must be received on or before November 16, 2026. It is not an appeal, and it does not replace the appeal deadlines that already exist. Here is what the notice says, what it does not say, who in Texas is holding one of these fine notices, and what an immigration lawyer can review against one persons paperwork.

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Fifth Circuit revives Meta Pixel health privacy class action

On October 23, 2026 the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decided Rand v. Eyemart Express, L.L.C., No. 25-10784, reversing a Northern District of Texas dismissal and sending a putative class action back for further proceedings. The plaintiffs are five Facebook users who say the Meta tracking pixel on an eyewear retailer’s website sent their eyeglass prescriptions, product searches and eye-exam scheduling to Meta without their knowledge or consent. The panel held that the unauthorized disclosure of that health information is a concrete injury that gets a plaintiff into federal court, and that the complaint plausibly alleged the information reached Meta. Here is what the opinion decides, what it expressly does not decide, and what a Texas lawyer can review.

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Fifth Circuit: no constitutional right to a bond hearing

On October 23, 2026 the en banc Fifth Circuit decided Sosnava Rodriguez v. Vergara, No. 26-50183, holding that three longtime Texas residents detained under 8 U.S.C. section 1225(b)(2)(A) were not entitled to individualized hearings on dangerousness or flight risk, and that the length of their detention raised no constitutional issue warranting habeas relief. The court reversed three Western District of Texas habeas grants and vacated the relief. The ruling binds Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, and it arrives while the Supreme Court has already agreed to hear the same question in a case from another circuit. Here is what the opinion holds, who it reaches, what it does not decide, and what an immigration lawyer can review in one person’s papers.

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EB-2 Recovers Three Months on November 1

The Department of State has published the Visa Bulletin for November 2026, about three weeks later than the usual mid-month posting. The worldwide employment second-preference final action date moves forward three months, from January 1, 2025 to April 1, 2025, returning part of what the October bulletin took away. EB-3 and EB-3 Other Workers advance, the family-sponsored categories move forward about a year in several columns, F-2A reaches October 22, 2026, and USCIS says the Dates for Filing chart governs November adjustment of status filings in both the family and employment categories. Here is what changed, who in Texas it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can review for one household.

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Lubbock County Intoxication Manslaughter Charge After Tahoka Woman Killed

Texas DPS says a 47-year-old Tahoka woman, Elizabeth Metcalf, was killed at the intersection of FM 1585 and County Road 3100 in Lubbock County just after 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 18, 2026. A 34-year-old Lubbock man was arrested on an intoxication manslaughter charge and held on a $100,000 bond. What that second-degree felony covers under Texas law, how a criminal case differs from a family civil claim, and the two-year wrongful death deadline that runs from the date of death.

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Texas School Staff Data Exposed in Frontline Breach

Frontline Education, a software company used by school districts across Texas, told districts that an August 14, 2026 security incident exposed employee names, home addresses, email addresses and Social Security numbers. A breach report filed with the Texas Attorney General on October 16 lists Klein ISD at about 37,966 Texas residents. Lubbock, Waco, Fort Worth, Crowley and Laredo districts have also told staff they were affected. Individual notice letters are scheduled to begin October 26, 2026. Here is what the records say, what Texas law requires after a breach, and what kind of lawyer reads a notice like this.

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Dayton ISD Bus Driver Arrested After Student Struck on U.S. 90

Dayton police say a 14-year-old Woodrow Wilson Junior High student was struck near U.S. 90 and Stilson Road early on Friday, October 16, 2026, and that the driver did not stop or render aid. A 70-year-old Dayton ISD bus driver was arrested the same day; jail records list a charge of collision causing serious bodily injury. What the charge means, how a claim against a Texas school district works differently from any other injury claim, and the six-month notice deadline in the Texas Tort Claims Act.

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Death in ICE Custody at the Laredo Processing Center

Emiliano Andrade-Covarrubias, 56, a Mexican national who had lived in Dallas for decades, was found unresponsive in his cell at the federal immigration processing center in Laredo on the morning of Saturday, October 17, 2026 and was pronounced dead. The cause has not been released and an autopsy is being performed at the Webb County Medical Examiner’s office. Mexico’s foreign ministry has asked United States authorities for a prompt and transparent investigation. Here is what has been reported, what ICE’s own death-reporting policy requires, and the questions a Texas lawyer can take up for a family in this position.

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Ukraine and Sudan TPS: the October 19 Date Arrived

Two Federal Register notices from January 17, 2025 extended Temporary Protected Status for Ukraine and for Sudan from April 20, 2025 through October 19, 2026. That date is today, and no determination extending or terminating either designation has been published. The Department of Homeland Security told the Associated Press that the people covered “retain protection” and that an announcement will come “at the appropriate time,” without saying for how long and without answering a question about work permits. The statute describes a six-month extension when the review date passes in silence. Here is every document that exists today, the one that does not, and what an immigration lawyer can read on a particular person’s papers.

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Court Orders DV-2027 Diversity Visa Lottery Opened

The registration window for the fiscal year 2027 diversity visa lottery never opened on the Department of State’s usual autumn schedule. On October 14, 2026 a federal court in California granted a preliminary injunction ordering the Department to open it, and under the revised timetable the court approved the Department is to announce the registration dates by October 29, 2026 and begin accepting entries by November 1, 2026, with the window open about thirty days. As of October 17 the Department had not yet posted DV-2027 instructions. Here is what the order says, who in Texas it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can review for one family.

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CenterPoint Breach Reported at 1,062,060 Texans

CenterPoint Energy told the Texas Attorney General that 1,062,060 Texas residents were affected by the cybersecurity incident it disclosed to the SEC on September 14, 2026. The listing describes names, addresses, Social Security information and driver license numbers, and it records that affected customers had not yet been notified. A separate claim posted by a third party puts the number far higher and remains unconfirmed. Here is what the filings actually say, what Texas law requires of a company after a breach, and what kind of lawyer reads a notice like this.

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Texas Sues Gerber and Nestlé Over Baby Food Metals

On October 14, 2026 the Office of the Texas Attorney General sued Gerber Products Company and Nestlé USA, Inc. under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, alleging that Gerber marketed its baby food as safe, pure and rigorously tested while its own testing showed arsenic, lead and cadmium at multiples of what federal rules allow in bottled water. The coverage reported the allegations. What it did not report is the part that decides whether any of this reaches a particular family: a state enforcement suit is not a class action, the civil penalties it seeks are paid to the state, a parent purchase claim and a child injury claim run on two different clocks, and one of those clocks does not start until the child turns eighteen. Here is what was filed, who in Texas it reaches, and what a Texas attorney can review against one household records.

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Proposed Rule Would End Deference on Visa Extensions

The Department of Homeland Security published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on October 14, 2026 that would remove the regulation telling USCIS officers to defer to a prior approval when an employer files to extend the same worker in the same job. Nothing has changed yet, and the current deference rule still applies while the comment period runs through November 13, 2026. But DHS projects roughly 6,044 more requests for evidence a year across about 208,429 affected filings, and the last time deference was withdrawn the denial rates on these extensions went up sharply. Here is what the proposal says, who in Texas it would reach, and what an immigration lawyer can review against one worker and one employer timeline.

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Immigration Civil Fines Rule Finalized

The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice published a final rule on October 14, 2026, effective that day, that locks in a fast-track process for civil money penalties against people who miss a voluntary departure deadline, willfully fail to depart after a final removal order, or are apprehended entering unlawfully. The penalty amounts are not new, and the appeal is now internal to DHS on a 15-business-day clock with no appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals. The rule makes one change from the 2025 interim rule: a late appeal may be accepted when documented mail delays were beyond the person who was fined. Separately, a federal judge in Massachusetts stayed the underlying interim rule on September 30, 2026 and blocked enforcement of fines imposed under it while that case proceeds. Here is what each document says, who in Texas it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can review for one notice.

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Refugee Termination Notice: Response Window Now 10 Days

The Department of Homeland Security published an interim final rule on October 14, 2026, effective the same day, that shortens the time a refugee has to respond to a Notice of Intent to Terminate refugee status from 30 days to 10 days. Three days are added when the notice is mailed. A refugee who does not respond in time gives up the chance to rebut, and USCIS may then terminate status, end work authorization, and process the person for removal. There is no appeal from the USCIS decision itself. Texas received more refugees than any other state in fiscal year 2024, so this is a Texas-heavy rule. Here is what the document says, who it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can review.

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Automatic Work Permit Extensions End

The Department of Homeland Security filed a final rule on October 13, 2026, scheduled to publish and take effect October 14, 2026, that adopts without change the interim rule ending automatic extensions of Employment Authorization Documents for people who timely file a renewal. The date that reaches an individual is not October 14 but October 30, 2025: a renewal filed on or after that day carries no automatic extension, so work authorization generally ends on the date printed on the card while USCIS decides. Renewals timely filed before October 30, 2025 keep the up-to-540-day extension, and extensions granted by statute or by Federal Register notice, including Temporary Protected Status documentation, are untouched. Here is what the rule says, who in Texas it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can review for one set of dates.

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Texas Proposes Rules for the SB 17 Property Law

On October 9, 2026 the Office of the Texas Attorney General published proposed new Chapter 67 of Title 1 of the Texas Administrative Code in the Texas Register, the rules that would run enforcement of Senate Bill 17 and the property-ownership restrictions it added to the Texas Property Code in 2025. The proposal is procedural on its face, and three pieces of it change where ordinary people stand: a mandatory complaint duty placed on title companies, lenders, appraisers and licensed real estate professionals, with a due-diligence safe harbor; an optional way to report property acquired before the statute took effect; and a reading of the statute under which successive short-term leases and acquisitions of entities that already own Texas land can count as covered acquisitions. Written comments are accepted for 30 days after publication, and the earliest the rules could be adopted is November 8, 2026. Here is what the proposal says, who it reaches, and what a Texas attorney can review.

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Rubinsky Roofing Judgment: A 90-Day Claim Window

On October 8, 2026 the Office of the Texas Attorney General announced a final judgment against a North Texas roofing company and its owner for 27 violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, five of them involving consumers 65 or older. The coverage reported the money: more than $1.5 million in civil penalties to the state and at least $500,000 for victims. The order itself carries the part the coverage left out. A consumer has 90 days after notice is sent to submit documentation of what they paid and what they lost, the money an insurer paid the company on a homeowner behalf counts as an amount paid, and the notice only reaches consumers who appear on a list the defendants themselves have to produce. Here is what the order says, who it reaches, and what a Texas attorney can review.

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Federal Diesel Tax Deferral: What EO 14435 Directs

When Texas suspended its dyed-diesel road ban on September 28, 2026, the federal dyed-fuel penalty stayed in place, because a Governor cannot suspend a federal statute. Executive Order 14435, signed October 5 and published in the Federal Register on October 9, 2026, directs the Treasury Secretary and the IRS to reach exactly that gap: deferral of federal diesel excise tax incurred October 5 through December 31, 2026, and an announcement that the dyed-fuel penalty will not be imposed on highway sale or use during that window. Two things matter as much as the order itself. The relief is conditioned on Treasury determinations and guidance, and a deferral is a postponement rather than a forgiveness. Here is what the order directs, who in Texas it reaches, and what a Texas attorney can review.

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DHS Proposes a $70,000 OPT Fee

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register on October 8, 2026 that would require an SEVP-certified school to pay 70,000 dollars before a designated school official can recommend an F-1 student for initial Optional Practical Training, and 30,000 dollars for any subsequent OPT recommendation, including a STEM OPT extension. Nothing has changed yet: the rule is a proposal, comments are due November 9, 2026, and the fee would reach only recommendations dated 60 days or more after a final rule is published. Texas held 92,020 international students in October 2025 SEVIS data. Here is what the proposal says, who in Texas it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can review for one student or one school.

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Oracle Health Breach Reaches About 3 Million Texans

A filing reported to the Texas Attorney General puts the 2025 breach of legacy Cerner systems at nearly 20 million people, with as many as 2,992,244 Texas residents among them. The records describe names, Social Security numbers and laboratory information, notification letters that went out more than a year after the intrusion was discovered, and class actions already consolidated in Texas. Here is what the notices say, who in Texas they reach, and what kind of lawyer reads a letter like this.

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Court Vacates the $100,000 H-1B Fee Policies

On September 30, 2026 a federal judge in California vacated the agency guidance that required a one-time 100,000-dollar payment with every new H-1B petition, and enjoined the agencies from enforcing it, including as extended by the September 18, 2026 proclamation. The court left the proclamations themselves standing and sent the guidance back to the agencies, which means the question is now how and whether a payment requirement returns through formal rulemaking. Texas is one of the largest H-1B states in the country. Here is what the order actually says, who in Texas it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can check against one employer or one worker.

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New Immigration Filing Fees: October 1 and October 16

Three Department of Homeland Security notices published in the Federal Register on October 1, 2026 set the fiscal year 2027 inflation-adjusted amounts for the immigration fees created by H.R. 1, effective October 16, 2026, and the notice says a benefit request postmarked on or after that date without the proper fee will be rejected. A separate Justice Department notice already raised the amounts for several DHS forms filed with the immigration courts, effective October 1. Two agencies, two dates, two sets of numbers. Here is what changed, who in Texas it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can check against one family’s actual filing.

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Worldwide EB-2 and EB-3 Retrogress October 1

The State Department published the October 2026 Visa Bulletin on September 29, 2026. Employment second-preference dates for most of the world went from Current to January 1, 2025, EB-3 moved backward, China and India advanced, and USCIS says the Dates for Filing chart governs October filings. A separate rule change from August 2025 means the chart that lets a family file is no longer the chart that freezes a child under 21. Here is what changed, who in Texas it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can review for one household.

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Texas opens a Blue Cross Blue Shield investigation over denied and delayed care — what members should know

On September 28, 2026, the Texas Attorney General’s office announced a Deceptive Trade Practices Act investigation into Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas and its parent, Health Care Service Corporation, over denials and delays of urgent and medically necessary care and over prior-authorization procedures. A Civil Investigative Demand has been issued. An investigation is not a finding — and it does not reverse anyone’s denial. A member’s own appeal runs on a separate and much shorter clock, and which clock applies depends on whether the plan is insured or self-funded.

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Dyed Diesel on Texas Roads: What the Waiver Leaves in Place

Governor Abbott declared a statewide disaster on September 28, 2026 and suspended the Texas rule that keeps dyed diesel off public roads, along with state oversize and overweight permit requirements for fuel, agricultural and timber loads up to 95,000 pounds. Two things the proclamation does not do are worth knowing before a red-dye fill-up: the federal dyed-fuel penalty is a separate statute a Governor cannot suspend, and the Texas Low Emission Diesel suspension is contingent on an EPA authorization that had not issued. Here is what changed, and what a Texas lawyer can review.

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SBA Storm Loans: A November 9 Deadline in Eight Texas Counties

The U.S. Small Business Administration declared a disaster for Bexar County and seven surrounding counties after the severe storms and tornadoes of August 28, 2026. Homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofits in Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina and Wilson counties can apply for low-interest federal disaster loans, and the filing deadline for physical damage is November 9, 2026. Here is what the declaration covers, how it interacts with an insurance claim, and what a Texas lawyer can review on the paperwork.

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USCIS Tightens Weekend and Holiday Filing Deadlines

USCIS Policy Alert PA-2026-15, issued September 23, 2026 and effective October 23, 2026, narrows the rule that let a paper filing due on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday arrive on the next business day. Deadlines counted in a number of days keep the extension. Deadlines tied to an event, such as filing before a child turns 21, no longer get it. Here is what changed, who in Texas it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can review for one family.

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Supreme Court Revives the SAVE Citizenship Database

On September 25, 2026 the U.S. Supreme Court stayed a district court order that had blocked the expanded SAVE database, so states may again run voter records against it. Texas has already used SAVE comparisons, and Texas Election Code Section 16.0332 gives a voter who receives a proof-of-citizenship notice 30 days to respond before the registrar cancels the registration. Here is what the Court did, who in Texas this reaches, what the 30-day notice actually requires, and what an immigration or civil rights attorney can review for one person.

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DPS Voter Registrations Went Unsent to Counties

The Texas Department of Public Safety did not transmit an unknown number of voter registration applications from its online driver license portal to county voter registrars, with some records dating back to October 2025. The state began delivering the backlog to counties on September 22, 2026, less than two weeks before the October 5 registration deadline for the November 3 election. Here is what state officials have said, who this reaches, what the Texas Election Code says about provisional ballots, and what a Texas civil rights attorney can review for one voter.

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Why Your Texas Home Insurance Was Declined or Not Renewed

On September 23, 2026 the Texas Department of Insurance launched a public page showing, by ZIP code, the reasons home insurance companies gave for declining, canceling or not renewing policies. Behind it is House Bill 2067, a 2025 Texas law effective January 1, 2026 that removed the words “on request” from the Insurance Code: an insurer now has to put its reasons in writing for the applicant or policyholder, and report those reasons to TDI every quarter. Here is what the statute requires, what the new page shows, and what a Texas lawyer can review on the paperwork.

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Judge Orders Air Conditioning in Every Texas Prison by 2029

On September 22, 2026, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman issued a 150-page order finding that conditions in Texas prisons without air conditioning violate the Eighth Amendment, and directing the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to install air conditioning system-wide no later than December 31, 2029. Just over a third of the agency’s 104 facilities were fully air conditioned as of September 1. Here is what the order says, who it reaches, and what a Texas civil rights attorney can review for one person or one family.

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Social Media Screening Reaches TN, TD and I Visa Applicants October 1

On September 18, 2026, the U.S. Department of State announced that beginning October 1 it will broaden its online presence review to applicants for TN and TD visas under the USMCA and I visas for foreign media representatives, and instructed those applicants to set the privacy settings on every social media profile to public or open. Texas is the leading destination in the country for Mexican professionals holding TN status, and Mexican citizens are the ones who apply through a U.S. consulate. Here is what the announcement says, who in Texas it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can review before an interview.

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Fifth Circuit Voids the Out-of-State Handgun Purchase Ban

On September 18, 2026, a divided Fifth Circuit panel held that the 1968 federal provisions barring a licensed dealer from selling a handgun directly to a resident of another state violate the Second Amendment. The court reversed a Fort Worth district court and rendered judgment for the plaintiffs, one of whom is a Texas firearms dealer. The ruling departs from the same court’s 2018 decision in Mance v. Sessions and conflicts with the Second Circuit, which makes further review possible. Here is what the panel decided, what remains unsettled, and what a Texas gun law attorney can review for one dealer or one buyer.

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Who Is a Parent Under a Texas Surrogacy Agreement?

On September 17, 2026, the Supreme Court of Texas declined to block a medically fragile Dallas newborn from being moved out of state, leaving in place a trial court order that had dismissed the woman who carried him from the custody case. The dispute has put a rarely discussed part of Texas law in front of the public: Subchapter I of the Texas Family Code, which says a gestational agreement only binds anyone if a Texas court validated it before the embryo transfer, and says what happens when one was never validated. Here is what the statute requires, what the courts have done so far in the Dallas case, and what a Texas family lawyer can review for one family.

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Texas AG Warns of Website Privacy Demand Letters Hitting Texas Businesses and Nonprofits

On September 17, 2026, the Texas Attorney General issued a consumer alert about a surge in demand letters arriving at Texas businesses and nonprofit organizations. The letters allege violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act based on ordinary website tools — cookies, pixels, analytics and search bars — call them unlawful wiretapping, and demand immediate payment to avoid a lawsuit. Some arrive with screenshots of the recipient website and a draft complaint attached. What the alert actually says, what the underlying California statute is, where a pending California bill stands, and what a Texas lawyer can review before anyone responds or pays.

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Public Charge Rule Takes Effect Today — and the Lawsuits Did Not Stop It

The DHS public charge final rule reached its effective date on September 18, 2026. Four days earlier, on September 14, two separate lawsuits were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York — one by a coalition of state attorneys general, one by a group of cities and counties — asking the court to vacate the rule under the Administrative Procedure Act. Filing a lawsuit does not by itself suspend an effective date, and no court order blocking the rule has been publicly reported. Texas is not a plaintiff in either case. What the rule actually does, what DHS says it does not do, what the two complaints claim, and what an immigration lawyer can review for an adjustment application going out this week.

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USCIS Issues New Denaturalization Referral Guidance, Effective September 14

On September 14, 2026, USCIS issued Policy Alert PA-2026-13 and rewrote the part of its Policy Manual that governs how the agency identifies naturalized U.S. citizens for possible denaturalization and refers those cases to ICE or the Justice Department. The guidance took effect immediately, and USCIS extended the public feedback window to October 14. The alert does not change the legal grounds for revoking citizenship and it does not revoke anyone. Only a federal court can do that, and the government carries a high burden of proof. Here is what the new chapter actually says, the sixteen categories USCIS now says it prioritizes for referral, the five Texas federal cases the manual itself cites as examples, and the questions an immigration lawyer can review for a specific situation.

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USCIS Keeps the Old I-765 and I-539 Editions; a New I-485 Edition Still Starts September 18

The form-edition switch that USCIS announced for September 15 did not happen. After a federal court postponed the duration-of-status rule on September 14, USCIS updated its Form I-765 and Form I-539 pages to say it continues to accept the 08/21/25 edition of the work-permit application and the 08/28/24 edition of the extension application, and is not accepting the 09/15/26 editions it had said would be mandatory. Three days later, on September 18, a different switch still goes ahead: only the 09/18/26 edition of Form I-485, the green-card application, is accepted from that date, with no grace period. Which edition applies to which form, what a rejection for an outdated edition means, and what an immigration lawyer can review before a Texas filing goes out this week.

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Seven Noncitizens Charged With Illegal Voting in North Texas; 117 More Cases Referred

On September 15, 2026, federal prosecutors in Fort Worth announced charges against seven noncitizens, six of them lawful permanent residents, for voting or trying to vote in federal elections or falsely claiming U.S. citizenship. The same day, the Texas Secretary of State said it had referred 117 potential noncitizen voting cases to the Attorney General. A charge like this carries both a criminal case and an immigration consequence, and a registration notice from a county carries a 30-day clock. Here is what the record shows, what the statutes say, and the questions a criminal defense or immigration lawyer works through.

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Duration of Status Stays in Place: Court Postpones the September 15 Rule

One day before it was to take effect, a federal judge in Boston postponed the Department of Homeland Security rule that would have replaced duration of status with fixed admission periods of no more than four years for F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors, and 240 days for foreign media representatives. The September 14, 2026 order applies nationwide, is a postponement rather than a final judgment, and leaves the existing framework in force while the case continues. Here is what the court decided, what it did not decide, and what an immigration lawyer can review for a Texas student, scholar, employer or campus.

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El Salvador TPS After September 9: What USCIS Has Actually Said

The September 9, 2026 expiration date for El Salvador’s Temporary Protected Status came and went without a published decision. Late that day USCIS posted an alert on its El Salvador TPS page stating that an announcement will be made “at the appropriate time” and that, until then, Salvadorans present in the United States under TPS “retain protection including work authorization.” No Federal Register notice has followed, immigration lawyers are divided on how much weight an unsigned web alert carries for a Form I-9, and the two most recent precedents point in opposite directions. Here is what is published, what is not, and what an immigration lawyer can review for one Texas household.

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Addicks-Barker Upstream Harvey Case: Government Ends Its Appeals

On September 4, 2026, the federal government let its window to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Addicks and Barker upstream flooding case close without filing, according to the property owners’ lead counsel. That leaves the Federal Circuit’s December 22, 2025 decision in Ablan v. United States, which held the government liable for taking a permanent flowage easement over private property upstream of the two dams during Hurricane Harvey, as the final word on liability. Nine years after the storm, the case moves to deciding how much each owner is paid. Here is what the ruling settled, what is not compensable, how the compensation process is expected to work, and which questions belong with a lawyer.

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Sharpstown Apartments Go Five Days Without Power in the Heat: What Texas Tenants Can Look Into

Houston firefighters treated two people for heat exhaustion on Monday, September 7, 2026 at the Falls of West Point apartments on Parkfront Drive, where roughly a quarter of the complex had been without electricity since Thursday morning. CenterPoint says the failed equipment belongs to the property, not the utility. It was the third Houston complex to lose power in the heat over the holiday weekend. What the Texas Property Code requires a landlord to repair, how the seven-day notice clock works, what Houston’s new air-conditioning ordinance adds, and the options a tenant rights lawyer can review.

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Ukraine TPS and the October 19 Date: What Is Actually Published

The Federal Register notice that extended Temporary Protected Status for Ukraine runs from April 20, 2025 through October 19, 2026, and USCIS alerts to Form I-9 and E-Verify employers on August 14 and September 3 repeated that the designation and related benefits are set to terminate on that date. But the statute also called for the Secretary of Homeland Security to make a determination at least 60 days before expiration — a date that fell on August 20, 2026 — and no determination has been published. Texas is home to Ukrainian communities in Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio, many of whom arrived after the 2022 invasion. Here is what the official documents say, what the statute says about silence, and what an immigration lawyer can review for one person’s situation.

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Brownsville Hit-and-Run on Boca Chica Boulevard: Pedestrian Killed, Driver Arrested

Texas DPS says a 24-year-old Brownsville man kept driving after his Jeep struck and killed a pedestrian on State Highway 4 west of FM 511 just after midnight on September 6, 2026. Troopers found him hours later; he is charged with failure to stop and render aid in a collision involving death, a second-degree felony in Texas. What the charge means, what a family can look into after a hit-and-run death, and why the first weeks matter.

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El Paso Worker Killed by Heavy Machinery on Paseo Del Norte; OSHA Investigating

Ramiro Aaron Sanchez, 36, of West El Paso died September 2, 2026 when heavy machinery fell on him while he was performing maintenance at a job site in the 7200 block of Paseo Del Norte. His employer, Caterpillar dealer Wagner Equipment Co., says it is cooperating with investigators, and OSHA is reviewing the site. What Texas law offers a family after a death at work: workers compensation death benefits, the non-subscriber rule, third-party claims and wrongful death.

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Court Blocks the August 2026 Birthright Citizenship Order: What It Means for Texas Families

On September 2, 2026 a federal judge in Maryland issued a preliminary injunction that bars federal agencies from enforcing Executive Order 14418, the August 6 order that directed the State Department, DHS and the Social Security Administration to stop recognizing the citizenship of certain children born in the United States to non-citizen parents. The injunction protects a certified class of children born after February 19, 2025 whose mother was undocumented or lawfully but temporarily present and whose father was not a citizen or green-card holder. What the order said, what the court did, how it fits with the Supreme Court ruling of June 30, the Texas executive order on birth tourism, the proposed passport rule reported this week, and what an immigration lawyer can review for a Texas family with a newborn.

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New Form I-864 and Sponsor Credit Reports: What Texas Green Card Families Should Know

On August 31, 2026, USCIS published a new edition of Form I-864, Affidavit of Support (edition date 08/24/26), along with new editions of Forms I-864A and I-864EZ, and made them mandatory the same day with no grace period. The older 10/17/24 edition is not accepted if it is postmarked or submitted on or after August 31. The new form also contains a privacy release that authorizes USCIS to request information from consumer reporting agencies about the sponsor, and USCIS has said a credit or security freeze may block that request and cause delays. What changed, who in Texas it reaches, what the agency has and has not said about credit information, and what an immigration lawyer can review for a Texas sponsor or family.

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Texas Opens a TriWest Investigation Over Denied TRICARE Claims — What Military Families Should Know

On September 1, 2026, the Texas Attorney General opened a Deceptive Trade Practices Act investigation into TriWest Healthcare Alliance, the contractor that has run TRICARE’s West Region — which now includes Texas — since January 2025. The complaint pattern: claims denied because TriWest wrongly recorded that a patient had “other health insurance.” TriWest’s own May 19 letter acknowledged the problem. An investigation is not a finding — but a denied TRICARE claim carries a 90-day appeal clock, and the DTPA has deadlines of its own.

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