Austin, TX
This Austin family fled Congo after war broke out. They drew strength from their faith.

Throughout the 15 years they spent in Burundi refugee camps, the Mukire family drew strength from their Christianity.
Now in Austin, the family from Congo continues to draw strength in their faith as they navigate a different culture. The Mukires are part of the Statesman Season for Caring program, which highlights the needs of families in our community and raises money to help the families and others like them served by local nonprofit organizations. The Mukires were nominated by Interfaith Action of Central Texas, which helps refugees with basic needs as well as English language classes.
In 2004, the Mukires fled Congo after brewing ethnic tensions brought violence to Uvira in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Armed combatants targeted members of the Banyamulenge ethnic group, which has endured a long history of persecution.
When violence broke out, Aimable Mukire was in class at the University of Bukavu. His wife, Chantal Bisaninka, was at home with their young children, Belle and Valerie. Aimable Mukire was forced to flee separately from his family. On his way to Burundi, he was shot above his right knee.
Against all odds, Mukire, Bisaninka and the children reunited in the Gutumba refugee camp. But their journey was far from over. On Aug. 13, 2004, armed combatants descended upon Gutumba. Chantal’s uncle and his eight children were killed during the massacre.
The Mukires escaped once again, finding their way to the Kinama refugee camp on the Tanzanian border.
Daughters Dorcas and Mediatrice were born in Kinama.
Mukire family try to find new life in Austin | Season for Caring
The Mukire family lived in a refugee camp for 15 years after fleeing war in the Congo before coming to Austin.
Learn more: 12 families featured in the 25th Season for Caring program. Here’s how you can help.
The second- and fourth-eldest Mukire children — Valerie, 19, and Mediatrice, 12 — have developmental delays. Aimable Mukire, 48, says that if they had not been raised in the refugee camp, they would have received better medical care.
The children had limited access to education in the camp, but they were able to attend church services.
Everything the family went through, Bisaninka said, they “got through because of God.” Faith gave the children a source of stability as they weathered life in Burundi.
In 2019, the Mukire family arrived in Austin as refugees. They have since had another child, Israel, 2, who was born in Austin.
Read more: Aimable Mukire: Refugee family in Austin perseveres through war, injury | Season for Caring
The family now attends El Shaddai Baptist Church in North Austin, where most congregants are refugees from Congo.
Bishop Innocent Mudandi said that when he founded El Shaddai 13 years ago, it was the first Central African church in the area. Mudandi is a refugee himself, and he said it was common for churches to be established in refugee camps.
“It is important to build Christianity wherever we go,” Mudandi said.
El Shaddai plays a large role in supporting refugee families as they adjust to life in Austin. When the Mukires arrived in Texas, Mudandi said that the church stayed “close” to them. There are even other congregants from the same refugee camp.
Bisaninka, 44, has become a deacon, helping with services and community events. Her role, Mudandi said, is to help anyone who needs it.
El Shaddai is expecting more refugee families from Central Africa in the coming months.
The Mukires still have many things on their wish list, including a gently used car and car insurance; rent assistance; help with internet and phone expenses; a dining room set for seven people; living room furniture; drawers; cabinets; rugs; a TV and TV stand; a sewing machine; a laptop; a cellphone; cookware; body cream; a mirror; clogs; and gift cards for H-E-B, Walmart, Amazon and Visa.
To find out more about how you can help the Mukires, contact Interfaith Action of Central Texas at 512-386-9145 or interfaithtexas.org.
The Statesman will be sharing the stories of all 12 Season for Caring families throughout the holiday season. Find more stories and information at statesman.com/seasonforcaring. You can donate online or use the coupon on Page 2B and mail it to Austin Community Foundation, c/o Statesman Season for Caring, 4315 Guadalupe St., Suite 300, Austin, TX 78751. Make checks payable to “Statesman Season for Caring.” Now through Dec. 25, all monetary donations will be matched up to $500,000 by the Sheth family.

Austin, TX
Southtown Web Design & Digital Marketing Now Serving Austin, TX Businesses with SEO, Web Design & Digital Marketing Services

San Antonio, TX – Southtown Web Design & Digital Marketing, a trusted name in web design and SEO for San Antonio businesses, is proud to announce an expansion of services to the Austin, TX market.
Known for helping businesses grow their online presence through custom website design, SEO strategy, and targeted digital marketing, Southtown Web Design is now welcoming clients across Austin and Central Texas.
“We’ve worked with clients throughout Texas for years,” said Michael Lorenzana, owner of Southtown Web Design & Digital Marketing. “As demand has grown from Austin-area businesses, we felt it was time to officially expand our offerings and dedicate a team to supporting the Austin community.”
Austin businesses can now take advantage of:
* Custom Website Design & Development
* Local SEO & Multi-Location SEO
* Google Business Profile Optimization
* Targeted Google Ads Management
* Content Writing & SEO Strategy
Southtown Web Design’s new Austin digital marketing services [https://www.southtowndesigns.com/austin/] page provides more details about the agency’s services now available to businesses in the Austin area.
For more information, visit https://www.southtowndesigns.com/austin/.
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This release was published on openPR.
Austin, TX
Scottsdale replaces Austin as top wealth hub
AUSTIN, Texas — According to a new report, Austin is no longer the main attractor of the ultra wealthy, who have been setting their sights on a popular Arizona city.
Henley & Partners named Scottsdale, Ariz., the fastest-growing wealth hub in the U.S., with a 125% growth of millionaire residents from 2014 to 2024.
The wealth boom is thanks in part to the city’s rapidly expanding tech sector. West Palm Beach, the Bay Area, Miami and Washington, D.C. follow behind Scottsdale in this year’s ranking, showing Scottsdale’s noticeable climb above even the most distinguished tech hubs in the nation.
“While the Bay Area remains the epicenter of this innovation ecosystem and the top global destination for wealthy tech entrepreneurs, we’re also seeing a broader migration trend,” Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth said.
Scottsdale is currently home to 14,800 millionaires, 64 centi-millionaires (those worth $100 million) and five billionaires, the study shows.
Austin previously placed as the No. 1 city for the nation’s wealthiest people in the firm’s 2024 ranking, with Scottsdale just behind it at No. 2. In this year’s report, the Live Music Capital of the World didn’t even clear the top five.
Experts say the dropoff can be attributed to rising costs and the current slowdown of a pandemic-era tech boom that saw top companies like Tesla and Oracle moving their operations to the attractive Hill Country. Oracle has since relocated to Nashville, Tenn., and it seems that layoffs and return to office policies have driven some transplants away, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Austin, TX
Justice Department sues Texas over in-state tuition for students without legal residency

By JIM VERTUNO AND NADIA LATHAN, Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Justice Department on Wednesday sought to block a Texas law that for decades has given college students without legal residency in the U.S. access to reduced in-state tuition rates, the latest effort by the Trump administration to crack down on immigration into the country.
Texas was the first state in the nation in 2001 to pass a law allowing “Dreamers,” or young adults without legal status, to be eligible for in-state tuition if they meet certain residency criteria. And while two dozen states now have similar laws, the Trump administration filed the lawsuit in conservative Texas, where Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and state lawmakers have long sought to support his hardline goals on the border.
The lawsuit also comes just a few days after the end of the state legislative session, where a repeal bill pushed by group of Republicans was considered but ultimately did not come up for a vote.
The lawsuit now asks a federal judge to block the Texas law. It leans into recent executive orders signed by Trump designed to stop any state or local laws or regulations the administration feels discriminate against legal residents.
“Under federal law, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “The Justice Department will relentlessly fight to vindicate federal law and ensure that U.S. citizens are not treated like second-class citizens anywhere in the country.”
Texas has about 57,000 undocumented students enrolled in its public universities and colleges, according to the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, a nonpartisan nonprofit group of university leaders focused on immigration policy. The state has about 690,000 students overall at its public universities.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and state Attorney General Ken Paxton, did not immediately comment on the lawsuit, and staff did not immediately respond to email messages seeking comment.
The lawsuit was filed in the Wichita Falls division of the Northern District of Texas, which the state and conservative litigants have often chosen to file lawsuits challenging the federal government and issues such as healthcare and gay and transgender rights.
The Texas law was initially passed by sweeping majorities in the Texas Legislature and signed into law by then-Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, as a way to open access to higher education for students without legal residency already living in the state. Supporters then and now argue it boosts the state’s economy by creating a better educated and better prepared work force.
“Targeted attacks on Texas students who are seeking an affordable college education, led by the Trump administration, won’t help anyone, they only hurt us all,” said Luis Figueroa of Every Texan, a left-leaning public policy group.
The difference in tuition rates is substantial. For example, at the flagship University of Texas at Austin, a state resident paid about $11,000 in tuition for the 2024-2025 academic year compared to about $41,000 for students from outside of Texas. Other expenses for housing, supplies and transportation can add nearly $20,000 more, according to school estimates.
The law allows for students without legal resident status to qualify for in-state tuition if they have lived in the state for three years before graduating from high school, and for a year before enrolling in college. They must also sign an affidavit promising to apply for legal resident status as soon as possible.
But the policy soon came under fire from conservatives and critics who called it unfair to legal residents as debates over illegal immigration intensified. In the 2012 Republican presidential primary, Perry ended up apologizing after saying critics of the law “did not have a heart.”
Legislative efforts to repeal the Texas law have repeatedly failed, but have started to gain traction elsewhere. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, earlier this year signed a bill that will repeal that state’s in-state tuition law in July.
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