State of Texas: Night on the border shows humanitarian need, political reality

AUSTIN (Nexstar) – As a group of unaccompanied minors turned themselves in to federal authorities near the border wall in McAllen, U.S. Border Patrol agent Chris Cabrera sighed in frustration. He grows weary seeing yet another set of migrant children making the dangerous journey on their own.

“We’ve pulled bodies out of the river. Young kids, men, women, and children,” Cabrera said. “It’s terrible to see. But we see it all too much. And it’s becoming a normal thing. People putting themselves and their kids’ lives at risk should not be a normal thing.”

Cabrera has been a border patrol agent for 22 years and currently serves as the vice president of the National Border Patrol Council. Giving a tour to reporters on behalf of the union, Cabrera told Nexstar that his job has never been more challenging than it is today.

“We care about what goes on,” he said. “The reason we’re so adamant that it needs to stop is the amount of suffering that we see.”

Over the course of two days, Cabrera showed reporters spots where U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents catch smugglers helping people enter the country illegally via holes in fences or gaps in the border wall.

At the site of the wall, a pile of 20-foot makeshift and metal ladders sat by a dumpster on the Texas side. Cabrera said at one point in time their federal office was filled to the brim with ladders agents would find and remove from the wall.

Along with the four unaccompanied minors, 18 other migrants turned themselves in to CBP agents around 11 p.m. on January 19. The youngest among the group was with its parents, a baby around 16 months old. The entire group loaded a bus to presumably go to one of the federal processing centers.

“People know that if they come in, they say a few magic keywords, that we’re going to release them into the country with a court date five years away, and nobody’s really going to look for if they don’t show up,” Cabrera said. “It’s easier to get into this country illegally than it is to get in here legally. So, of course, they’re gonna take advantage of that.”

Cabrera has several ideas for policy changes that he thinks will improve the situation: he wants the end of so-called “catch and release,” where asylum-seekers are processed and then released into the country while they wait oftentimes years for a court date. He also thinks the requirements for seeking asylum should be higher, as Cabrera says just about everyone he encounters claims to be seeking asylum.

Nexstar went to the border to follow a group of bipartisan Texas delegates who toured the border on before heading to Mexico City to meet with Mexican officials.

The congressional delegation was led by House Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul, R-Austin. He was joined by three other Texas delegates: Reps. Randy Weber, R-Friendswood; Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg; and Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo.

On Jan. 21, the group set off to Mexico City to meet with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his political challengers. There, they were scheduled to tour a fentanyl crime lab, and with the goal of reaching agreements with Mexican officials as to how to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, as well as curb the number of migrants crossing illegally.

“We are witnessing a human tragedy at this border,” McCaul told reporters after the lawmakers went on a boat tour in the Rio Grande River with Texas law enforcement officials.

“We’re gonna work very hard in the next month to get as strong border security measures as we can on the emergency supplemental that will be tied to Ukraine and Israel funding and also to protect Taiwan from an aggressive China,” he said.

BACKROUND: Speaker Johnson vows to block foreign aid without border wishlist

Immigration legislation has been, historically, a Herculean task for Congress — let alone in a session that has been marred by chaos. But the delegates remained hopeful that their showing of bipartisanship would be a signal to their colleagues that agreement and compromise are possible.

Although McCaul doesn’t entirely agree that aid to the nation’s international allies should be held hostage at a time of global conflict, he does think it gives the GOP leverage at the moment. Last week, McCaul and other top leaders met with President Joe Biden to discuss the stalemate on foreign aid and border security.

“Ukraine is very important to [President Biden]. So is Israel funding; that’s very important to me, as is funding to protect Taiwan and the Pacific from an aggressive China,” McCaul told Nexstar. “They’re all critically important. But we have the best leverage now to get something meaningful done. And that’s our goal.”

Like many of her Republican colleagues, De La Cruz is challenging the Senate to either adopt House Resolution 2 (HR 2), a border deal that the House passed last May, or to propose an alternative solution that would still appease the GOP. But when asked what she would compromise on, the freshman Republican seemed unwilling to fold on the four main pillars of Republicans’ border package, saying she likes HR 2 “as it is.”

Although Democrats like Cuellar voted against the proposal in the House, he agreed with certain Republican-led proposals, like toughening the process for claiming asylum. However, the likelihood of the Senate accepting the House border deal at face value is unlikely.

“HR 2 is not gonna pass in the Senate. The Senate bill, if it’s done bipartisan, will have a chance … I think a compromise, depending on what the Senate does, could have a possibility on the House,” Cuellar said.

‘The silent issue’: Texas’ water problem and the path to solutions

After a week of rain that brought floods to parts of Central and East Texas, it can be easy to forget Texas has a serious water problem. As hundreds of thousands of new Texans flow into the state every year, state leaders warn the “Texas miracle” is only sustainable as long as the water keeps flowing.

Texas’s population is expected to gain over 22 million people by 2070, according to the 2022 Texas State Water Plan. Over the same period, the water supply is projected to decrease by 18%.

The National Wildlife Federation found Texas loses 572,000 acre-feet of water per year — enough to fill almost 240 AT&T Stadiums and supply Austin, Fort Worth, El Paso, Laredo, and Lubbock combined for an entire year. As Texas regularly faces drought periods, some lawmakers are urging the state to proactively protect the most valuable resource.

“It’s the silent issue, with the least urgency, with the biggest impact,” said State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock. “We’ve been, for far too long, treating water like a commodity that has no meaning. And it’s truly not. It’s not a commodity. It’s a necessity.”

Last legislative session, Perry led the way in expanding financial resources for water conservation projects.

Texas voters approved funding for the The Texas Water Fund by passing Proposition 6 in November. Perry’s legislation provided $1 billion to fund water projects as part of the plan.

The proposition requires the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to set aside at least $250 million for the New Water Supply for Texas Fund. The fund allows municipalities to apply for grants and loans to finance projects intended to produce new water sources for the state.

These projects include desalination technology, aquifer recovery and preservation, new treatment facilities and development of water transportation infrastructure. TWDB says the New Water Supply fund will provide seven million acre-feet of new water supply by the end of 2033.

For perspective, Lake Travis near Austin holds just over 1.9 million acre-feet of water.

“Water is the only problem that we face as a state that can literally be fixed with more money,” Perry said. “It’s just a commitment to a vision to provide water and a commitment of resources to get there. So that’s been my frustration — it’s not one of those problems that we can’t solve. The lack of urgency to deal with it is frustrating.”

Additionally, the Texas Water Fund provides capital for the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT), Rural Water Assistance Fund, Texas Water Development Fund II and Clean Water or Drinking Water revolving funds. Senate Bill 28 also created an account for statewide water education and mandated a new public technical assistance program.

The Texas Water Development Board is seeking public input to inform rulemaking and other implementation efforts for the Texas Water Fund. The board is accepting feedback via email until April 30.

The Texas Water Fund is intended to help cultivate a “secure water future” for the state throughout the next few decades. TWDB will release a draft of their intended use plan in the summer and allow 30 days for public comment, a timeline similar to the Flood Infrastructure Fund and other comparable programs. The plan is to be approved sometime in the fall, with chosen entities receiving funding soon after.

But, Perry says Texas must also lower demand while increasing supply.

“We’ve got to change the mindset on how water is. It’s not infinite source. It is valuable,” he said. “One gallon of water a day saved by 30 million Texans is 30 million gallons. How hard is it for you to get out of the shower 30 seconds early?”

‘A new set of facts:’ Senator calls on lawmakers to reopen Paxton impeachment

State Senator Drew Springer, R-Muenster, is calling on the legislature to reopen Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment inquiry.

In a statement released Thursday evening, Springer said Paxton’s Jan. 18 court filing is “an admission of guilt” since the document lays out that Paxton would not dispute a lawsuit claiming he wrongfully fired four whistleblowers.

However, the first 12 points of Paxton’s filing repeatedly state the attorney general did nothing wrong. His lawyers cite evidence used to acquit Paxton during his Senate impeachment trial in September.

Before Paxton opts not to contest the lawsuit, his filing explicitly states: “There should be no doubt, however, that nothing stated herein should be construed as an admission that OAG, its employees, or the Attorney General violated any state or federal law — because none of them have violated any law as has been adequately and thoroughly shown elsewhere.”

Springer argues the filing is contradictory and should not stand.

“He can’t accept the whistleblower’s claims against him while touting that he’s innocent against those very claims,” Springer’s statement reads. “Accordingly, AG Paxton completely changed his position in less than four months.”

The Senator claims Paxton admits to violating Article 6 of impeachment, which pertains to the Texas Whistleblower Act. He also expressed concerns about the state owing an even larger settlement amount to Paxton’s former employees who sued him.

“I am asking the Senate whether there is a legal mechanism to reopen the impeachment proceedings,” Springer wrote. “Failure to at least consider this possibility runs the risk of AG Paxton making a mockery of the Texas Senate.”

Springer announced last year that he would not run for reelection. He said that did not influence his decision to raise concerns now about Paxton.

“I would have done it either way, if I was running or not running,” Springer said. “I’ve talked to scores of fellow legislators that feel the same way that once you made this admission, you were basically saying, you were guilty of what the whistleblowers were accusing you of, which was what Article 6 and some of the other articles in the impeachment were about.”

Paxton released a statement rejecting Springer’s assertions and ridiculing the outgoing senator. He wrote, “Springer has to leave the senate because he was such a bad senator, wasn’t going to get re-elected, and needed a job.” He later added, “Why should anyone listen to his sour grapes?”

Springer pointed to his record when we asked him to respond to Paxton’s statement.

“Look, I was one of the top rated conservatives, both in the House and the Senate, all six terms that I served, I would have easily won reelection,” Springer said. He went on to address Paxton’s comment about needing a job.

“Yeah, I didn’t get rich being in politics. I need to go back and work. We get paid $600 a month,” “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with serving your state and then go back and making a living with that,” said Springer, before turning his focus to Paxton. “He’s figured out how to get rich in office and actually refuses to show his personal financial disclosures showing where he has made all these big investments over working for a paltry state employee salary.”

Travis County Judge Jan Soifer has ordered Paxton to answer questions under oath on February 1. Paxton is fighting the order, filing an appeal Thursday night requesting the Third Court of Appeals stop the depositions for him and others in his office.

Paxton’s office issued a statement claiming the order to testify is about politics, not justice.

“With this decision, this Travis County court has escalated its troubling pattern of behaving as a political actor instead of an impartial arbiter of disputed cases,” the statement read.

The statement went on to claim the judge is an activist motivated by politics.

Nexstar reached out to the court to ask if the judge had a response to the comments about her. A spokesman told us she would not comment on pending litigation.

Equality Texas pens letter to United Nations over LGBTQ+ ‘human rights crisis’

Political advocacy organization Equality Texas announced Monday it had submitted a joint allegation letter to the United Nations surrounding the “human rights crisis” impacting LGBTQ+ Texans. Equality Texas jointly filed the letter alongside the Human Rights Campaign, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the nonprofit LGBTQ+ advocacy organization GLAAD.

The letter alleges violations to LGBTQ+ Texans on the grounds of their privacy, health, freedom of expression and education, Equality Texas leadership said on social media Monday. The organization addressed the letter to 17 independent experts, working groups and special rapporteurs, the social media post added.

1.22.24_UN_Joint_Allegation_LetterDownload

Equality Texas CEO Ricardo Martinez told KXAN on Monday that the letter had been in development for months. He said the decision to file the letter came after extensive work advocating at the Texas Legislature, filing litigation and awaiting federal intervention.

“We explore all avenues when it comes to advocacy, and we are committed to doing that for our community,” Martinez said. “And this is just yet another formal way for us to really ring the alarm on what is happening here in Texas.”

In 2023, Equality Texas tracked a historic 141 bills filed in the Texas Legislature that pertained to the LGBTQ+ community, up from only 12 filed in 2015. In total, Martinez said seven bills from 2023 advanced and became law, which he said elevated the need to file this letter with the UN.

KXAN’s OUTLAW: A Catalyst Project

Those seven pieces of legislation included:

• Senate Bill 14: Banning health care for trans youth

• Senate Bill 17: Restricting public universities from operating diversity, equity and inclusion programs

• Senate Bill 15: Prohibiting trans athletes from competing at the collegiate level

• Senate Bill 763: Permitting chaplains to offer counseling to school children

• Senate Bill 12: Outlawing public drag performances, which the legislation deemed as “sexually oriented”

• House Bill 900: Allowing schools to restrict LGBTQ+ books through definitions of “sexual explicit” content

• House Bill 2127: Implications to local non-discrimination ordinances

Beyond lawmaking at the Texas Capitol, Martinez pointed to the rise of LGBTQ+ policies within Texas school districts and at state agencies.

“When you take all of that together, I think for us, it’s important to continue to take every single opportunity to educate folks on the realities of what’s happening here in Texas,” he said. “And we’re happy to do so along with our coalition partners.”

Now that the letter is filed, Equality Texas is awaiting a response from the U.N. If a response is received, Martinez said that will kickstart a formal process that involves the U.N. reaching out to the U.S. Department of State.

He added his hope is for the U.N. to take the allegations seriously and intervene.

“We hope that this will encourage the federal government to put more resources towards protecting LGBTQIA+ Texans and LGBTQIA+ people across the entire country, because this is not only happening here in Texas,” he said.

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