The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - February 4, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Tuesday, February 4th, 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. First up, soldiers with the Texas Army National Guard may now arrest aliens suspected of violating federal immigration laws, including illegal entry, after a memo signed by Governor Greg Abbott alongside Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Pete Flores essentially deputized the Guard with federal law enforcement powers. The move was announced just before Abbott's State of the State address, where he also revealed a directive to state law enforcement agencies to enter into similar memos, indicating that major state law enforcement agencies,

Starting point is 00:00:49 including the Texas Department of Public Safety, may soon be deputized with similar powers. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was the first to confirm that a statewide law enforcement agency now wields immigration authority. Announcing a memo was signed authorizing investigators with his office to be part of the program. Paxton said in a statement announcing the memo, quote, I am proud to be the first to join President Donald Trump to restore our national sovereignty, secure our border, and ensure that criminal aliens face the justice they deserve. As the top law enforcement official in Texas, I call on all agencies and departments to join me in the fight. We will enforce the law and protect America.

Starting point is 00:01:29 Next, the Texas legislature passed into law Senate Bill 14 banning child gender modification during the 88th legislative session. And since then, Attorney General Paxton has identified a number of doctors continuing to prescribe gender modification treatments to children. Now, he says three doctors have stopped while legal proceedings continue. Paxton sued two doctors in October, Drs. May Lau and Hector M. Granados, for allegedly providing gender modification drugs to Texas children. In the case of Lau, who serves as medical director of the Adolescent and Young Adult Clinic at Children's Medical Center Dallas, she is accused of, quote, prescribing testosterone to biological female minors for the purposes of transitioning their biological sex or affirming their belief that their gender identity is inconsistent with their biological sex. Paxton also alleged that Granados,

Starting point is 00:02:22 who is an employee of Pediatric Endocrinologyology associates in El Paso, has been, quote, providing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children on the basis of human labor trafficking on January 29th. Austin Echo Bilingual School's founders, Adriana and Enrique Rodriguez, faced charges in 2021 from the Texas Office of the Attorney General, which alleged that the school had been trafficking at least seven of their employees. Those individuals were allegedly lured to Texas with promises of lawful status, a decent salary, and a rewarding career, but were instead, quote, victimized by an unscrupulous employer who trafficked them for labor. The victims testified that Adriana Rodriguez established her dominance over them by emphasizing her connections with powerful individuals, including emphasizing her connections with powerful individuals, including highlighting her connections to high-ranking law enforcement and other

Starting point is 00:03:30 government officials. One witness said that Adriana Rodriguez told the victims, quote, I am a very important person and I can destroy you whenever I choose, end quote. Her husband Enrique was accused of profiting off of proceeds from Adriana's alleged human trafficking system. Last but not least, at the Texans' 89th session kickoff, Representatives Cody Harris, Cody Vasut, and John Busey joined senior reporter Brad Johnson for a discussion on the dynamics shaping the Texas legislature in the 89th legislative session. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hagar also joined Brad for a discussion on the state's financial outlook, infrastructure investments, and Hagar's own political future. Visit thetexan.news or wherever you get podcasts for audio and video recordings of these panels and one-on-one

Starting point is 00:04:16 conversations. Thanks for listening. To support The Texan, please 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 - February 4, 2025

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.