2013 Texas Tribune Festival

Aguilar covered the 81st legislative session for the Rio Grande Guardian. Previously, he reported from the border for the Laredo Morning Times. A native of El Paso, where he now heads the Tribune’s border bureau, Aguilar has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of... Read More →

Burton is a vice president at Stratfor, an Austin-based geopolitical intelligence firm, where he guides the company's extensive coverage of the security environment in Mexico. Previously, he was a counterterrorism agent with the U.S. State Department for 14 years. Burton recently... Read More →

McCaul, R-Austin, has represented District 10 in Congress since 2005. He chairs the Homeland Security Committee and sits on the Foreign Affairs and Science, Space and Technology committees. Previously, McCaul served as the chief of counterterrorism and national security in the U.S... Read More →

Meissner is a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank dedicated to the study of migration and immigrant integration policies. She served as director of MPI's Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future. Previously, she served in the... Read More →

O’Rourke, D-El Paso, is serving his first term in Congress as a representative of District 16. He sits on the Homeland Security and Veterans’ Affairs committees. Previously, he served on the El Paso City Council for six years. O’Rourke is a co-founder of Stanton Street Tech... Read More →

Staples, who is running for lieutenant governor, was first elected commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture in 2007. Previously, he served as a member of both the Texas House and Senate and on his hometown city council. Staples is a business owner, realtor and rancher... Read More →