Good morning, 

We asked readers their opinion of Texas’ ongoing “state of emergency” for COVID…  You’ll find the results at the end of today’s Texas Minute.

Meanwhile, the precinct chairs in one of Texas’ most Republican counties have formally censured U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 
Wednesday, August 3, 2022

1,000 Illegals A Day…

• President Joe Biden’s open border crisis continues, reports Sydnie Henry, with the El Paso border sector swamped. Border Patrol agents are processing a thousand illegal aliens each day.

     
• The El Paso sector on the southern border has seen a 50 percent increase in encounters in the federal fiscal year (FY) 2022 compared to FY 2021. Additionally, illegal aliens from nearby New Mexico are being bused into the Texas side of the El Paso sector.
      
• “From the Hondo Pass & Juarez Gate Border Patrol Facilities, Highway 54 has a nonstop flow of buses on both sides of traffic,” said Sheena Rodriguez, president of Alliance for a Safe Texas. “From there, the buses [carrying illegal aliens] are sent to Fort Bliss, the Homeland Security Aviation Facility off of Boeing Road, the El Paso International Airport, or a nearby unmarked warehouse.”
      

• What especially concerns Rodriguez, as well as her sources within Border Patrol, is the possible human trafficking element involved.

     
• “Many of the young girls going in and out of the warehouse location were spotted with white, yellow, or green wristbands, giving an eerily similar resemblance to the wristbands used by the cartel in the Roma & La Joya areas of the Texas border.” – Sheena Rodriguez

• As an aside, it is striking that Gov. Greg Abbott has kept Texas operating under a COVID-19 “state of emergency” for 873 days but has not yet declared an invasion at the southern border…

O’Rourke Campaign Staff Unionize

• In a first of its kind for any statewide campaign in Texas, the staff of Robert “Beto” O’Rourke have organized themselves into a labor union. Jake Peterson has the story.
      
• They unionized through the Office and Professional Employees International Union in a contract that will last through the election on November 8. The contract also includes a guarantee on safe working conditions, parental leave, overtime pay, gas stipends, and a bonus if O’Rourke wins the election.
      
• 🤣🤣🤣
     
• “We are proud to join the labor movement and to be the first Texas statewide campaign to unionize,” said Rocio Dumey, an O’Rourke campaign organizer.
     
• NOTE: There aren’t enough polite emojis to properly mock this statement.

In Their Own Words: The $27 Billion Surplus

• With an unexpected $27 billion in surplus funds, Texas Scorecard’s Sydnie Henry asked all Republican members of the Texas House how they plan to allocate this taxpayer money.
      
• “The maximum amount possible should be returned to taxpayers, preferably as property tax relief. The spending limit calculations will be a critical constraint because tax relief above a certain amount will require a supermajority vote for passage. This means Democrats may have great influence depending on how tax relief is structured. Consideration should also be given to paying down debt, or reducing unfunded liabilities which represent future taxation.” – State Rep. Matt Shaefer (R-Tyler)
      
• Check out the other responses.

Cornyn Censured By Collin County GOP

• In a near-unanimous vote Monday night, members of the Collin County GOP executive committee—made up of locally elected precinct chairs—passed a resolution censuring U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, under Rule 44 of the Republican Party of Texas. Erin Anderson has the details.
      
• The censure resolution, authored by precinct chair Stephen Kallas, lists multiple grievances against Cornyn’s recent voting record and calls for his “immediate resignation from the U.S. Senate for his faithlessness to our party and our principles.”
    
• “Over the twenty years he’s served in the Senate, John Cornyn has moved farther and farther away from Republican voters and has become a reliable vote for Chamber of Commerce interests,” said Rohit Joy, a Republican Party precinct chair in Plano.
      
• The Collin County resolution requests that the State Republican Executive Committee—the governing board of the Texas GOP, elected by delegates at the biennial RPT convention—also censure Cornyn.
    
• Sen. Cornyn is not up for re-election until 2026.

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Y’All Answered

Texas is still operating under a “state of emergency” regarding the Chinese coronavirus, with Gov. Abbott re-upping his declaration every month since March 13, 2020. Yesterday, we asked readers if Gov. Abbott should stop the emergency declarations.

Overwhelmingly, readers (98.47 percent) want the “emergency” orders to end – leaving 1.53 percent who believe COVID still justifies them.

Here’s a sampling from the inbox…

• “It's ridiculous to have a COVID emergency but not an invasion emergency.” – Laura Morton
      
• “Apparently it is a Permergency.” – Michael Geller
     
• “‘Emergencies’ are the classic excuse for executive overreach. Not only should Abbott cancel his nonsensical COVID declaration, the Legislature should carefully limit the circumstances under which an ‘emergency’ of any kind may be declared or extended. If I want a nanny, I will hire one.” – Bob Bettac
      
• “Someone needs to tell Abbott that DeSantis lifted the order in FL in June 2021 and is coasting to re-election. So it is probably safe for our ‘fearless’ governor to do the same.” – Scott Fogleman
       
• “The real question is why does Gov. Abbott keep extending the emergency order when there clearly is no emergency? He wants to be part of the DC swamp? He gets federal money?” – Virginia Choate
      
• “We are being invaded by people with unknown health conditions.  That's the emergency!” – Rusty Sheffield
      
• “I think most everyone in Texas knows that the Covid ‘emergency’ is over, EXCEPT our governor!! Maybe he ought to get out and mingle with us ‘little people’ more.” – Charlene Roberson

      

• “‘Tis time the legislature limited this unlimited oppression on the population of our great state!  By the time this gets repaired, we will be pushing 3 years on this two-week boondoggle (cue up the theme song for ‘Gilligan's Island’). – Arthur Potter
     
• “What I would give for a governor like Ron DeSantis.” – Reed Vestal
      
• “It's obvious ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely’ in this case and disheartening the Texas Senate is doing nothing about it! Where are the checks and balances?” – Carol Bradford
     
• “Gov. Greg Abbott's continued extensions of his powers now look like either a willful disregard of the facts that most have already admitted to themselves or ulterior motives that do not help Texas but rather Greg Abbott. Or more likely, both. His priorities are out of order!” – Aaron Longbottom
     
• “Governor Abbott should stop wielding undue authority over Texans and focus his efforts on the invasion of our border to protect Texans.” – Ken Bintliff
     
• “Abbott is acting more and more like a power-hungry Democrat. He spends tax dollars with nothing to show for it and neglects the real issues. He talks a good game but just can’t actually get the job done. Are we sure DeSantis couldn’t be Governor of Texas also?” – Steve Sullivan
      
• “Abbott has used this ‘emergency’ to grab power and circumvent the Legislature and the citizens of Texas.” – Jason Kerr
      
• “Not only should the emergency COVID declaration end, it should not have been invoked in the first place, and certainly should have ended after one month.” – Philip Johnson
     
• “Declaration of a state of emergency should be limited to a 30-day ruling. Any extensions or new emergency declarations within a one-year time frame [should] result in an automatic 30-day recall of the Texas Legislature, with the primary focus being the state of emergency!” – Danny Lee
     
• “There never was an emergency. If one is sick, they stay home. That’s the way it’s worked forever. This was nothing more than a socialist power grab!” – Bob Davis
      
• “There is only an ‘emergency’ if people choose to believe a COVID emergency exists. The DEMs have gotten a lot of mileage using the fear of COVID as a means to control the American people! … I honestly can't understand why Gov. Abbott doesn't end the ‘state of emergency’ in Texas.” – Kathy Fisher

Your Federal & State Lawmakers

The districts displayed here should reflect those recently redrawn by the Legislature. Though the new lines do not take representational effect until 2023, they will appear on the 2022 ballot. Please note that your incumbent legislator and/or district numbers may have changed.