MRT (free): TX Border Czar Banks to Lead Border Patrol // Speaker Fight Winners & Losers // How FW Supplanted ATX as Top Boomtown // DOJ to Probe GLO?

MustReadTexas.com – @MustReadTexas
BY: @MattMackowiak

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THURSDAY || 1/16/25

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• TOP NEWS

“Former Border Patrol agent and Texas border czar Mike Banks appointed as Trump's border patrol chief,” New York Post's Jennie Taer and Emily Crane — “Texas border czar Mike Banks has been tapped to be the next US Border Patrol chief, sources told The Post Thursday.

Banks, a longtime former border agent himself, will serve as the federal agency’s 27th head under the Trump administration, according to a source familiar with his appointment.

He is set to replace Jason Owens.

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Until now, Banks has been serving as the Lone Star State’s first-ever border czar — a position created by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2023 to deal with the unprecedented influx of illegal migrants pouring across the US border.

“For me, the #1 priority is to make the State of Texas the least desirable place for illegal immigration to cross,” Banks said when he took on the newly created role." NY Post

“How Fort Worth supplanted Austin as Texas' top boomtown,” Texas Tribune's Joshua Fechter — “Fort Worth may soon become the state’s next city with more than 1 million people.

Fort Worth had nearly 990,000 residents as of January 2024, according to recent estimates from the Texas Demographic Center — just barely surpassing Austin to become the state’s fourth-largest city.

Fort Worth has grown faster than any other major Texas city since 2020 as the city added tens of thousands of jobs. The city’s relatively low home prices and rents, laidback Western vibe, cultural offerings like the city’s museum district and proximity to the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers make it an attractive destination for newcomers and contributed to its growth, observers said.

“Fort Worth is on a roll,” said Cullum Clark, director of the George W. Bush Institute’s Economic Growth Initiative at Southern Methodist University. “When you visit, it's pretty clear that it's a place that is booming, where people are very excited about the direction of things.”

With growth comes challenges. Fort Worth’s housing is more affordable than in many other large cities. But that affordability has waned amid the city’s population boom. It’s now more expensive to rent in the North Texas city than in Austin, which has historically not been the case.

Fort Worth added nearly 71,000 residents from 2020 to 2024, both growing at a faster pace and adding more residents than any other major Texas city. In second place was San Antonio, which grew by more than 62,000 residents in that time frame.

Houston remains the state’s largest city with more than 2.3 million. Its population barely budged. Dallas also barely added new residents in that time frame. El Paso shrank by more than 6,000 residents.

Austin grew in recent years but not as quickly as Fort Worth. Amid the capital city’s pandemic-era run-up in housing costs and layoffs in the tech sector, Travis County saw more residents last year move out than in.

“It's more difficult to move around there, it's more expensive to do things, it's more expensive to buy housing there,” said Lloyd Potter, the state demographer. “You don't see costs being quite as prohibitive (in Fort Worth) as what we're seeing in Austin.”

The Austin region is growing at a quicker clip than the Dallas-Fort Worth region, Potter noted. International migration to Travis County fueled population growth there in recent years, Potter said. Suburban cities like Georgetown, Leander and Round Rock as well as smaller towns like Liberty Hill have also added tens of thousands of residents since 2020, data from the center shows.

The Dallas-Fort Worth region added more total residents than the Austin region between 2020 and 2024, the demographic center’s data show — a staggering 546,000 residents. The greater Houston region came in second, growing by about 392,000 people in that same period.

Strong job growth in the region undergirds Fort Worth’s population boom, experts said. The Fort Worth-Arlington region has added more than 95,000 jobs in the last three years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Fort Worth has long been an aerospace and defense hub — home to American Airlines; Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, which manufactures the F-35 fighter jet; and Bell Textron, a builder of military and commercial helicopters. Last month, Bell announced a $632 million plant to build parts for the company’s new assault helicopter, slated to add more than 500 jobs. It’s also home to the eye care company Alcon Laboratories and BNSF Railway, one of the nation’s largest freight rail operators.

Trade, transportation, and utilities saw the strongest job growth over the last year in the Fort Worth-Arlington region, according to recent figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The region also saw gains in jobs in construction; education and health services; and leisure and hospitality.

“What it shows is that you can experience enormous growth when you become one of the best places in America to operate some of these older industries,” Clark said.

Fort Worth boosters hope a higher education boom will help supply educated workers to attract future employers. Texas Christian University, the city’s preeminent higher education institution, and Texas A&M University are each expanding there. And the University of Texas at Arlington is building a new branch in West Fort Worth.

“I am very bullish on our higher education institutions and the growth that they are going to bring to Fort Worth,” Robert Allen, who heads the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership, said. “That's huge because that continues to turn out talent and make sure that talent pipeline is robust, which is obviously a key critical component to continue that growth.”

Like nearly every other major city, Fort Worth’s housing affordability has slipped amid its boom. But it remains more affordable than many of the country’s largest cities.

Asking rents are 30% higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic, Zillow data show. Among the state’s largest cities, Fort Worth had the highest rents toward the end of last year — surpassing even Austin, where rents have fallen for 19 straight months amid a massive apartment building boom. The Fort Worth area, meanwhile, has permitted roughly the same amount of housing units as it did before the pandemic.

Buying a home in Fort Worth is also more expensive than it used to be. The typical sales price of a home sat at $340,000 last November, about 48% higher than in the same month in 2019. It’s cheaper to purchase a home in San Antonio or El Paso than in Fort Worth, though not as expensive as in neighboring Dallas or Austin — where the typical home now goes for more than half a million dollars. Homes are cheaper in Fort Worth than in many neighboring suburbs.

“Fort Worth is a dramatically more affordable place to live,” Clark said." Texas Tribune

• TOP NEWS

TX TRIB: “Criminal appeals court to rehear election wrongdoing case involving Washington County Republican” Criminal Appeals ruled that his office did not have the authority to prosecute them." Texas Tribune

• #TXLEGE

DMN: “Dustin Burrows raised $750,000 in 2 weeks in December” DMN ($)

TX TRIB: “Winners and losers from the Texas House speaker's race” Texas Tribune

• STATE GOVERNMENT

HOU CHRON: “DOJ may investigate Texas GLO for discrimination over Harvey funds” Houston Chronicle ($)

• LOCAL GOVERNMENT

HOU CHRON: “Houston IAH Terminal B lobby will close for redevelopment” Houston Chronicle ($)

DMN: Editorial: “Violent crime in Dallas is way down. So why do so many feel unsafe” DMN ($)

HOU LANDING: “Houston to end hybrid work for municipal employees, bringing 1,600 back to the office” Houston Landing

• BUSINESS NEWS

SAEN: “Southwest Airlines, San Antonio set for court battle” SAEN ($)

• 2025

SA REPORT: “Candidates swarm first hour of filing for San Antonio's 2025 City Council races” SA Report

FW REPORT: “Who's running for Fort Worth City Council in 2025? Here are the candidates for May 3 election” FW Report

• TEXANS IN DC

HOU CHRON: “Two Texas Democrats voted with Republicans to ban transgender athletes” Houston Chronicle ($)

• TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

TX TRIB: “Former Texas congressman vows to keep politics out of CIA as director” Texas Tribune

• NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

> TX TRIB: "Texas should close prisons and jails with staffing challenges, state oversight panel says" TX TRIB
> TX MONTHLY: "He’s on Death Row for Killing a Pastor. Christians Are Divided Over Whether He Should Die." TX MONTHLY
> AP: "Texas developer at the center of attorney general’s impeachment pleads guilty to federal charge" AP
> TX TRIB: "Texas lawmakers eye sharing health care workers with other states to address provider shortages" TX TRIB
> FWST: "Recent Tarrant County jail deaths unite groups from both sides of political aisle" FWST
> FWST: "Son kills stepdad at family gathering and mom tries to take blame, Texas cops say" FWST
> FWST: "Man with 2 guns arrested at Fort Worth apartments after officer fires shots in foot chase" FWST
> FWST: "Children reflect on Fort Worth dad’s remarkable career, from media work to community servant" FWST
> HOU CHRON: "Houston freeze: Snow, winter precipitation looking more likely" HOU CHRON
> TX TRIB: "Fort Worth is inching closer to 1 million residents. Here’s why." TX TRIB
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: "Grand Parkway frontage road projects gain $58.6M H-GAC grant" COMMUNITY IMPACT
> EP TIMES: "Inspiring newsmakers in El Paso, Borderland who made history, fought for justice in 2024" EP TIMES
> EP TIMES: "El Paso Times Newsmaker of Year Renard Johnson brings new leadership style to City Hall" EP TIMES
> WACO TRIB: "Watershed protection tax credit plan, strong turnout open Light on the Legislature series in Waco" WACO TRIB
> AAS: "Texas police arrest 8 in crackdown on social media Glock switches sale" AAS
> MY RGV: "Johnny Garcia, former councilman, announces bid for Edinburg mayor" MY RGV
> VALLEY CENTRAL: "Texas missionaries help migrants in Mexican border towns" VALLEY CENTRAL
> AAS: "Rep. Venton Jones proposed to his partner on the floor of Texas House" AAS
> MY RGV: "Mission man arrested for neglecting pigs, horses, goats, a dog and a goose" MY RGV
> MyRGV.com: "SpaceX launch at Boca Chica Beach rescheduled for Thursday" MyRGV.com
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: "San Antonio City Council receives Edwards Aquifer Protection Program update" COMMUNITY IMPACT

• EXTRA POINTS

Last night's Texas sports scores:
> NBA: New Orleans 119, Dallas 116
> NBA: Memphis 129, San Antonio 115
> NBA: Houston 128, Denver 108
> NCAAM: #10 Houston 70, West Virginia 54
> NCAAM: Texas 77, Oklahoma 73
> NCAAM: Utah 73, TCU 65
> NCAAM: SMU 54, Virginia 52
> NCAAM: Texas State 94, Georgia State 80

Tonight's Texas sports schedule:
> 7pm: NHL: Montreal at Dallas (ESPN+)
> 7pm: NCAAM: Utah Valley at UT-Arlington (ESPN+)
> 7pm: NCAAM: California Baptist at Tarleton State (ESPN+)
> 8pm: NCAAM: Abilene Christian at Grand Canyon (ESPN+)
> 8pm: NCAAM: UTEP at Liberty (CBS Sports)
> 9pm: NBA: Houston at Sacramento (TNT)

DALLAS COWBOYS: "Everything we know about Dallas Cowboys' search for new head coach" DMN ($)

DALLAS COWBOYS: "Cowboys request permission to interview Eagles OC Kellen Moore" DMN ($)

DALLAS COWBOYS: "Troy Aikman's words speak loudly about misery of coaching Cowboys" DMN ($)

HOUSTON TEXANS: "Houston Texans: Bobby Slowik to interview with New York Jets" Houston Chronicle ($)

TEXAS FOOTBALL: "Texas football: Quinn Ewers enters 2025 NFL Draft" AAS ($)

HOUSTON ROCKETS: "Green and Sengun help the Rockets beat the short-handed Nuggets 128-108" AP

DALLAS MAVERICKS: "Dejounte Murray scores 30 points as the Pelicans outlast the injury-depleted Mavericks 119-116" AP

SAN ANTONIO SPURS: "Morant's 21-point, 12-assist performance carries Grizzlies past Wembanyama and the Spurs 129-115" AP