Texas Police Are Slowly Joining What Could Be a ‘Giant ICE Army’
New 287(g) task force agreements are trickling in as the Lege considers mandating ICE cooperation and some counties await federal training.
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The Latest
In Booming Central Texas, Wastewater Is Polluting Rivers and Streams
A bill in the Texas Legislature would protect the last 21 pristine watersheds. But for years, previous attempts have been defeated by powerful homebuilders.
Opinion ⋆
Texas Shouldn’t Legislate Censorship
Public libraries are for the public—and that means access for all.
The Lege’s ‘Big Government Intrusion’ into University Academics
Expanding on last session’s anti-DEI campus crackdown, Republicans are now going after gender and ethnic studies programs and faculty independence.
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Politics
Ending 30 Years of Resistance, Trump and Abbott Break the ‘People’s House’
The Legislature’s lower chamber has finally blessed school vouchers—and denied ordinary Texans the chance to weigh in.
Opposition to Abbott’s Vouchers Plan Includes Conservatives
The governor crushed anti-voucher Republicans in the Texas House, but there are still plenty of party activists who are opposed.
Who’s Paying for Public School Vouchers? (1998)
“Somebody had to eat the first oyster.” With that salty metaphor, Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock makes the argument that elected officials shouldn’t be afraid to try new ideas—in this case, vouchers that would shift taxpayers’ moneys from public to private schools.
Border and Immigration
The Lawless Border Wall
The application of waivers and the interpretation of their scope has repeatedly expanded, such that border walls are now privileged over all potential legal constraints short of the U.S. Constitution.
Texas’ AI-Powered Surveillance Arsenal Has Ballooned. Proposed Laws Provide Few Guardrails.
Operation Lone Star has turbocharged DPS’ surveillance capabilities. Lawmakers say they want to prevent Texas from becoming a police state but have filed only modest legislation to regulate use of AI.
Congressman Denounces ICE Response About Prosecutor Operating Racist X Account
In response to the Observer’s reporting, U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey demanded answers he has yet to fully receive—while ICE refuses to clarify the prosecutor’s current job status.
Culture
AI Is Dead
A Texas author earned a certificate in AI—but there’s no way he’d ever use it to write a book.
El Paso’s Still-Untold Story
A new revisionist history lays out an urgent task that it does not accomplish.
Texas’ First Black Woman Poet Laureate Spreads Poems of Praise
In tough times, Amanda Johnston is creating a community of gratitude with contributions from poets all across the state.
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