Editorial Roundup: Texas
Dallas Morning News. January 11, 2024.
Editorial: Texas’ cash bail system survives appeal, and that’s not good
Jail is for the violent, not the poor.
With little fanfare, the U.S. Supreme Court this week decided not to take a case challenging Dallas County’s bail bond system.
Legally, it is probably the right call, but it does little to resolve Texas’ flawed cash bail system.
In 2018, a federal judge declared that Dallas County’s bail bond system locked up poor defendants, who weren’t a threat to flee or to society, while others who could post bail went free. The ruling expressed what most didn’t want to say out loud — the ability to pay cash bail doesn’t effectively or properly assess the risk a person poses to society.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals subsequently ruled that federal courts should steer clear of reviewing and revising state bail bond procedures, and the Supreme Court ended the debate when it decided not to consider the case.
While the constitutional questions may have been resolved, the underlying issue of how best to assess the risk that a person released on bond poses remains unresolved as evidenced in a series of high-profile, tragic murders committed by people whose past record should have identified them as a risk to society.
Toward this end, Texas needs to consider additional reforms to ensure that the truly violent remain behind bars while awaiting trial while also ensuring that those accused of nonviolent offenses can quickly return to their lives as their case works its way through the system.
New Mexico, New Jersey and Kentucky are among states that have revamped or eliminated cash bail systems, expanded release programs and adopted risk-based pre-trial release assessments. At least 27 other states, the District of Columbia and the federal courts allow detention of high-risk defendants without bond.
In Texas, lawmakers in 2021 passed the much ballyhooed Senate Bill 6 after a repeat offender with a violent criminal history murdered state Trooper Damon Allen shortly after a justice of the peace, who was unaware the killer had a criminal history, released him on bond in a separate case.
The law makes it a bit tougher for certain violent repeat offenders to be released. And while the law also directed judges and magistrates to look at a defendant’s criminal history prior to setting bail, the reality is that risk assessment is an imperfect process that can be improved.
Significant change will require an extensive review and leadership from law enforcement, prosecutors, judges and state lawmakers to better assess risk without violating constitutional protections. The disproportionate effects on underserved communities, on non-violent people who can’t afford bail and may lose jobs and marriages, on jail overcrowding and the inability to keep the truly violent off of the streets deserve thoughtful reconsideration.
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Fort Worth Star-Telegram. January 13, 2024.
Editorial: NY mayor’s suit against Texas bus companies proves Gov. Abbott’s point on border
The escalating battle over who should pay the price for the federal government’s failures to enforce the southern border has ensnared an unlikely target — Texas bus companies.
New York Mayor Eric Adams filed a lawsuit last week against 17 bus lines — including several with offices located in the Fort Worth area, such as Wynne Transportation, Roadrunner Charters, Southwest Crew Change and Transportes Regiomontanos — for transporting migrants under contract with the state. Gov. Greg Abbott has been sending busloads of migrants to various sanctuary states and cities such as New York to make a point about the impact of unchecked illegal immigration on Texas cities.
In the lawsuit, Adams accuses the companies of violating New York state law by transporting migrants there without helping to finance their living expenses. As such, the lawsuit demands the transportation companies reimburse the city at least $708 million.
Adams should be laughed out of court for trying to hold bus companies responsible for the consequences of New York’s grandstanding on immigration. The mayor and other officials who back sanctuary policies want credit for so-called compassion in thwarting border enforcement. But when Abbott called them on it, they started casting about for someone else to pay the bill — even law-abiding firms that did nothing other than accept a contract with the state of Texas.
“New York City has and will always do our part to manage this humanitarian crisis, but we cannot bear the costs of reckless political ploys from the state of Texas alone,” Adams said. Adams also said he hopes the lawsuit will “serve as a warning to all those who break the law in this way.”
In a written statement, Abbott brushed off Adams’ lawsuit: “This lawsuit is baseless and deserves to be sanctioned. It’s clear that Mayor Adams knows nothing about the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, or about the constitutional right to travel that has been recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Some have called Abbott’s migrant busing scheme a political ploy, a cheap trick designed to anger political opponents and force other cities to incur significant costs.
Adams’ lawsuit is yet another sign that the busing — however much of a stunt — has exposed the folly of sanctuary policies. New York and others can talk big about welcoming people who enter the country illegally, but they have balked at a small fraction of the government cost Texas has dealt with for years.
Adams pegs the cost at more than $700 million to care for about 33,000 migrants who have come to New York City. To put that in perspective, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, 2.5 million migrants came through the southern border in fiscal year 2023, which ended in September, breaking 2022’s record. Records show that around Christmas, Border Patrol processed about 10,000 migrants a day entering the U.S. illegally. That’s about 310,000 in just one month, 10 times as many as Abbott has sent to New York City over a much longer period.
It all proves Abbott’s point better than even he could have. If New York can’t handle a few, why or how could Texas handle 10 times more? If it costs New York’s government $700 million, how much is it costing Texas, even with federal aid? If neither state can handle the influx of migrants across the border and into their towns, why isn’t President Joe Biden enforcing immigration law and compromising with Congress to get more done?
In either case, Texas bus companies, several of whom declined to comment on the suits, should not be on the receiving end of a massive lawsuit from a city that advertised itself as a sanctuary to migrants. Attorney General Ken Paxton, never shy about jumping into politically loaded cases, should help defend them, or at least offer legal guidance.
Just as Texas should no longer bear the brunt of federal immigration policy, transport companies shouldn’t be on the hook for the fallout, either.
We initially regarded Abbott’s move as a distraction from the main problems of America’s broken immigration system. And we remain convinced that the country needs a robust system of legal immigration that brings in needed workers and treats asylum claims efficiently but compassionately. But the busing — and the heated reaction from leaders in New York and elsewhere — has shined a light on the underlying issues in a useful way.
Adams’ lawsuit is misguided, but it serves to prove Abbott’s point more than any news story of an overrun border has so far.
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Houston Chronicle. January 13, 2024.
Editorial: Abbott told Loesch shooting migrants would be murder. What about letting them drown?
“The only thing that we’re not doing is we’re not shooting people who come across the border, because of course the Biden administration would charge us with murder.”
- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
That’s our governor talking, folks. Yessir, he’s one tough son of a gun. Or, at least, he sounds like one. We would suggest, though, that he’s not tough at all. We would suggest that he’s a coward, not to mention an ongoing embarrassment to this state.
Despite his big talk, it is a small man who leaches power and satisfaction from the mistreatment and mockery of the vulnerable. It is a small man who refuses to consider the dangerousness of his tough talk and his callous policies. While clumsily evoking the murder of migrants could incite another El Paso massacre, his rogue, unrelenting policing of the border is endangering lives.
Indeed, on Saturday, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, announced that the bodies of three migrants — a woman and two children — were found floating in the Rio Grande near an Eagle Pass park that Texas DPS troopers have seized. Cuellar said Texas authorities wouldn’t grant access to U.S. Border Patrol agents trying to respond to migrants in distress and agreed only to send a soldier to assess the situation.
“This is a tragedy, and the state bears responsibility,” Cuellar said in a statement.
If Abbott fears the criminal penalty for shooting migrants, does he fear any kind of consequences for letting them drown?
Abbott’s asinine “shooting” remark came during a Jan. 5 interview with the popular right-wing talk-show provocateur Dana Loesch, and has drawn wide outrage after it was recirculated Thursday by a Chicago-based progressive radio station.
Loesch had asked the governor about the “maximum amount of pressure” he could implement to “protect the border” without crossing a legal line.
Abbott was ready with a Texas-tough answer: “We are deploying every tool and strategy that we possibly can. The only thing that we’re not doing is we’re not shooting people who come across the border, because, of course, the Biden administration would charge us with murder.”
The interview was aired again on Thursday, minus the line about shooting migrants. Abbott responded to the uproar over his original remarks, saying, “I explained in detail all the different things that Texas is doing that we have the legal authority to do and pointed out what would be illegal to do. It’s that simple.”
Maybe it’s not that simple. Abbott is a Texan, by God. He lives in the mythic shadow of “men with the bark on,” to borrow Frederic Remington’s memorable phrase. He’s a Texan no doubt familiar with such storied law-and-order gun handlers as Texas Rangers “Captain Jack” Hays and Mathew “Old Paint” Caldwell, Bill McDonald and Frank Hamer.
He’s a gun-loving Texan with a Lone Star reputation to uphold, especially when he’s being interviewed by the celebrity former spokesperson for the National Rifle Association. Loesch (pronounced Lash) is a former punk rocker from the Ozarks turned Lady Limbaugh talk radio star. The author of “Hands Off My Gun: Defeating the Plot to Disarm America,” she’s arguably best known for claiming that “many in legacy media love mass shootings.” She would make any gun lover feel inadequate if he couldn’t measure up to her gun-loving bellicosity.
Abbott is afraid of the NRA, despite the organization’s depleted condition these days. Presiding for nearly a decade over a state that’s invariably near the top in the number of mass shootings, he’s afraid to do anything, no matter how minor, to protect his fellow Texans in schools, churches, workplaces or entertainment venues. Ask him about Santa Fe and Sutherland Springs, El Paso and Odessa/Midland, Uvalde and Allen, and he has no answer. He quails at the prospect of Second Amendment absolutists derailing his political future.
Whatever that future happens to be, Abbott can’t ignore his party’s provocateur-in-chief and primary role model, a man who just might redefine “the maximum amount of pressure” at the border should he move back into the White House. Although Donald Trump’s incendiary language about immigrants has become de rigueur for the Republican Party, Abbott so far hasn’t repeated the former president’s Mein Kampf-style warning about immigrants “poisoning the blood” of America.
He does like to talk about an immigrant invasion, as U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, well remembers. In 2019, the day before a gunman massacred 23 people at a Walmart in her hometown, the governor’s campaign warned about the dangers of immigrant hordes invading the country. In response to Abbott’s latest remark, the congresswoman wrote in a post on X: “I can’t believe I have to say murdering people is unacceptable. It’s language like yours that left 23 people dead and 22 others injured in El Paso.”
We agree with Abbott that there’s a migrant crisis at the border. We believe Congress is largely to blame for failing again and again to fix a broken immigration system. President Biden has implemented some helpful actions, such as the “safe mobility” program that seeks to deter would-be migrants from a dangerous journey to the border by allowing them to apply to enter the U.S. as refugees, but Biden was too slow to act.
Nevertheless, Abbott’s intemperate remarks about guns and shooting people are merely of a piece with his immigration stunts – busing migrants to northern cities, stringing razor wire along the Rio Grande, arresting asylum seekers. The governor is afraid to dig in and look for real solutions to a complex problem — solutions that might mean collaborating with political opponents. When we made a similar criticism of Abbott in a recent editorial, the governor noted on X that we neglected to mention the letter he had hand-delivered to President Biden a year ago in El Paso.
That letter, antagonistic in tone and political in motive, demanded Biden get busy on border wall construction and make pandemic-era immigration policies permanent long after the pandemic ended. It wasn’t about solving anything. It was the same performative politics we’ve come to expect from a self-aggrandizing politician who’s not Texas-tough enough to do what’s right. Or even, at times, what’s human.
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San Antonio Express-News. January 9, 2024.
Editorial: Paxton’s pursuit of transgender medical records knows no (state) bounds
By crossing state lines in pursuit of the medical records for transgender Texans, indicted Attorney General Ken Paxton has once again crossed another line — one of privacy and decency.
In November, Paxton demanded that Seattle Children’s Hospital provide medical records for the number of Texas children who have received treatment at the hospital. This would include diagnoses, medications and treatment protocols.
Last month, Seattle Children’s Hospital filed suit, requesting that a Travis County judge toss the subpoena.
Paxton’s request for private medical information follows a recent state ban of gender-affirming treatment for Texas minors.
Since transgender youths in Texas can’t receive hormone therapy and puberty blockers for gender dysphoria, it’s hardly surprising those with supportive families and financial means would travel out of state for care. These families don’t need a permission slip from the Texas attorney general to receive medical care in another state.
These are private medical decisions made between the patients, their parents and medical providers. And they often are lifesaving treatments, given the high rates of suicide and the mental health challenges transgender youths experience. Paxton has reduced these decisions to political exploits, injecting himself into the inner workings of people’s lives. To what end?
Those are just some of the ethical concerns Paxton’s actions pose, but on the legal front, just what standing does Paxton have?
Paxton has said there may have been a violation of the the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. But as Express-News reporter Cayla Harris outlined, Seattle Children’s Hospital has called Paxton’s demands for records “sham requests.” The hospital does not provide medical treatment or telemedicine in Texas. It does not market gender-affirming care for minors here. There are no state tax dollars involved in this care. Just how is this Paxton’s business?
It’s not, of course.
In terms of disrespecting privacy and dishonoring decisions made between patients and doctors, this is eerily similar to the Kate Cox abortion case that captured the nation’s attention in December.
Cox sought a medically necessary abortion after learning her fetus had a genetic disorder. The pregnancy was not viable, and it also put Cox’s health and future fertility at risk.
While a Travis County judge granted Cox’s request, Paxton not only successfully appealed to the Texas Supreme Court, but he also successfully made threats, sending letters to various Houston medical providers warning them not to provide Cox with an abortion.
Politicians such as Paxton manipulate the culture wars for their own political gain, ignoring the complicated implications for people’s lives. Just what is Paxton accomplishing in politicizing medical records of Texans in other states? Just whose interest is he serving?
Show some human decency, and leave these families and children alone.
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Lufkin Daily News. January 13, 2024.
Editorial: Brace for Cold: Winter driving, heating tips can help you, your family stay safe this winter
Old Man Winter and Jack Frost are symbolic personifications of the season, usually receiving the credit or blame for wintry weather this time of year.
There is, however, nothing symbolic about the arctic air mass that is surging south along the Plains this weekend as it approaches the Gulf Coast.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service’s Shreveport, Louisiana, office expect the cold front to arrive Saturday evening and accelerate in the following days, with freezing rain likely from midnight to 11 p.m. Monday and lows in the mid-teens overnight Monday and Tuesday.
Transportation is always a concern when the weather is this brutal, either because of wrecks in icy road conditions or because rain, ice and snow have made air travel problematic.
And East Texans aren’t familiar with the kinds of treacherous driving conditions we could be facing Monday and possibly Tuesday. To be blunt: We don’t know how to drive on ice or snow, and it shows.
As journalists who sit around listening to a police scanner all day and night, we’re accustomed to hearing a deluge of ice-related accidents any time a wintry mix hits Angelina County, with bridges and overpasses often posing major issues for local motorists.
If our area experiences freezing rain or snow on the roadways, drivers are urged to stay home, if possible. With Monday being a holiday, now is the time to hit the store and round up all you’ll need to weather the cold front and winterize your home so you can do just that.
For those who must drive, the Texas Department of Transportation recommends the following tips to help you arrive safely:
■ Slow down. Speed limits are based on normal weather conditions. Always choose a speed according to weather conditions at the time you drive.
■ Maintain at least three times the normal following distance on snow or ice to allow for more time to stop. You should allow five to six seconds between vehicles to allow for safe stopping on ice or snow.
■ Stay alert for emergency and TxDOT vehicles working near lanes of travel.
■ Use extra caution on bridges, ramps, overpasses and shaded areas as they tend to freeze first. County roads that are untreated are likely to be frozen or have patches of ice.
■ If your vehicle begins to slide, ease off the gas pedal. Do not hit your brakes, if possible. Steer into the direction of the skid until you have regained traction. Then straighten your vehicle and slowly proceed.
But cold weather doesn’t just impact travelers. Most of us run our heaters, bundle up or — if we’re fortunate enough — cozy up with our loved ones in front of a nice warm fireplace. Unfortunately, that doesn’t provide for the less fortunate in East Texas — the homeless or those who attempt to use “unconventional means” to heat their home.
We can’t stress how important it is to be aware of potential fire danger in your house or apartment. Heating equipment is the leading cause of U.S. home fires between December and January, while cooking equipment is the leading cause of home fires year-round, According to the National Fire Protection Association. Electrical equipment is the third-leading cause, with 3 in 10 electrical fires occurring between November and February.
Here are some suggestions from the U.S. Fire Administration to help keep your family warm — and safe — this winter:
■ Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet away from heating equipment, like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove or portable space heater.
■ Have a 3-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.
■ Never use your oven to heat your home.
■ Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
■ Always use the right kind of fuel, specified by the manufacturer, for fuel-burning space heaters.
■ Make sure the fireplace has a sturdy screen to stop sparks from flying into the room. Ashes should be cool before putting them in a metal container. Keep the container a safe distance away from your home.
Now’s the time to donate extra clothing, jackets and blankets to organizations that can get them to our homeless population and check on any friends, neighbors or family members who may need help winterizing their home.
Bring your pets inside and notify authorities of anyone keeping one outdoors in temperatures below 32 degrees without adequate shelter, as that is now illegal in Texas.
Hopefully we can all stay safe and snug by following these tips as long as Jack Frost nips at our fingers and toes while chilly temperatures invade our region.
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