Good morning,

As you will learn below, officials from border counties hit hard by illegal immigration want Gov. Greg Abbott to declare an invasion is underway. I’m interested in your opinion; that’s the subject of this week’s One Click Survey.

Here is the Texas Minute for Wednesday, July 6, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

But first… The Texas Scorecard website has a brand new look and a host of new features, some of which are already live and others will be coming soon. If you spot any bugs, let Brandon or me know so we can dispatch the digital pest control.

High School Student Honors God, Country

• When Travis Gant graduates from high school next year, he’ll leave behind a lasting reminder of the nation’s foundation in faith. As Erin Anderson reports, Travis picked a unique senior project: ensuring his hometown school has posters depicting the national motto of “In God We Trust.”
       
• Legislation passed in Texas last year requires “In God We Trust” posters to be conspicuously displayed in school buildings, if they are donated. Meanwhile, before Lovejoy Independent School District students graduate, they are required to complete a senior project on a subject that interests them. Travis’ mom, Karla Gant, suggested her son bring the two together.
      
• “We thought it would be a good idea because of my political views and where I’m at in my faith,” said Travis, who plays football and is active in the Fellowship of Student Athletes.
      
• Travis’ mentor for his project is Linda Kellogg, founder of the National Motto Project – a Texas-based nonprofit established to inspire students through public proclamations of faith in God and country.

Texas Counties Want Invasion Declaration

• In light of the surge of illegal immigration on the border since President Joe Biden took office last year, and his lax immigration policies, citizens are increasingly calling for border states to fill in the gap.
       
• While courts have generally disallowed states from enforcing immigration law, one of the most prominent solutions proposed now is to declare an invasion at the border. Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution allows for states to repel an invasion themselves by utilizing their military forces. Experts say declaring an invasion would also allow for governors to enter into an interstate compact to secure the border.
            
• Yesterday, officials from multiple Texas counties indicated they are – or soon will be – issuing their own declarations of an invasion.
      
• Brandon Waltens was in Kinney County for the announcement, where local law enforcement documented more than 4,000 illegal aliens who avoided apprehension by U.S. Border Patrol in May of this year alone.
      
• “America doesn't know what's happening here. And we're here to try to change that,” said Kinney County Judge Tully Shahan. He noted county law enforcement officers prevented more than 67 smuggling attempts in just the last month.
       
• “We’re about 63 miles to 70 miles from the border,” said Don McLaughlin, the mayor of nearby Uvalde. “What we deal with constantly is the coyotes bringing people through our community.”
     
• While many of the county officials at the event expressed appreciation for Gov. Greg Abbott having increased state law enforcement presence and money to the border as part of his Operation Lone Star effort, they also called on him to do more.
     
• “We should declare an invasion,” said U.S. Rep. Chip Roy. “We should, as Texas, turn people away and do what is necessary to secure our communities because [we] support our communities.”
     
• The governor’s office has so far been silent on the question of declaring an invasion. His office did not respond to inquiries made about the counties’ action on Tuesday. The Republican Party of Texas has also recently called for the state to declare the surge as an invasion and defend its borders in the absence of federal action.

• Texas Scorecard did a live-stream of yesterday’s news event in Kinney County. You can watch the archive on our video channel.

GOP Priority: Defend Gun Rights

• At their biennial convention last month, Texas’ Republican delegates voted to make “Defend Our Gun Rights” one of the party’s eight legislative priorities in the upcoming legislative session. Jake Peterson explores the background of the issue, with a focus on what Republican activists expect their lawmakers to do in 2023.

Medical Freedom

• Meanwhile, Juliana Berg looks at one of the proposed priorities that didn’t make the GOP’s final cut: “medical freedom” for Texans. The issue includes ending the 10-Day Rule, in which hospital death committees can decide to withdraw life-sustaining medical treatment. Patients have 10 days to transfer to a different facility before the hospital can literally pull the plug.
     
• The proposal was also aimed at curtailing forced COVID-19 vaccinations.  

Watchmen & Fellows

• Our friends at the Texas Home School Coalition are now accepting applications for their Watchmen program at the Texas Capitol. Among other things, the role of a THSC Watchman is to track bills filed in the Texas Legislature and analyze them for content that affects Texas families and homeschoolers.
       
• Also… applications are still being accepted for Texas Scorecard’s Fal 2022 Fellowship program. We are now taking applications for the spring and summer 2023 courses.

ONE CLICK SURVEY

Should Gov. Greg Abbott officially declare that an invasion is underway on Texas’ southern border?

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

Today In History

The Dr Pepper Company was incorporated in Dallas on July 6, 1923. The iconic soft drink first tickled Texans’ taste buds in 1885 in Waco.