Texas 2025: Year in Photos
By Pu Ying Huang, The Texas Tribune
December 31, 2025
Texas Tribune photojournalists documented another year in Texas — one defined by turbulence, perseverance and deeply felt change. From the pink granite dome of the Capitol to student classrooms, immigrant communities, and a river town washed with tragedy, these images capture moments that shaped public life across the state.
The photo department works with multiple teams in the newsroom to cover a variety of beats. Every year, we deploy photojournalists — both staff and freelancers — far and wide to form a visual record of Texas, image by image. In December, photo editors sift through thousands of images to give you this special curation of the moments that stuck with us.
We’re proud to share this work with you as we look back on the year and step forward into 2026.
Politics
How Greg Abbott took a flailing school voucher movement and turned it into a winning issue
Gov. Greg Abbott takes a photo with students and staff after speaking about school vouchers at Parent Empowerment Night at Harvest Christian Academy. Abbott spoke about a bill proposing families receive $10,000 per student per year to use for private school tuition.
Members of the Texas Hemp Business Council deliver boxes of petitions, calling for Gov. Greg Abbott to veto to a bill which would ban THC products, at the governor’s business office at the Texas Capitol on the last day of the regular legislative session.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick displays various THC and CBD products during a news conference in the Texas Capitol.
Juvenile detention, imported shrimp, forever chemicals among hundreds of bills cut off by House deadline
Texas Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, wears a clock around his neck on the last day the House could grant preliminary approval to most legislation filed by its own members.
Mourners pass by the casket of former Mayor and Congressman Sylvester Turner.
Texas House members go through security screening at Signature Aviation in Austin prior to boarding a flight to Chicago. They left the Capitol to stop a vote on new congressional maps.
For their walkout, Texas Democrats get national attention — and partisan retribution at home
State Rep. Miheala Plesa, D-Plano, rips up her “permission slip” in front of the Texas House, vowing she will stay the night in the House Chamber in support of fellow Democrat Nicole Collier. At left is Rep. Rhetta Bowers, D-Garland, at right is Rep. Cassandra Hernandez, D-Farmer’s Branch.
The ripped-up “permission slip” of state Rep. Mihaela Plesa, D-Plano, lies on the floor outside the Texas House chamber after a few House members said they would spend the night in the Texas House chamber in solidarity with Rep. Nicole Collier.
Texas House redistricting committee’s Houston hearing draws criticism over absence of maps
People sign up to speak at a congressional redistricting meeting at the University of Houston campus.
State Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, sits at his desk in the House chamber in Austin.
Attendees at the No Kings protest at Travis Park.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks with supporters after a campaign rally.
Democratic State Representative and U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico speaks with the press during a campaign stop.
Enforcement of Texas’ “bathroom bill” draws challenges as colleges, cities implement new policies
Texas Highway Patrol Officers guard the women’s bathroom and ask some individuals to show ID to enter.
Economy
A mom, a student: How a San Antonio parent juggles school, work and child care for a better future
Isabella Marie Mapes works a night shift from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Flamingo Wash N Fold. Mapes is a 22-year-old parent attending San Antonio College. “I’m so scared to fail, even when I’m running myself into the ground,” Mapes said.
In Texas, private firms cash in on property tax late fees, piling debt onto struggling homeowners
Edward Lopez, Jr., partner with Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, in Linebarger’s offices in Austin. The firm is the top delinquent property tax collections firm in the state.
Jennie Treese, right, and her wife Amber Ramsey with their dog Leo and cat Hero in their home in Montgomery County. Treese inherited a home with property tax debt from her mother who died.
95,000 Texas children are waiting for state help to pay for day care
Clarissa Alday spends her morning reading to children at Katherine Sage Temple Early Learning Center.
Texas town pleads for help to avoid fatal traffic accidents
Joe Keese, Pecos Chamber of Commerce president, poses for a photo amongst the rubble of the chamber’s former building.
In Houston, young mothers face some of the highest barriers for college and work in the U.S.
Jacqueline Hernandez studies containers of strawberries inside the grocery store with her 11 month-old son.
A year after Donald Trump won the Rio Grande Valley, South Texans navigate changes big and small
Roel Perez moves the last of his belongings into his car on the morning of moving to another city.
Your Halloween pumpkin probably came from this small Texas town
Joe Castro moves pallets of pumpkins to load into a trailer at Pumpkin Pyle.
Texas hemp farmers frustrated with impending THC ban
Ann Gauger looks at a hemp flower at Caprock Family Farms. “How is our farming legacy going to be passed on to future generations without learning something new,” Gauger says.
Southwest to expand in Austin, bring 2000 new jobs
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks to Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan following the announcement that Southwest Airlines would create 2,000 new jobs in the city at a news conference at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
Environment
The one thing Texas won’t do to save its water supply
Walt Hagood drives on his farm. Hagood utilizes “dry farming,” a technique that relies on natural rainfall. “We used to have a lot of irrigated land with adequate water to make a crop,” Hagood said. “We don’t have that anymore.”
Running Out: Texas’ water crisis — and the path forward
Jay Ornelas, El Paso County Water Improvement District Manager (left) and Ramon Tirres (right).
East Texans united to stop a water sale to Dallas suburbs — for now
Mary Spearmon holds two of her grandchildren, Malikyi and Alajiah Elliott, at Hurricane Creek Park on the shores of Lake O’ the Pines, where she would come with her late husband and their growing family to fish and enjoy the water. “What about our future generations, our grandchildren and great grandchildren? What are they going to have if they take the lake?”
A woman crosses the street during a dust storm that rolled through downtown.
Texas buys land for new state parks that will be developed using $1 billion voter-approved fund
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists and staff use an anode, an electrical rod that temporarily stun fish during electrofishing for netting, during an aquatic sampling search at Yancey Creek in what will become Post Oak Ridge State Park, a newly acquired park.
A North Texas community will vote to form a city in an effort to quiet down a crypto mine
Cheryl Shadden offers treats to her horses on her land in Hood County. Shadden has lived in Hood County for around 40 years and now has the MARA cryptocurrency facility as a neighbor.
Cheryl Shadden looks towards the MARA cryptocurrency facility and the Wolf Hollow II power plant while being interviewed on her land.
Why a Central Texas farmer is on a one-man mission to stop renewable energy
Robert Fleming watches over his cattle as they feed in a pasture that borders a neighboring solar project. Fleming is concerned that the solar development could damage the environment, his cattle and human health.
Hill Country floods
Photos: After Texas Hill Country flood, grief and recovery take hold
Community members visit Louise Hays Park in Kerrville to look at the damage left behind by the deadly Fourth of July flood in Kerr County.
Community members grieve at the Cross Kingdom Church during the first Sunday service after the floods.
Search and recovery teams work to find people lost in the floods.
In response to failures and grieving parents, Texas lawmakers advance flood bills
Parents of the Camp Mystic girls who died during the Guadalupe River flooding embrace each other in the Texas Senate chamber. They were there to view the passage of Senate Bill 1, called the Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act, which strengthens summer camp regulations to help prevent future tragedies.
A person labels a map of Guadalupe river during a joint committee hearing at Hill Country Youth Event Center.
They couldn’t save their daughters’ lives in the July 4 floods. Now they’re dealing with the grief and the guilt.
RJ and Annie Harber stand at the front door of their home. The Harbers lost their daughters, Blair and Brooke, and RJ’s parents during the Guadalupe River floods on July 4.
Girls wear yellow ribbons, Brooke Harber’s favorite color, during the kickball game that followed the Brooke Harber Basketball Classic at St. Rita’s Catholic School.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and state Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, holds up signed bills to the families of the Camp Mystic flood victims known as the “Heaven’s 27,” at the Governor’s Mansion. The bills, passed during the second special session of the 89th Texas Legislature, aim to enhance camp safety and protect Texans.
Health
Older Texans among those facing the largest price hikes for Affordable Care Act insurance
As their dog Bentley looks on, Hebert, left, and her good friend and roommate, April Dattalo print out Hebert’s results after updating her information on the Marketplace website. Last year, she discovered she had stage III breast cancer and immediately signed up for an ACA plan that she credits with saving her life.
Blamed for the nation’s historic measles outbreak, West Texas Mennonites have hardened their views on vaccines
John and Tina Peters sit together during the German service at the Mennonite Evangelical Church.
Sara Janzen, owner of Family Gift Shop, stands for a portrait at the window by her checkout counter.
Some Texans fear a looming THC ban could return them to opioids, illegal options
Wesley Barnes, 55, smokes a joint in his home. Barnes, a Gulf War veteran who has long struggled with pain, tried legal opiates and illegal THC over the years before finding affordable and effective relief in legal hemp flower beginning in 2018.
Obstacles slow Texas’ effort to improve conditions at substance abuse recovery homes
House of Extra Measures residents gather during a meeting at the recovery home.
A person’s trunk is loaded full of food during a food distribution event at Bethel’s Heavenly Hands.
How building a new hospital cost this rural Texas town a place to deliver babies
Dr. Chantel Taylor sits in the unused delivery room at the Olney Hamilton Hospital. The hospital decided to close its labor and delivery unit with the construction of a new hospital in town earlier this year.
Immigration
After being wrongfully deported, a South Texas man and his family navigate realities of shifting immigration policies
Jaime plays with his 3-year-old grandson, Jaime Galvan III, at their home.
The East Montana Detention Facility, a new ICE detention center being built to house up to 5,000 people, is surrounded by desert on the outskirts of El Paso, while still under construction at Fort Bliss.
A Houston mother held by ICE must choose: indefinite detention or be deported without her family
Margarita Avila cries on a video call as she sees her family and hundreds of protesters chant in solidarity with the detainees outside the detention center where she is being held.
José Avila and his sons, Jeremiah (left) and Issac (middle), attend service at their Houston church in June. José is a devout Christian, finding solace in his faith while his wife was detained.
Months after detaining 47 people accused of being Tren de Aragua in Austin, authorities offer no evidence of gang ties
A Venezuelan father, who asked not to be named, and his 5-year-old son at their home. The man, his wife and two kids were swept up in an ICE raid in late March.
After El Paso joined Abbott’s border crackdown, the number of dead migrants in the New Mexico desert surged
Doña Ana County Sheriff Deputy N. Al-Abayad, left, and Detective Alan Barbosa transport a body bag containing the bones of a migrant, first found by volunteers with Battalion Search and Rescue. The discovery of migrant bodies in the desert has spiked since El Paso joined Texas’ Operation Lone Star.
Daniel, of Venezuela, is detained by an agent after attending his court hearing at the South Gessner Road Immigration Court.
A man waves a Mexican flag as hundreds of people march on South 10th Street to advocate for immigrant rights amidst local ICE raids and deportations since President Donald Trump took office.
Education
Why some Texas teachers are being forced to “deadname” trans students under a new state law
Ethan Brignac, a transgender senior at Wylie East High School, started to be called their deadname by school administrators after a new law was passed, which prohibits public school employees from socially transitioning a student.
Four-day school weeks are on the rise as Texas districts look for teacher perks on a tight budget
Casey Adams, superintendent of the Woodson ISD, second from left, speaks with the boys’ athletic coaches in his district.
Trump vowed to end “wasteful” federal spending. Beloved Texas school programs got caught in the middle.
Boys & Girls Club of the Austin Area members H’Sanii Blankenship, left, and Ray play dominoes with other club members at Navarro Early College High School.
Catalaya Avaneh Mendez plays with her sister Catiana Ester Mendez as their mother watches them at her home. The Trump administration froze funding that benefits after-school programs, placing financial stress on parents such as the Mendez.
UT-Dallas students launch alternative newspaper after clash with administration
Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez, editor-in-chief of the University of Texas at Dallas’s alternative student newspaper, The Retrograde, hands out copies of the first edition at the student union.
In South Texas, Allred and Talarico compete for Latino voters by vowing to fight for working class
Former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred poses for a photo with PSJA North High School students at their homecoming football game.
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon tours the Alpha School campus, an AI-driven private school, after a roundtable discussion with Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath.
A fight to save an Austin middle school puts families at odds with Texas over how to rate schools
Summer camp volunteer Carmen Mendoza hands out gift bags to students as they head home. Austin Voices for Education and Youth hosts a summer camp at Dobie Middle School to help students improve their scores on STAAR, the state’s standardized test.
Undocumented students rethink their college dreams after Texas cuts their access to cheaper tuition
Jorge’s parents brought him to the U.S. from Mexico when he was 1 year old. Now 21, he had planned on transferring from Austin Community College to Texas State University to study mechanical engineering, but he may not be able to afford it after Texas agreed to stop offering in-state college tuition rates to undocumented students living in the state. The end of the policy has thrown the education plans of thousands of students like him into disarray.
Ale, 24, has lived in Texas since she was 5 years old and graduated from the University of North Texas in 2023 with a degree in political science. Now that undocumented students are not eligible to pay in-state college tuition rates, she worries she will not be able to afford going to the University of Texas at Austin School of Law like she had hoped.
Protestors stand for the rejection of a federal compact on the University of Texas Austin campus during the inauguration of President Jim Davis.
Texas launches plan to open Turning Point USA chapters in every high school
Education Commissioner Mike Morath takes a photo of the high school students in the crowd as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announces a statewide push to establish Turning Point USA chapters in Texas high schools with support from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick campaign funds.
How the political tide turned on Mark Welsh, the four-star general ousted as Texas A&M president
President Mark A. Welsh III and his wife Betty are greeted by Texas A&M faculty, staff and students as he leaves campus after announcing his resignation.
Texans
Five years after shedding Confederate moniker, a West Texas high school may be Lee High again
From left, sisters Aniyah, 18, and Erinn, 16, pose for a photo with their mother, Latoya Mayberry.
University of Texas System bans drag shows in campus facilities
Dulce Gabbana, a local drag performer, gets ready to visit campus for Day of Drag hosted by the Queer Empowerment Council at Texas A&M University.
Inmates in this Texas program are leaving prison with jobs — and lower chances of reincarceration
STRIVE graduates cheer during their ceremony inside the chapel at the Patrick O’Daniel Unit.
Young Texas conservatives say Charlie Kirk’s death is galvanizing their religion-forward politics
Attendees listen to Gov. Greg Abbott speak on stage during the Texas Youth Summit
Texas cities grapple with order to remove rainbow crosswalks as state deadline approaches
A married couple, Gija Jones, right, and Ceeg Jones, left, dance on the rainbow crosswalk. The Joneses were present when the rainbow crosswalk was first installed in San Antonio. “We want to hopefully see it stay, but we may be saying goodbye. We may have some rainbows on the buildings instead of the street,” said Ceeg Jones. “We are here to support the community either way.”
As lawmakers tried to name an official steak, Texas students learned how to find the best beef
Zachary Buckley, production manager at Raider Red Meats, shows the different facilities at Texas Tech University’s meat processing lab.
Last Christmas: An East Texas Christmas tree farm closes after 40 years, despite booming sales
Caroline Adams spends her afternoon unloading a Christmas tree for a customer at Danville Farms.
In Kerr County, some summer camps are reopening after the devastating July 4 flood
Mario, right, holds hands with his counselor, August, as he takes a nap at a summer camp hosted by the Children’s Association for Maximum Potential for people with disabilities.
Fans cheer on the UTRGV Vaqueros football team at a game against the Nicholls State University Colonels.
Redpots ignite a bonfire with torches at the 2025 Student Bonfire Burn, a long-running tradition for Texas A&M students.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.