Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Despite a big reduction in migrant numbers, Governor Abbott vows to expand Operation Lone Star: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigration-texas-border-arizona-california-migrants/ ...While, given the longtime cooperation of state and federal border patrols, recent conflicts between them are pure political theater: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/video/border-patrol-and-texas-troopers-got-along-once-what-happened/ Have your property taxes dropped? Ours neither: https://www.newsweek.com/texas-residents-blame-abbott-property-tax-increases-18672 ..read more

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Senate Republicans including Ted Cruz and John Cornyn cave to pressure from Donald Trump, backing out of a deal to end their so-called "invasion" at the border: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/cruz-cornyn-border-bill-18653781.php The deal, to be fair, was not universally loved by Democrats: https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/07/politics/senate-border-ukraine-israel-aid-vote/index.html All this echoes failure in the U.S. House in their attempted Alejandro Mayorkas impeachment, derailed in part by South Houston's Rep. Al Gr ..read more

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Despite the full support of Texas Representatives, the Republican majority in the U.S. House falls short of impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/06/mayorkas-impeachment-vote-fail/ ...Partly thanks to a heroic vote by Texas Rep. Al Green, who had escaped his hospital bed to cast a decisive vote establishing a 215-215 tie: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/06/us/politics/al-green-mayorkas-impeachment.html ...While Republicans flail over the border, dangerous elements are heeding their ..read more

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: A diverse group of environmental advocates and frontline communities have signed on to an open letter urging Texas progressives in the U.S. House to oppose a resolution allowing for liquid natural gas expansion: https://progresstexas.org/blog/good-step-pausing-lng-export-approvals-next-step-combat-climate-crisis-texas A new deal on federal border policy finds Democrats running to face Ted Cruz in the fall election divided: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/05/texas-reaction-border-deal-ukraine-israel/ Governor Abbott is limiting his fi ..read more

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Today is the last day to register to vote in the March primary! Get it done: https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/02/05/monday-is-last-day-to-register-to-vote-in-march-5-texas-primary-election/ All about voting in Texas: https://govotetexas.org/ Governor Abbott, gathered at Eagle Pass with 13 other Republican governors, pledges to expand the border territory his Operation Lone Star is excluding from access by federal Border Patrol personnel: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/04/us/texas-border-abbott-governors.html ...While U.S. Ho ..read more

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Houston Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw is confused at his party's blocking of the very border reforms they claim to want: https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2024/02/01/dan-crenshaw-potential-border-reform-bill-sot-raju-ip-vpx.cnn That "God's Army" gathering in Dripping Springs was nowhere near "massive": https://nypost.com/2024/02/01/news/patriots-gather-for-massive-rally-at-texas-border/ ...Experts say this convoy has already been overrun by "Great Replacement" conspiracy theorists: https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/extremism-disi ..read more

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: We're proud to announce that we are endorsing Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez to face Ted Cruz in the race for our state's junior seat in the U.S. Senate: https://rolandfortexas.com/ Republican craziness over the border includes the supposedly-moderate (and essentially hopeless) Republican Presidential candidate Nikki Haley: https://nypost.com/2024/01/31/news/nikki-haley-claims-texas-has-the-right-to-secede-from-us-thats-their-decision-to-make/ ...While the more obviously crazy U.S. Rep. Chip Roy compares the recent 5-4 SCOTUS call i ..read more

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: No progress reported on the standoff between Governor Greg Abbott and President Joe Biden on federal access to the border: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/texas-refuses-budge-in-border-standoff-with-biden Eagle Pass firefighters talk about the trauma of recovering so many drowned migrants from the Rio Grande lately: https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2024/01/30/eagle-pass-texas-migrant-surge-border-immigration-contd-orig-lr-ag-ak.cnn Christian voters, in particular, should be wary of stunts like the "God's Army" truck convoy: https://www.msnbc ..read more

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The standoff between Governor Greg Abbott and President Joe Biden continues: https://www.kens5.com/video/news/special-reports/at-the-border/273-ded0a575-7d5c-4ec3-8465-7d701b45e7f3 ...Historic parallels to the situation include Eisenhower '57 and Kennedy '63: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/01/29/immigration-border-texas-trump/ ...Should legal solutions in the Congress not work out, Biden faces a difficult call: https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/if-border-bill-fails-time-for-biden-to-take-control-of-texas-border-says-wr ..read more

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The standoff between Texas and the Biden Administration is verging on unprecedented - outside of the leadup to the American Civil War: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-refuses-federal-agents-access-shelby-park-eagle-pass-border/ ...Governor Abbott's legal position parallels those asserted by Confederate states as they left the Union, all thoroughly debunked: https://www.thedailybeast.com/texas-border-stunt-is-based-on-a-confederate-legal-theory ...It also relies on the patently absurd equivalency comparing mi ..read more