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Here is the Texas Minute for Thursday, March 9, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Surge of Illegal Aliens Costs Texas Taxpayers $13.4 Billion Annually

• A new study reveals that the invasion at the southern border is costing Texas taxpayers nearly $13.4 billion a year. Nationally, the Federation for American Immigration Reform found the crisis at the border is costing taxpayers nationwide $182 billion annually.
      

• As Brandon Waltens reports, the cost to each Texan is about $4,466 annually. Those costs are driven by illegal aliens accessing public education, indigent medical care, housing and nutrition assistance, as well as other benefits such as in-state tuition at public universities and colleges.
      

• Dan Stein, the president of FAIR, describes the situation as a “staggering burden on Texas taxpayers that must be addressed by the State Legislature during the current session.”
      

• “These numbers underscore a harsh reality and therefore emphasize the continued need for the Texas Legislature and Governor Abbott to lead by taking decisive action to mandate E-Verify, end in-state tuition for illegal aliens, and declare an invasion for the sake of the future of our state,” said Chris Russo, president of Texans for Strong Borders.

U.S. Taxpayers Fund Condoms for Migrants in Colombia

• With the open-border policies of the Biden administration attracting illegal immigrants from around the world, thousands of people have been hiking through dangerous regions of central America. One expert says the question is not IF a woman will be raped along the way, but how many times. Darrell Frost has the story.
      

• Individuals traveling through the jungle between Colombia and Panama are greeted by an aid station with an emergency survival kit. The trek covers 60 miles and sexual assault is frequent, committed both by other migrants and criminal smugglers. Among the items in the kit are condoms and emergency contraceptive pills purchased by non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, with American tax dollars.
      

• In addition to assault by other humans, the trip poses numerous deadly perils, including dehydration, hunger, flash floods, disease, and animal attacks.
      

• Border security expert Victor Avila told Texas Scorecard that illegal immigration is big business in Central America. Local vendors set up shop selling mud boots, rain jackets, and other supplies. Those supplies are often purchased with debit cards provided by NGOs that are also funded by American taxpayers.
       

• “A lot of people think, ‘Well, the Biden administration has been very humane by letting everybody in.’ No, it’s inhumane because, really, the girls are getting raped. … It’s not if the women are going to get raped, it’s when and how many times,” said Avila.

Age Restrictions for Online Pornography

• As minors are increasingly struggling with exposure to pornography, two Republican lawmakers in the Texas House have filed identical legislation making it harder for children to access. Sebastian Castro has the details.
      

• State Rep. Nate Schatzline (R-Fort Worth) and Terri Leo Wilson (R-Galveston) want to force websites with pornographic content to implement age verification using state-issued identification. Both measures also give parents the ability to sue websites if their child is exposed to the site’s pornography.
      

• Porn consumption has been linked to higher divorce rates and sexual promiscuity.
     

• Texas would not be the first state to do this. Similar legislation was passed in Louisiana last year and has already taken effect.
      

• “Given the effect we have already seen Louisiana’s bill have, I am very excited to file it here in Texas so we can protect our children from harmful material online as well,” said Schatzline.
      

• The legislation has already drawn support from the Texas Family Project. “For many decades, porn has preyed on the minds of children all across this country,” said the organization's president, Chris Hopper.

Judge Rules Taxpayers Won’t Fund Civil Defense Attorneys for Illegal Aliens

• A Texas judge has ruled against state-funded civil defense attorneys for illegal aliens. Sydnie Henry has the story.
     
• As part of Operation Lone Star—Texas’ border security effort—the state is obligated to provide lawyers for illegal aliens charged with criminal matters when they are found to be indigent (unable to afford legal representation).
      

• However, some of the lawyers assigned by the Lubbock Private Defenders Office have been attempting to defend illegal aliens in civil court as well—on the taxpayers’ dime.

      
• Under state law, an indigent illegal alien may only receive taxpayer-funded legal representation when facing criminal charges or charges that could result in jail time. Civil cases, by definition, do not.

Texas House Honors 'LGBTQ' Advocacy Groups

• The Texas House of Representatives is continuing its pattern of passing controversial resolutions – yesterday voting unanimously to honor lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transexual chambers of commerce.
        

• The resolution was authored by State Rep. Mary Gonzales (D-El Paso), a self-described “pansexual,” and retroactively recognizes February 14, 2023, as "Texas LGBTQ Chambers of Commerce Advocacy Day" at the State Capitol. The resolution honored the political advocacy of "LGBTQIA+ business community." 

     

• Ahead of the vote, the Republican Party of Texas stated they were opposed to the resolution for violating the core principles of the party. All of the Republicans in the Texas House voted against their party.
      

• The pro-homosexual resolution was sent to the the House Resolutions Committee, which is chaired by State Rep. Bobby Guerra (D-Mission), before being approved by the entire House.
        

• So, I guess the "+" in LGBTQIA+ includes Republicans who gave us Democrat committee chairs and a House speaker who seems to despise the principles of his own party?

Quote-Unquote

"A nation of well-informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the region of ignorance that tyranny begins."

– Benjamin Franklin​

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