Daily Dispatch 12/19/23: Abbott Signs Hateful Immigration Bill Into Law, and More

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

As expected, Governor Greg Abbott signed the blatantly unconstitutional SB-4 into law: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-immigration-law-sb4-signed-greg-abbott/

...The law mandates that judges send migrants in violation back to Mexico: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/texas-arrest-migrants-crossing-border-illegally-under-new-state-law-2023-12-18/

...El Paso's County Commissioners are in on an ACLU lawsuit against SB-4: https://kvia.com/news/2023/12/18/el-paso-county-commissioners-unanimously-vote-to-sue-state-of-texas-after-signing-of-sb4/

...While El Paso's sheriff's department worries it will further alienate the Hispanic community from law enforcement: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/18/us/abbott-texas-border-law-arrests.html

...Experts point out that immigration is akin to foreign policy - and that's why the federal government has primacy over immigration: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/12/18/texas-immigration-law-sb-4/71816160007/

...U.S. Rep Joaquin Castro and several other House Democrats have asked the U.S. Department of Justice to block SB-4: https://abc7.com/greg-abbott-texas-governor-sb4/14199461/

...Officials in Mexico have condemned SB-4, while Governor Abbott has no clear answer on how he'll address their objections: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2023/12/18/texas-will-begin-arresting-migrants-under-law-gov-greg-abbott-is-expected-to-sign-monday/

...Heartbreaking video of border officers ignoring a mother and her baby in the water in the Rio Grande reminds us of the human element of all of this: https://www.tpr.org/border-immigration/2023-12-18/video-shows-texas-national-guard-members-appearing-to-ignore-a-mother-and-babys-pleas-for-help-in-the-rio-grande

Governor Abbott has appointed Amarillo's Aaron Kinsey, avowed revisionist history and library censorship enthusiast, the new chair of the Texas State Board of Education: https://www.amarillopioneer.com/blog/2023/12/18/aaron-kinsey-appointed-sboe-chair

...Kinsey's campaign contributors are a cross-section of right-wing dark money crusaders: https://x.com/cjtackett/status/1736905176403914765?t=Ygi_kIzAD2TaQkhELhtXjQ&s=03

A new profile of Amanda Zurawski lays bare even further the insanity of the state's argument against the plaintiffs in the case having "standing": https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/12/amanda-zurawski-on-challenging-texas-abortion-law.html

And, congratulations to Minnie Payne, at 90 officially the eldest person ever to earn a graduate degree from the University of North Texas: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2023/12/18/oldest-University-North-Texas-masters-degree/6651702924774/

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