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Good morning!

This is the Texas Minute for Monday, April 7, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

174 Criminal Aliens Deported From Texas

• According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 174 criminal illegal aliens have been deported from Texas. Will Biagini reports that the deportations took place between March 17-28 and included 24 confirmed gang members.
       
• As a group, these 174 individuals were accountable for a total of 610 criminal convictions and 415 previous removals from the country. For example, one individual was convicted of illegal entry four times, as well as DWI, drug charges, and fraud. According to ICE, he had already been removed from the country 39 times.  
     
• “This is just a small snapshot of the amazing work that the brave men and women at ICE do every day to enhance public safety in Southeast Texas.” – Bret Bradford, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations

RELATED NEWS

• In August 2021, five months into Operation Lone Star, the Texas Supreme Court issued an emergency order providing defense attorneys for illegal aliens captured as part of the state’s border security efforts if they were unable to pay for legal representation.
      
• Because caseloads have been dropping due to increased border enforcement operations, Blacklock and the court believe the extraordinary system is no longer necessary.

31 Illegal Aliens Detained in Houston Gambling Ring Bust

• A massive operation that spanned more than five years has culminated in the arrest of 16 individuals, the seizure of $22 million worth of assets, and the detention of 31 illegal aliens. As Michael Wilson reports, the charges include conspiracy, operating illegal game rooms, bribery, and money laundering.
      
• More than 700 law enforcement officers from 18 agencies executed 45 search warrants and 40 seizure warrants at locations throughout the Greater Houston area last week. Of those, 30 locations were illegal game rooms.
       
• Nizar Ali, a Pakistani national living in Richmond, is accused of being behind the operation. In addition to the crimes directly involved with the illegal enterprise, Ali is also accused of paying over half a million dollars to an undercover officer to keep him informed about law enforcement’s movements and to protect his operations.

Pfluger Pushes To Revoke Endangered Species Listings To Boost Energy Industry

• Republican U.S. Rep. August Pfluger of Texas is urging Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to remove the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard and the Lesser Prairie Chicken from the threatened and endangered species list. As Debra McClure reports, removing those designations is seen as a boost for American energy production.
     
• The listing of both the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard and the Lesser Prairie Chicken as endangered species by the Biden administration was seen at the time as both controversial and highly political act. That administration did so by effectively ignoring conservation efforts already underway in Texas and Kansas.
      
• Attorney General Ken Paxton previously sued over the Biden administration’s weaponization of environmental regulations, particularly the endangered species designation. Paxton described those designations as a “backdoor attempt to undermine Texas’s oil and gas industries.”
        
• “Empowering states, landowners, and private partners to continue leading species management ensures we can protect wildlife without sacrificing economic growth, energy production, or the livelihoods of hardworking Americans.” – August Pfluger

Houston Mayor and Controller Spar Over Unbudgeted Overtime Spending

• Houston Mayor John Whitmire and City Controller Chris Hollins are clashing over $72 million in projected overtime spending for the police, fire, and solid waste departments. Joseph Trimmer has the story.
      
• Hollins presented the report at a contentious city council meeting last week, detailing how the Houston Police Department spent $26.1 million more on overtime pay than had been budgeted. The Houston Fire Department recorded overages of more than $42.7 million, while the Solid Waste Management Department reported $3.1 million. Hollins described it as a worsening trend.
         
• Whitmire took exception to this, calling Hollins’ report “political.” The mayor defended the spending as essential for providing public safety and essential services to Houston citizens.
      
• Discussions on Houston’s fiscal health will be ongoing at City Hall, where the council is facing a deficit of more than $330 million for the fiscal year 2026.

THIRD Huntsville ISD Teacher Arrested for Sex Crime in Three Weeks

• Another teacher in the Huntsville Independent School District has been charged with a sex crime involving a student. As Erin Anderson reports, this is the third HISD teacher to be arrested in three weeks and the second for the same charge.
      
• Lauren Ashley Rudolph, a dyslexia teacher and cheer coach at Huntsville High School, was arrested last week. District officials said she “recently resigned from the district.” She is charged with the second-degree felony of improper relationship between educator and student, punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison.
     
• Reportedly, Rudolph allowed a student to move in with her, and the two allegedly engaged in a relationship. State records show Rudolph is certified as a classroom teacher and a principal.
      
• During the two weeks before her arrest, two other Huntsville ISD teachers were nabbed. On March 19, middle school teacher Demondrae Murray was charged with soliciting a prostitute. On March 27, Huntsville High School teacher Eric Buchek was charged with improper relationship between educator and student.

MORE SCHOOL NEWS

Uvalde High School Coach Arrested for ‘Improper Relationship’ With Student

Alberto Joseph Martinez, 30, was arrested last week on a charge of improper relationship between educator and student, an offense that includes sexual contact or sexually explicit communication with a student.

Klein ISD Nurse Under Investigation

A nurse at Kuehnle Elementary School is now facing a criminal investigation for replacing students’ prescription medications with over-the-counter medications.

Today In History

On April 7, 1913, Texas' Sam Rayburn took the oath of office to become a member of Congress after a six-year stint in the Texas House. Rayburn was the Democrats' majority leader before becoming the speaker of the House in 1940, a post he held (except for periods when Republicans held the chamber) until he died in 1961.

Quote-Unquote

"No one will really understand politics until they understand that politicians are not trying to solve our problems. They are trying to solve their own problems - of which getting elected and re-elected are number one and number two. Whatever is number three is far behind."

– Thomas Sowell​