Good morning,

A federal judge wants Texas to remove the "buoy barriers" from the Rio Grande. Should Texas comply with such orders? Sound off in today's One Click Survey.

Here is the Texas Minute for Monday, Sept. 11, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Never Forget

• Thousands of Americans died at the hands of Islamic terrorists 22 years ago today.
       
• Let us never forget the victims. Let us never forget the heroes. 

Biden May Force Illegal Aliens to Remain in Texas

• Reports from Washington indicate the Biden administration is considering new rules that would force illegal aliens to remain in Texas while awaiting asylum screening. Emily Medeiros reports that border patrol agents encountered 183,503 illegal aliens in July, rising by almost 40,000 since June.
     
• The Biden plan would allegedly force illegal aliens to remain in Texas—or other border states—by tracking their location through GPS monitoring devices, like ankle bracelets. The program places illegal alien families under a strict curfew and requires at least one family member to wear a GPS monitoring device.
     
• The administration has presented no plans to curb the inflow of illegal aliens.
     

• Biden's proposal comes as Texas is facing a legal challenge from the Biden administration over how to stem the tide of illegal aliens entering the state from Mexico.

Bush-Connected Lawyer Hasn’t Billed Paxton ‘Whistleblowers’ for 3 Years

• Testimony in the Senate’s impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton has revealed that a lawyer connected to the politically moderate family of George W. Bush has not billed whistleblowers for his representation. Brandon Waltens has the story.
      

• During the cross-examination on Friday of former deputy attorney general Ryan Vassar, it was revealed that all the whistleblowers use Johnny Sutton as their lawyer – and that he has not billed them for his time. Sutton has strong ties to the Bush family, as an advisor to former Gov. George W. Bush. When "W" Bush was in the White House, Sutton was appointed to be a U.S. attorney.
         
• The same day the whistleblowers went to the FBI with their allegations, George P. Bush (W.'s nephew) renewed his long-dormant law license. It has been alleged during the trial that "P" was tipped off so that he could be ready for an appointment to the Office of the Attorney General.
           
• Vassar said he expected to be billed by Sutton eventually.
     
• Vassar also testified that neither he nor his fellow whistleblowers had any evidence regarding the political innuendo and personal rumors about Paxton, which they took to both the FBI and the Office of Gov. Greg Abbott.
      
• The impeachment trial continues today at 9 a.m. It can viewed on the Senate website, or using the Texas Scorecard app for Roku or Apple TV devices.

Poll: Trump Lead Grows Among Texas GOP Voters

• A new poll from CWS Research shows that most Texas Republicans favor President Donald Trump over other GOP candidates. Katy Marshall has the details.
     
• The poll asked voters which candidate they favored. In addition to Trump, the choices included Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, and six other candidates.
     

• Out of the ten Republican presidential candidates, only Trump and DeSantis received double-digit support. Trump drew 61 percent of the votes, while DeSantis only garnered 10 percent.
      

• If the primary field were narrowed to only Trump or DeSantis, 62 percent of voters would choose Trump, while 24 percent would select DeSantis. The remaining 14 percent said they were undecided.

University of Texas Ranked Least Free Speech-Friendly Campus in Texas

• The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and College Pulse released their annual College Free Speech Rankings for the 2023-2024 academic year.
       

• According to the rankings, Texas A&M University is seventh on the list (the highest of any Texas institutions), as one of the friendliest campuses toward free speech. However, the University of Texas at Austin was ranked 239th among the 248 colleges and universities reviewed (and the lowest among Texas institutions). 

       
• Among the others ranked in the Lone State State were Texas Tech (#40 in the nation, #4 in Texas) and the University of North Texas (#221 nationally, next to last in the state).

ONE CLICK SURVEY

A federal judge has ordered Texas to remove the buoy barriers from the Rio Grande, but the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily halted that order. If that "stay" is lifted, and federal judges demand that the buoys be removed, what should Gov. Abbott do?

Once you’ve clicked an answer, reply to this email with any thoughts you’d like to share!