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MRT (free): ‘Reverse Flow’ at Border as Crossings Drop Sharply // FBI Thwarts Corpus Christi Attack // House, Senate Have Dueling Property Tax Cuts
Here's What You Need to Know in Texas Today.
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MustReadTexas.com – @MustReadTexas
BY: @MattMackowiak
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TUESDAY || 2/25/25
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TOP NEWS
“Border crossing numbers in Texas plummet as 'reverse flow' begins,” Houston Chronicle's Matt deGrood — “President Donald Trump has been in office for just over a month and his mark on federal government is already everywhere.
But one of the biggest impacts so far has been his crackdown on the border, specifically in Texas.
In January, U.S. Immigration and Customs reported just 16,553 encounters with people crossing along all five border patrol sectors within Texas. That amounts to a 63% drop from just a year ago and a nearly 80% drop from two years ago.
In the Del Rio sector, which includes Eagle Pass, the number was down to just 3,500 encounters for January. Compare that to just over a year ago, when 71,000 encounters were reported.
Eagle Pass became the center of the national debate over border security over the last two years as the number of migrants from Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti skyrocketed during Biden’s administration. It was in Eagle Pass, that Gov. Greg Abbott first began deploying razor wire and a floating bouy barrier in the Rio Grande to block people from crossing, and Republican presidential candidates, including Trump, all flocked to the region to call attention to it all.
To be sure, the border crossing numbers had been on steady decline for the last six months as former President Joe Biden implemented programs to slow border crossing and got Mexican officials to step up their efforts to slow crossings.
The downward trend has only aided Trump as he looks to make border security his signature issue. In starting his second term, he has promised to get border wall construction restarted, ended the online asylum appointment app created by Biden, pressured Mexico to stop migrants from getting to the border and is now reportedly looking to re-instate a COVID-19 era policy that would allow U.S. immigration officials to swiftly expel people on the grounds of preventing the spread of disease.
Taken altogether, it now has asylum seekers who braved trekking through the jungles of the Darien Gap on the Colombia-Panama border, trying to go back to the countries they once left. The Associated Press reported on the “reverse flow” of migrants who are now boarding small speed boats to get back to South America.
Karla Castillo, a 36-year-old Venezuelan making the return journey with her younger sister, said with Trump’s actions “all our hopes went up in smoke.”
And that is before the mass deportation program that is aiming to round up people who already had crossed the border. On Monday, federal immigration officials descended on Colony Ridge, a sprawling development northeast of Harris County that has long been the subject of right-wing conspiracy theories, for what appeared to be the first major Houston-area deportation crackdown under Trump.
Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, told the Houston Chronicle in an interview that he was present for the operation, which was ongoing as of Monday afternoon." Houston Chronicle ($)
TOP NEWS
“At least 1 arrested in Colony Ridge immigration operation near Houston” Houston Chronicle ($)
“Mass casualty attack' on South Texas police thwarted, FBI says” SAEN ($)
“Texas rancher killed by suspected cartel IED on Mexican border as authorities warn of 'growing threat'” NY Post
#TXLEGE
“Texas Lottery remains in lawmakers’ sights despite move to ban third-party sales of tickets” Texas Tribune
“Texas House unveils plan to cut property taxes, setting up fight with Senate” Texas Tribune ($)
“Republican lawmaker files bills to ban DEI in Texas K-12 public schools” Texas Tribune
STATE GOVERNMENT
“Don't click that link! TxDOT warns of toll bill scam texts targeting Texans” USA Today
“Why two border counties are joining Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star after migration slows” Texas Tribune
John Bash guest column: “A Texas bill endangers AI development” DMN ($)
NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE
> TX TRIB: "New study finds elevated cancer rates near toxic San Jacinto River waste pits" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "U.S. Supreme Court hears Texas death row inmate’s appeal for DNA test of evidence" TX TRIB
> DMN: "State senators join critics who say the Texas Lottery is corrupt." DMN
> DMN: "Kelcey Warren, CEO of Energy Transfer, claims Greenpeace spread misinformation" DMN
> TX TRIB: "“We’re in competition”: An East Texas school district faces hard choices as education options grow" TX TRIB
> HOU CHRON: "Development could add almost 700 homes west of Lake Conroe" HOU CHRON
> AP: "The few Republicans who still oppose Trump gather in search of a path to oppose him" AP
> HOU CHRON: "Apple to follow Meta, X and Chevron to the state and to Houston" HOU CHRON
> HOU CHRON: "Here's how crime stats look over a year into John Whitmire's mayoral term" HOU CHRON
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: "Apple to build 250,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Houston" COMMUNITY IMPACT
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: "Houston Police Department reports 5% increase in 2024 crime rate" COMMUNITY IMPACT
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: "Plano council approves updated Willow Bend Mall redevelopment plan" COMMUNITY IMPACT
> TX TRIB: "Companies are coming to Texas to develop a new generation of nuclear reactors" TX TRIB
> HOU CHRON: "Texas wants more affordable housing. Insurance costs are getting in the way." HOU CHRON
> AP: "Greenpeace says a pipeline company’s lawsuit threatens the organization’s future" AP
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: "Texas Senate panel OKs bill to raise teacher pay based on experience, performance" COMMUNITY IMPACT
> AP: "The UN will vote to demand Russia pull troops out of Ukraine. But the US wants a softer approach" AP
> AP: "Mexico reviewing request from cartel leader jailed in the US to be sent back" AP
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: "Kalahari Resorts could bring 1.2-million-square-foot resort, convention center to Allen" COMMUNITY IMPACT
> TX TRIB: "Rates of pregnancy-related sepsis and deaths grow in Texas after abortion ban" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "Texas House wants to give public schools $220 more per student" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "Overhaul of schools’ STAAR test proposed by Texas House bill" TX TRIB
> TX MONTHLY: "Could the Sun Set on the Texas Renewable Energy Boom?" TX MONTHLY
> TX MONTHLY: "Texas Home-Insurance Costs Are Skyrocketing. State Leaders Don’t Have Many Solutions." TX MONTHLY
EXTRA POINTS
Last night's Texas sports scores:
> NCAAM: #5 Houston 69, #9 Texas Tech 61
> NCAAM: McNeese 100, UT-RGV 65
> NCAAM: Prairie View A&M 64, Mississippi Valley State 56
> NCAAM: Houston Christian 72, Stephen F. Austin 56
> NCAAM: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Nicholls
> NCAAM: Incarnate Word 73, Lamar 61
> NCAAM: East Texas A&M 73, New Orleans 71
> NCAAM: Texas Southern 81, Arkansas Pine Bluff 56
> NCAAM: Nicholls 71, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 69
Tonight's Texas sports schedule:
> 6pm: NHL: Dallas at Columbus (ESPN+)
> 6pm: NCAAM: Baylor at Cincinnati (ESPN2)
> 7pm: NBA: San Antonio at New Orleans
> 7pm: NBA: Milwaukee at Houston
> 7pm: NCAAM: Troy at Texas State (ESPN+)
> 8pm: NCAAM: TCU at West Virginia (CBS Sports)
> 9pm: NBA: Dallas at LA Lakers (TNT)
HOUSTON MEN'S BASKETBALL: "No. 4 Houston avenges only Big 12 loss with 69-61 win at No. 10 Texas Tech" AP
TEXAS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: "Texas celebrates first No. 1 ranking in 21 years by leaning on defense to beat Georgia 57-26" AP
DALLAS MAVERICKS: "Luka Doncic’s new Lakers teammates say he’s ready to face Mavericks" AP
DALLAS COWBOYS: "Could Dallas Cowboys target these QBs in the 2025 NFL draft?" DMN ($)
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