Good morning, 

Today is National Flashlight Day, appropriate since it is also the shortest day of the year.

Here is the Texas Minute for Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

UPFRONT... Yesterday's "History" section had a typo. The people of Goliad declared their independence from Mexico on Dec. 20, 1835. I apologize for the confusion!

Illegal Alien Gets Court Date Set For 2031

• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have set a court date for an asylum-seeking illegal alien on January 23, 2031—more than seven years away. Sydnie Henry has the story.
       
• The Columbian woman crossed illegally into El Paso. Her immigration attorney, Matthew Kolken, said he is shocked by the wait time to process her claim. 
   
• “It made me realize the Biden administration is basically providing backdoor amnesty for anyone who wants to show up at the border,” Kolken told Fox News' Bill Melugin. 
       
• The immigration court has a backlog of 3 million cases.

DOJ Sues Housing Development Colony Ridge

• The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the Colony Ridge housing development, accusing the developers of using “bait and switch” predatory loans. Brandon Waltens has the details.

     

• Located northeast of Houston in Liberty County, Colony Ridge has been criticized for marketing itself to illegal aliens and potentially attracting cartel activity to the area.

       
• Earlier this week, the Daily Wire reported that the development awarded more than $16 million in taxpayer dollars to a paving company with close ties to board members.
        
• Gov. Greg Abbott tasked lawmakers with addressing the Colony Ridge situation in a special session last month. In response, lawmakers allocated an additional $40 million for the Texas Department of Public Safety to use policing the development.

Collin County's Sheriff Relents: Will Release Video of Jeff Leach

• Until pressured by the public to do so, law enforcement officials in Collin County were refusing to release video taken during a recent incident involving a member of the Texas House.
        
• Following a run-in with a Collin County Sheriff’s deputy on September 28, State Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano) was charged with three violations: driving on the wrong side of the road, disregarding an official traffic control device, and driving with an expired license. The incident was not made known to the public until early December. On Dec. 12, Collin County prosecutors granted deferred disposition to Leach on the first two charges while dropping the third.
       
• Even though the cases were no longer pending, the office of Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner refused to release video footage of the Leach incident. Skinner's office appealed to the Office of the Attorney General to keep the records hidden.
      
• Late Wednesday, Skinner's office notified the Office of the Attorney General that he was no longer blocking the release of the video.
             

• Reportedly, the video will not be released until Friday... just ahead of the Christmas weekend.

Ag Commissioner Sid Miller Endorses Phelan Challenger

• Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has endorsed David Covey in his GOP primary race against incumbent Speaker Dade Phelan of Beaumont. Emily Medeiros notes Covey has also been endorsed by Attorney General Ken Paxton.
        
• In endorsing Covey, Miller highlighted Phelan's practice of appointing Democrats to chair committees in the GOP-dominated chamber. 
        
• Covey, the former Orange County Republican Party chairman, first announced his campaign against Phelan in June. 
      
• Also in the race against Phelan is Alicia Davis of Jasper, who says her main priority is eliminating property taxes and county appraisal districts.

North Texas Teacher Arrested for Possession of Child Pornography

• A robotics teacher in the Greenville Independent School District has been arrested on charges related to child pornography.
       
• Corey Lance Bankston was arrested by the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office, which announced additional charges could be forthcoming.
     
• Following Bankston’s arrest, Greenville ISD sent an email out to district staff and parents saying that he had been placed on administrative leave and the district would be cooperating with the investigation.

Quote-Unquote

"The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God."

– C.S. Lewis​

Directory of Your U.S. & Texas Lawmakers

This information is automatically inserted based on the mailing address you provide to us. If you'd like to update your contact information, please visit our subscriber portal.