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Good morning!

This is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Lawmaker Wants DNA Testing at Southern Border to Prevent Child Trafficking

• State law enforcement officials would be required to administer rapid DNA tests on suspicious individuals trying to enter the country as part of an effort to crack down on child trafficking. Luca Cacciatore has the details.
      
• State Rep. Terri Leo Wilson (R-Galveston) told her colleagues yesterday that she is seeking to disrupt a longstanding problem at the border: adults trafficking children will fraudulently claim to be their parents.
           
• Wilson's measure would authorize the Texas Department of Public Safety to enter into an agreement with the United States Department of Homeland Security to conduct the testing, but “only when there is reasonable cause that a claimed parent-child relationship is fraudulent.” It applies not only to apprehended illegal aliens but also to anyone entering Texas from Mexico who is deemed suspicious by border security agencies.
     

• In a three-day pilot operation conducted by the federal government several years ago, 16 out of 84 families picked for scrutiny were found to be fraudulent.

      
• “I witnessed firsthand how cartels weaponize our humanitarian policies against us, using children as commodities in a system designed for their protection.” – Ammon Blair, Texas Public Policy Foundation

USDA Secures Water Delivery Agreement with Mexico

• An agreement has been reached with Mexico that will ensure Texas farmers and ranchers receive critical water deliveries, reports Sydnie Henry. The agreement was reached by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, who described it as a significant victory for American agriculture after years of drought and treaty noncompliance. 
   
• At issue was the 1944 Water Treaty, under which Mexico is required to deliver 1.75 million acre-feet of water to the United States over a five-year cycle from the Rio Grande River, while the U.S. provides 1.5 million acre-feet to Mexico from the Colorado River. Mexico has been consistently failing to make good on its obligations.
      
• The new agreement compels the Mexican government to transfer water from international reservoirs and increase the U.S. share of flow from six of Mexico’s Rio Grande tributaries.
       
• "Mexico finally meeting the water needs of Texas farmers and ranchers under the 1944 Water Treaty is a major win for American agriculture. After weeks of negotiations… we secured an agreement to give Texas producers the water they need to thrive." – Brooke Rollins

Houston ISD Scores Decline in Newly-released Report Cards

• Houston Independent School District received an overall ‘C’ grade from the Texas Education Agency for the 2022–23 academic year, marking a decline for the state’s largest school district from its ‘B’ rating the previous year. As Joseph Trimmer reports, the release of the district report cards had been delayed by lawsuits brought by local school officials from around the state.
       
• A total of 121 HISD campuses earned a ‘D’ or ‘F’ rating.
      
• Several Houston-area districts outperformed Houston ISD under the same rating system; Tomball and Barbers Hill ISDs both secured ‘A’ grades. On the other hand, Aldine ISD and Cleveland ISD received ‘D’ ratings while Hempstead ISD scored an ‘F.’ 

School Employee Jailed on 5 Counts of Sexually Assaulting Student

• Erin Anderson reports that an Odessa charter school contract employee is facing six felony charges following accusations that he sexually assaulted a student.
      
• Maurice Devante McCoy was arrested and charged with five counts of sexual assault of a child and one count of improper relationship between educator and student. McCoy worked as a security guard at Harmony Science Academy in Odessa, a public charter school serving kindergarten through 8th grade students.
      
• According to the Odessa Police Department, McCoy “became acquainted with a student” and over the course of weeks “committed multiple acts of sexual assault against the victim at his residence.”

Three-Time Loser Beto O’Rourke Hints at Another Run

• Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke’s political career has been defined by a familiar pattern: big crowds, lots of media attention, and ultimately, coming up short on election night. Brandon Waltens has the story.
        

• After losing to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, fizzling out of the Democratic presidential primary in 2020, and being crushed by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022, most observers might have expected O’Rourke to call it a day. As it turns out, he may not be ready to leave the Democrats' campaign trail just yet.
          

• At a recent town hall in North Texas, O’Rourke hinted that he may once again throw his hat into the ring—this time for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican John Cornyn.
      
• Of course, Cornyn is being challenged in the 2026 GOP primary by Attorney General Ken Paxton. Republican U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston hinted on a recent New Hampshire TV interview that he might also jump in that GOP primary.
       

• No matter who the Republicans pick, you can be certain O’Rourke won’t be the U.S. senator from Texas.

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Quote-Unquote

"The government of the United States is a definite government, confined to specified objects. It is not like the state governments, whose powers are more general. Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government."

– James Madison​

Y'All Answered

Last year, Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order that state hospitals report the treatment costs for illegal aliens. The first report was just issued, and it found that in just a single month, illegal aliens cost Texas taxpayers at least $121.8 million in hospital charges.

Yesterday, we asked readers if federal law should continue to require that taxpayers pick up the tab for medical treatment services offered to illegal aliens. More than 95 percent of readers do not want that requirement to continue, while 4.9 percent think it should.

Here is a sample of the responses we received...

• “If you build it, they WILL come!” – Rowland Greenwade
      

• “If anyone should pay for an illegal’s healthcare, it should be the employer that hires them.” – Jeff Davis
      

• “It’s difficult enough to pay for our own medical expenses, and we’re supposed to foot the bill for ILLEGALS?! Uh, NO!” – Priscilla Love
      

• “Why should someone here illegally have all their medical expenses paid for, while I struggle to pay mine and fight with insurance to cover procedures?” – Cathy Blake
      

• “No benefits of any kind for illegals.” – David Vargha
      

• “No free medical care for illegals. I have to pay for mine, and I am a senior citizen.” – Donna Langston
       

• “It is our God given right and responsibility to take care of the needy. As Jesus said, there will always be poor people, but we should get them healthy and then send them back to their own country.” – Barbara McClure
      

• “I have needed medical attention in Canada and Europe, and never got it for free. Since the feds allowed the illegal entry into our country, they should be responsible for all the expenses that resulted.” – Steve Sullivan
      

• “Taxpayers are burdened enough without our government forcing us to pay for illegal aliens.” – Molly Gail
      

• “The sad fact is that many hardworking Americans, like me and my family, can barely afford the insurance premiums, let alone the deductibles and copays needed to actually use our insurance. However, if you are in the country illegally, you get your healthcare free and clear. Seems I would be better off to leave, renounce my citizenship, then come back as an illegal citizen!” – Jeff McDowell 
      

• “Illegals have more benefits and rights than those of us who have been here for generations.  It’s infuriating.” – Nancy Sawyer
      

• “In what other period would an invaded nation pay for their invaders to be educated, and for their medical care and their upkeep? Makes zero sense! No rights under our Constitution and definitely no freebies!” – Johnny Nail
      

• “I am intentional about where my charity dollars go and it shouldn't be to the government's pet projects.” – Erin Robison
       

• “Health care is not a right for citizens, and it certainly should not be a right for illegal aliens.” – Thomas Camardo
      

• “My deductible is $6,000.00. I cannot even afford insurance for myself, how can I pay for others?” – Liz Kamrath
      

• “It is our responsibility to help those in need, but after that, the illegal aliens should be deported. The federal law should be changed accordingly.” – Mike Baker
       

• “Forcing taxpayers to foot the bill is repugnant, but unless we are okay with doctors letting people die or with those doctors not being compensated, someone has to pay for emergency care. This is why we need to make sure they can’t get in and to deport them if they do.” – Jennifer Kobernik
       

• “I am a nurse and have only worked in rural hospitals. Illegal aliens are bankrupting these rural hospitals. I don’t want tax dollars to go to subsidizing their healthcare. But if someone doesn’t reimburse these rural hospitals, more of them will soon go out of business. So we must first stop illegal aliens from coming into the country, as Donald Trump’s administration is doing. Then we must determine how to keep these smaller, rural hospitals afloat that are already financially stretched. We need more rural hospitals nationwide, not fewer.” –  Andrea Ingram

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