View in browser [link removed] | TexasScorecard.com [[link removed]]
Good morning,
This is the Texas Minute for Thursday, July 23, 2026.
– Michael Quinn Sullivan [[link removed]]
--" width="434" src=" DHS Ends Indefinite Stay Policy for International Students New restrictions are being imposed on international student visas in an effort by the Department of Homeland Security to prevent foreign students from remaining in the U.S. indefinitely. Mary Berg reports [[link removed]] that the agency is closing a loophole that allowed foreign students to stay in the country as long as they maintained a student status.
Now, DHS is establishing a fixed period of authorized stay. Students will be required to apply directly with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for extensions on their visas.
In addition, DHS is also reducing the grace period after a foreign student’s authorized stay ends from 60 days to 30 days.
The changes could have a significant impact in Texas, where universities enroll one of the nation’s largest international student populations. There are 92,020 international students enrolled in Texas' institutions of higher education.
MORE HIGHER ED NEWS
Texas Higher Ed Coordinating Board Advances a Series of New Rules Adam Cahn reports [[link removed]] that a representative of the Classic Learning Test spoke of the need to “break up the SAT and ACT’s duopoly.” --" width="434" src=" Arizona Model Could Strengthen Citizenship Verification in Texas Elections As election security is increasingly called into question, a new report from the Texas Public Policy Foundation discusses the challenges of ensuring that only American citizens vote in elections. Grant Halk has the details [[link removed]].
The core of the problem is that the National Voter Registration Act, passed in 1993, inadvertently created loopholes that allowed non-citizens to vote in national elections. The act mandates that states use a federal voter registration form, which only requires the sworn testimony that an individual is a U.S. citizen without providing any proof.
Arizona has stricter standards for voter eligibility in its state and local elections, a policy that has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The state maintains a bifurcated voter‑roll system that separates “verified” voters from “federal‑only” voters.
Chuck DeVore, who authored the TPPF paper, recommends that Texas and other states adopt an Arizona-style bifurcated system. --" width="434" src=" Trucker Pleads Guilty After Admitting To Hauling Illegal Aliens A truck driver has pleaded guilty in a federal court [[link removed]] to transporting illegal aliens instead of the carrots claimed on a cargo manifest.
Earlier this year, Rodney William Gipson drove into the Falfurrias Road Checkpoint from the Rio Grande Valley on the way to Houston. After a K-9 agent alerted to a suspicious scent in Gipson’s tractor-trailer, 24 illegal aliens were found inside. The illegals were of different nationalities and had no connection to each other.
Gipson is facing up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. --" width="434" src=" Austin Removes LGBT ‘Pride’ Crosswalk Austin’s rainbow-colored crosswalks, which celebrated the LGBT movement, started to be removed this week following federal and state directives to remove political messages and artwork from city streets. As Addie Hovland reports [[link removed]], conservative activists are hailing the removal as a victory.
Last fall, Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Department of Transportation to ensure compliance with a federal rule demanding that political messages be removed because they are “‘distractions’ that detract from roadway safety.” --" width="434" src=" Italian Court Demands Formal Death Penalty Waiver in Harris County Murder Case Michael Wilson reports [[link removed]] that a court in Turin, Italy, has for now blocked the U.S. government’s request to extradite capital murder suspect Lee Gilley to Harris County. The Italian judges are demanding stronger guarantees that Gilley will not face the death penalty if returned to Texas.
According to Gilley's attorney, U.S. officials have until Aug. 31 to submit additional documentation to Italian authorities ahead of a Sept. 7 hearing.
Gilley stands accused of the 2024 murder of his pregnant wife, Christa Bauer, at their home. Released on a $1 million bond, Gilley was required to wear a GPS ankle monitor and was barred from leaving Texas without notifying the court. He reportedly cut off the monitor and flew to Italy using forged documents before he was caught by authorities at the Milan airport. --" width="434" src=" Support Texas Scorecard 🔒 [[link removed]] --" width="434" src=" Number of the Day
1,680,517
The Fall 2025 enrollment in Texas' institutions of higher education, including health-related institutions, 2-year colleges, and the 4-year public and private universities.
Source: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board [[link removed]]
--" width="434" src=" Today In History
On July 23, 1777, the king of France secretly agreed to provide munitions to the Americans as part of the War of Independence.
--" width="434" src=" Quote-Unquote
"What the French took from the Americans was their theory of revolution, not their theory of government—their cutting, not their sewing."
– John Dalberg-Acton, Lord Acton
--" width="434" src=" Directory of Texas' State & Federal Officials [[link removed]]
Contact information, biographies, and campaign finances.
--" width="434" src="
Thanks for spending part of your Thursday reading the Texas Minute!
Was this forwarded to you? Sign up here to get it in your own inbox [[link removed]].
Update Your Subscription Profile [[link removed]] --" width="434" src="
Texas Scorecard
www.TexasScorecard.com [[link removed]]
(888) 410-1836
PO Box 248, Leander, TX 78646
This message was originally sent to:
John xxxxxx |
Presented by Texas Scorecard, the Texas Minute is a quick look at the first news of the Lone Star State so citizens can be well-informed and effectively engaged. It is available weekday mornings in your inbox!
Unsubscribe [link removed]
