Good morning,

As you will read below, a Texas A&M official has asked staff and students to report any ICE agents they see on the College Station campus. In today's One Click Survey, we want to know what you think of that. 

This is the Texas Minute for Monday, July 21, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

The Advance

• Join Brandon Waltens and me on The Advance as the special session launches at 12 noon today. You can find us live at noon on 𝕏, Facebook, and YouTube.

Will the Democrats Show Up Today?

• At noon today, lawmakers are expected to be at the Texas Capitol to kick off a special legislative session called by Gov. Greg Abbott to address more than a dozen issues. But, as Brandon Waltens reports, it is unclear if Democrats will show up.
    
• The Texas Constitution requires two-thirds of each chamber to be present as a "quorum" to conduct business. With Democrats holding just over a third of the seats, they can—and have—disrupted the flow of legislative proceedings by not attending. 
     
• President Donald Trump has called for new maps to produce five additional Republican congressional seats in Texas. The Texas House Democrat Caucus has launched a new website, StopTheTexasSteal.com, which accuses Republicans of attempting to "steal" congressional seats through the redistricting items that the governor put on the agenda.
       
• State Rep. Ron Reynolds, chairman of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, wrote last week that he was prepared to bust the quorum for the purposes of stopping the redistricting effort.
     
• Special sessions last 30 calendar days, but there is no limit on how many a governor can call.

A&M Provost Advises Aggies to Report ICE Sightings on Campus

• Texas A&M is facing criticism after an internal email from the university's provost surfaced asking staff, faculty, and graduate students to contact university police if they see a "federal law enforcement officer on campus." Robert Montoya has the details.
     
• Last week, Provost and Executive Vice President Alan Sams sent the email that has since sparked a fierce backlash among alumni and taxpayers. Besides the call to report ICE agents, he also promised to distribute "guidance" detailing "how to handle interactions with federal law enforcement, including immigration enforcement, if they come on university property."
     
• Sams noted his office was "not aware of any verified immigration enforcement action" on campus.
      
• In early June, the Trump administration sued Texas over a state law allowing illegal aliens to qualify for in-state tuition. Attorney General Ken Paxton immediately settled, committing the state to end the policy. Sams at the time said A&M was working "to develop an appropriate plan to implement the requirements” regarding tuition for “undocumented students."
      
• TAMU Chancellor Glenn Hegar released a statement emphasizing that university police will always cooperate with federal, state, and local law enforcement. He has not, however, explained the genesis of Sams' missive.

State Seeks to Tax Nicotine Pouches as Tobacco

• VELO nicotine pouches are at the center of a legal battle after the State of Texas classified them as tobacco for taxation purposes. Travis Morgan explains the lawsuit that has worked its way to the Supreme Court of Texas.
      
• Former Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced in 2019 that he views VELO as a taxable tobacco product because it “contains nicotine, which is an extract of the tobacco leaf.” In 2020, RJR Vapor Co.—the manufacturer of VELO—filed a lawsuit to block the levy.
     
• At issue is Texas’ Cigars and Tobacco Products Tax, which defines a “tobacco product” as “an article or product that is made of tobacco or a tobacco substitute.” RJR Vapor says its product is made from, not of, tobacco.
      
• The state wants the Supreme Court to adhere “to the fair meaning of the text, not the hyperliteral meaning of each word in the text.”

US Rejects World Health Organization’s 2024 Regulations

• In a decisive move, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have announced the United States’ formal rejection of the 2024 International Health Regulations Amendments, adopted by the World Health Organization last year. As Sydnie Henry reports, Texas Republicans have been fighting the WHO’s proposed regulations over the past year.
       
• Among other things, WHO was proposing a significant expansion of its powers. The new regulations would have given WHO the authority to impose international measures—including lockdowns and travel restrictions—based on its determination of “potential public health risks.” 
     
• Critics within the U.S. government argue that such sweeping authority undermines national sovereignty and Americans’ ability to shape their own public health strategies.
     
• “The United States must never cede our sovereignty to any international entity or organization.” – U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Austin)

Nearly $2 Million of Cocaine Seized at the Southern Border

• Federal officers seized a total of nearly $2 million worth of cocaine at two different ports of entry along Texas’ southern border last week. Addie Hovland has the story.
   
• Approximately 75 pounds of cocaine were found on a semi-trailer hauling frozen raspberries at the Laredo Port of Entry. Another 66 pounds were found in a Dodge Charger when it passed through the Hidalgo Port of Entry.

Harris County Judge Proposes Property Tax to Fund Child Care Program

• Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo (D) has proposed a one-cent increase in the property tax rate to sustain the Early REACH program, which offers free child care to eligible children age four and under. Joseph Trimmer reports that county commissioners want more details.
      
• The program was initially paid for by federal COVID-19 relief funds, which are nearing depletion. County officials estimate they need $60 million annually to continue the operations.
     
• Hidalgo plans to place her tax hike proposal on the commissioners court agenda for August 7. If they approve, it would be on voters' ballots in November.
      
• Tom Ramsey, the sole Republican serving as a Harris County commissioner, said he only learned about the program from media reports, not Hidalgo. He said the tax hike is ill-timed, considering the county’s looming multi-million-dollar budget deficit.

Today In History

On July 21, 1851, the outlaw Sam Bass was born in Illinois. After a series of stagecoach and train robberies, he and his gang were tracked by a company of Texas Rangers to Round Rock. He was wounded during a shootout on July 19, 1878, and died two days later on his 27th birthday.

Quote-Unquote

"A nation that cannot control its borders is not a nation." – Ronald Reagan

One Click Survey

Texas A&M’s provost sent an email last week encouraging staff and students to report ICE agents on the College Station campus to university officials, ostensibly as a way to protect students from arrest and deportation.

Should Texas A&M and other institutions that seem to interfere in federal law enforcement actions face state and/or federal penalties?

Once you’ve clicked an answer, reply to this email with any thoughts you’d like to share!