Good morning, 

Here is the Texas Minute for Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Illegal Immigration Costs American Taxpayers Nearly Half a Trillion

• A new report from the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security shows that the border crisis is costing American taxpayers around $451 billion per year. Emily Medeiros has the details.
      
• The staggering amount of money is used to fund illegal aliens’ healthcare, education, and housing, as well as the burden of additional law enforcement.
       
• Last month, the House Judiciary Committee revealed that the Biden administration has failed to remove more than 99 percent of illegal aliens who have been released into the U.S. Since President Joe Biden’s inauguration in January 2021 through March 31, 2023, authorities have removed only 108,100 of at least 2.15 million illegal aliens official caught and then released into the country.

ERCOT Boss Says Texas is Leading the Charge for Nuclear Energy

• In an interview on the Salcedo Storm podcast, the CEO of the entity overseeing Texas' power grid thinks more nuclear power is needed.
   
• Pablo Vegas became the president and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas in October 2022, 18 months after the winter storm that left millions of Texans in the dark.
      
• "Nuclear is a great, great power resource to develop in this country,” said Vegas in his interview with Chris Salcedo. “So we need to be looking to this kind of baseload power to continue to support this growth.”

Harris County's Democrat Judge Used Encrypted Messaging App for Official Business

• After previously denying she had used encrypted communications to conduct county business, it now appears Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo (D) did so—and allegedly deleted the evidence after a grand jury probe was initiated. Sydnie Henry has the story.
       
• The latest search warrant from the Texas Rangers’ investigation into Hidalgo asserts that encrypted messages were exchanged between Hidalgo and her staff as they worked to circumvent county commissioners. At issue was a lucrative COVID-19 contract Hidalgo directed to a political ally in Houston.

Civic Group Says Dallas Crime is Due to Police Shortage

• Rising crime in downtown Dallas can be attributed to a police shortage, according to Louis Darrouzet, who chairs the Metroplex Civic & Business Association.
        
• According to new data from the Metroplex Civic & Business Association, downtown Dallas’ crime score for October was nine times higher than downtown Fort Worth.
      
• Darrouzet told The Dallas Express that due to the lack of police resources, crime has run rampant. 
       
• The Dallas Police Department has been experiencing an ongoing staffing shortage. It has been reported that the department has maintained fewer than 3,200 officers in the field. A city analysis shows the staffing level should be closer to 4,000.

Belton Mom Challenges School Choice Opponent in Central Texas

• Belton mom and pro-family advocate Hillary Hickland is challenging State Rep. Hugh Shine of Temple in next year’s Republican primary to represent House District 55 in Central Texas. Erin Anderson reports education freedom for Texas families is the issue at the center of the challenge.
      
• A mother of four, Hickland said she plans to prioritize border security, the cost of living, and education in her campaign against Shine.
       
• Shine has been a vocal opponent of school choice and a close ally of House Speaker Dade Phelan.

Hinojosa Announces Rematch for South Texas Senate Seat

• After losing his race for a competitive seat in the Texas Senate by just 659 votes to a Democrat, Republican Adam Hinojosa is seeking a rematch in South Texas. Brandon Waltens has the details.

     
• Hinojosa announced this week that he has officially filed for Senate District 27, which is currently represented by Democrat Morgan LaMantia.
        
• In 2022, LaMantia's top donor was Texans for Lawsuit Reform—a Houston-based group that led the efforts to unseat Attorney General Ken Paxton.
       
• Hinojosa lost by 0.19 percent of the vote. 
      
• The district includes Bee, Cameron, Kenedy, Kleberg, San Patricio, and Willacy counties as well as parts of Hidalgo and Nueces counties.

Quote-Unquote

"Moral precepts are constant through the ages and not obedient to circumstances."

– Lord Acton​

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