The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - April 5, 2024

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Friday, April 5, and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lausches, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. The Texas Solicitor General appeared before a three-panel judge at the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals this week to defend the legality of the state's new border security law, Senate Bill 4, for the second time, with some of the comments made in court generating questions about the state's position. Publicly, legislators and state officials, including Governor Greg Abbott, have defended the law on a self-defense argument, citing the invasion clause of the U.S. Constitution. While the public rhetoric portrays the state's position as broad in nature, on paper and in court, attorneys for the state have taken

Starting point is 00:00:50 a more narrow path in seeking to carve out a legal footing for the new law to stand upon. Texas argued that Congress has not enacted an express prohibition on state involvement, and that state laws used to carry out a self-defense purpose in regulating entry and removal are justified when they do not intrude upon or conflict with existing federal immigration statutes. A new analysis from the Center for Immigration Studies revealed the extent to which, quote, inadmissible aliens, unquote, are being flown into the United States, including Texas. CIS reported that from October 2022 through February of this year, 386,000 people have been flown into the interior of the U.S. as part of a Department of Homeland Security program. A January 2023 statement from the Biden administration announcing new border enforcement actions states that, quote, DHS is significantly scaling up its air and ground

Starting point is 00:01:43 transportation capabilities to quickly remove migrants when warranted or transport migrants to less congested border sectors for further immigration and enforcement proceedings. The new enforcement actions are meant to increase security at the border and reduce the number of individuals crossing unlawfully between ports of entry. Despite objections from residents and business owners, Kima's city council approved several ordinances Wednesday limiting requests for public information, creating a one-way traffic pattern around the city, and closing a street in the heart of the Lighthouse District. Resident Sheila Thorne, who is also running for city council against incumbent council member Doug Meisinger, is an intervener in a lawsuit Kima filed against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to block the release of public documents. After the Office of the Attorney General ordered KEMA officials to release the records related to an investigation of Police Chief Holland Jones to Thorne, the city sued.

Starting point is 00:02:37 Recently, Thorne sought itemized bills for the city's attorney, but city officials only provided a spreadsheet with invoice totals and told her they did not have itemized bills. City officials have also refused to turn over the investigative report on Jones to state Senator Mays Middleton, although former Mayor Carl Joyner showed Middleton some of the related documents last December. Passed on a second reading Wednesday, the ordinance limits the amount of time city personnel may spend on any public information for a requester to 36 hours per year and 15 hours per month. After meeting the time limit, the city will charge additional fees for compliance with the Texas Public Information Act. Denton Independent School District principals Jesus and Lindsay Lujan have been indicted because of emails sent by both using the district's email system in an alleged electioneering strategy. The Lujans have been indicted by the state of Texas in the Denton

Starting point is 00:03:30 County Criminal Court for the unlawful use of an internal mail system for political advertising. This charge is a Class A misdemeanor under Texas Election Code. Jesus Lujan is the principal of Borman Elementary School, and Lindsay Lujan is the principal of Alexander Elementary School, as well as Denton ISD's director of special programs. On February 5, 2024, mass emails were sent out by the Lujans encouraging staff to vote, and including lists of candidates who, quote, support public schools. These emails led to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton suing Denton ISD for illegal electioneering on February 22, 2024. The suit sought civil injunctive relief to obtain a court order that would prevent Denton ISD from engaging in the alleged illegal efforts to sway the upcoming primary election. On March 4, 2024, Paxton secured his injunction against Denton ISD. Thanks for listening.

Starting point is 00:04:33 Be sure to visit thetexan.news and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - April 5, 2024

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