Stella M. Chávez
Immigration/Demographics ReporterStella M. Chávez is KERA’s immigration/demographics reporter. Her journalism roots run deep.
She spent a decade and a half in newspapers – including seven years at The Dallas Morning News, where she covered education and won the Livingston Award for National Reporting, which is given annually to the best journalists across the country under age 35. The award-winning entry was “Yolanda’s Crossing,” a seven-part DMN series she co-wrote that reconstructs the 5,000-mile journey of a young Mexican sexual-abuse victim from a small Oaxacan village to Dallas.
For the last two years, she worked for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,where she was part of the agency’s outreach efforts on the Affordable Care Act and ran the regional office’s social media efforts.
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Texas has spent billions of dollars on its own immigration enforcement and border security, making them the ideal partner to the new Trump administration. -
Trump tried to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program before. Since then, it’s been caught up in legal challenges and is likely headed for the Supreme Court. -
Hailing from places like Venezuela and South Asia, voters told us political unrest at home taught them the value of a democratic process. -
The Department of Public Safety and the Department of State Health Services are no longer following court orders to update someone's sex on driver's licenses and birth certificates. Transgender Texans and advocates say this could put their community at greater risk of being denied certain services and threaten their safety. -
Longtime noncitizens married to a U.S. citizen could be eligible to apply for parole that would grant protections. UNT college student Oscar Silva says he plans to apply. -
“A shameful attempt to incite fear and score political points.” Criticism and condemnation came quickly from immigrant rights organizations – and Texas lawmakers on both sides of the aisle – after President Biden issued an executive order Tuesday that would limit asylum claims. -
North Texans who waited hours to vote in Mexico's election are angry they couldn't cast their ballotThousands of North Texans weren't able to vote in Mexico's historic election of its first female president due to high turnout and because many didn't pre-register. -
A bipartisan group says President Biden should use executive authority to grant longtime undocumented immigrants temporary protection from deportation and work permits. -
Over the years, countless number of people who have a legitimate claim to U.S. citizenship have been placed in deportation proceedings. -
City Council member Adam Bazaldua introduced a resolution in a committee meeting against Senate Bill 4. The entire council is expected to vote at its June 12 meeting. -
The federal government estimates as many as 100,000 people in the DACA program could be eligible to enroll in a health care plan through the Affordable Care Act.
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The U.S. Department of State-run program known as Welcome Corps allows U.S. citizens or permanent residents to sponsor a refugee or refugee family. Texas is one of the states leading the way in the number of application submissions.
