Good morning,

Yesterday, we asked readers about laws and penalties related to “organized” efforts to obstruct federal immigration enforcement. See those responses below.

This is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, January 20, 2026.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Gambling Industry Continues the Fight in Texas Campaigns

• New campaign finance reports released ahead of the March primaries reveal the gambling lobby is still fighting for candidates—despite the industry taking major losses last year. Paige Feild breaks down the numbers.
     
• According to recent campaign finance reports, Texas Sands PAC supported 17 Republican candidates and nine Democrat candidates. The PAC is tied to Nevada-based Las Vegas Sands, which doesn't operate casinos in the United States, working almost exclusively in China.
     
• Among its supported candidates is Nathan Watkins, who is running in the GOP primary against incumbent Republican State Rep. Terri Leo-Wilson (R-Galveston). Nathan Johnson, a state senator now seeking the Democrats' nomination for attorney general, also received cash from the Texas Sands PAC.
       
• Last year, Sands spent heavily to get former Southlake Mayor John Huffman elected in a special state senate contest; he came in third with Sands' support a key issue in the race.

NEW FEATURE: Campaign Finance Tracker

• Get up-to-date information on the finances of the hottest races on the ballot as part of Texas Scorecard's Decision Texas coverage.
       
• The new Campaign Finance Tracker provides readers with an at-a-glance overview of fundraising totals, cash on hand, and other key metrics ahead of the 2026 primary elections.

Paxton Opinion Declares DEI Unconstitutional in Texas Government

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued a sweeping new legal opinion declaring that “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” programs rooted in race- and sex-based preferences are unconstitutional in the public sector and expose private companies to significant legal liability. Brandon Waltens has the details.
     
• The 74-page opinion argues that government policies awarding opportunities or benefits based on “skin color or sex” cannot survive strict constitutional scrutiny and should be dismantled across Texas. Paxton’s office said the opinion targets decades of DEI frameworks embedded throughout state and local government, including programs in public institutions and schools.
      
• As part of the opinion, Paxton contends that DEI has evolved into a system in which immutable traits have become “the currency of advancement,” spreading through academia, government, and private industry. 
      
• This new opinion takes special aim to criticize previous actions, notably rebuking prior guidance from former Attorney General John Cornyn. For his part, Cornyn blasted Paxton's new opinion as “bogus.”

UT-Austin Attempting to Conceal Records Related to DEI Supporting Vice Provost

• Adam Cahn reports on the efforts of UT-Austin to conceal records related to one of its top academic officers.
      
• In late November, Texas Scorecard sent UT-Austin an open records request for documents related to Vice Provost Richard Reddick. The university is asking the Office of the Attorney General for permission to withhold certain parts of the request. 
      
• Reddick, who has an extensive history of promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) ideology, serves on a “core curriculum review committee” that is expected to release recommendations for changes to mandatory coursework later this spring.

Celina ISD Report Reveals ‘Systemic Failures’

• A much-anticipated investigative report into Celina Independent School District's alleged cover-up of a coach’s sexual misconduct with students reveals an athletics department in disarray and plagued by conflicts of interest under the leadership of longtime Head Football Coach and Athletic Director Bill Elliott. Erin Anderson has the details.
     
• Bill Elliott is the father of the suspect, 26-year-old Caleb Elliott, who is in jail awaiting trial on multiple charges related to his illicit recordings of undressed students in the middle school boys’ locker room.
      
• The heavily redacted report states that the third-party investigation commissioned by the district “found no evidence” of a cover-up. It did point to “systemic issues and failures” in the district.
     
• The school board is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. tonight.

San Antonio Teacher’s Aide Arrested for Sexual Misconduct With a Special-Needs Student

• A teacher’s aide from Northside Independent School District, George Rene Aguilar Jr., has been arrested following allegations that he had an intimate relationship with a special-needs student. Addie Hovland reports the story.
     
• According to district officials, Aguilar was placed on administrative leave. He was first hired in 2014 as a substitute teacher and received his teacher’s aide certificate in 2018. His certificate expired in October 2025 and is currently not under review.

Texas Scorecard Cuts Through The Clutter

News stories are called "narrative" when the defenders of the status quo want to keep you in the dark. At Texas Scorecard, we cut through the cronies' clutter to make sure you are informed so you can, in turn, be most effectively engaged. We refuse to take government grants or corporate sponsorships, and we don’t put our content behind a paywall. Your support is what makes Texas Scorecard possible!

Quote-Unquote

"Communism is a hateful thing and a menace to peace and organized government; but the communism of combined wealth and capital, the outgrowth of overweening cupidity and selfishness, which insidiously undermines the justice and integrity of free institutions, is not less dangerous than the communism of oppressed poverty and toil, which, exasperated by injustice and discontent, attacks with wild disorder the citadel of rule."

– Grover Cleveland​

Y'All Answered

There has been wide criticism of “organized” efforts to obstruct federal immigration enforcement, both in Texas and around the country. Yesterday, we asked readers if new laws or enhanced penalties should be enacted to address individuals who interfere with law enforcement operations.

While 75.3 percent believe new laws or enhanced penalties are necessary, 24.7 percent do not. Here is a sampling of readers' responses.

• “We have laws in place to deal with this; let’s enforce them.” – Tom Frank
     

• “I believe we’re all weary of the strongly worded letters and empty promises without any teeth. Everyone is too busy checking their re-election potential to do anything.” – Lise Bonin
     

• “The consequences for breaking immigration laws need to be tougher!” – James Pierce
     

• “Perhaps we don't need new laws, just the will to enforce the ones we have.” – Fran Rhodes 
     

• “Put the people paying them in jail.” – Richard Crowder
      

• “All of these people who believe you can obstruct police officers doing lawful duties are wrong.” – Tom Gavin
     

• “Isn’t the current situation of illegal immigration a direct result of failure to enforce existing law? While lawmakers like to appear as if they are doing something besides spending like drunken sailors, the solution may lie in actually enforcing the law.” – Tammy Blair
     

• “We need stronger laws to be enforced against violent protesters who are interfering with law enforcement, not just ICE. Anyone throwing anything at a law enforcement officer should be arrested and jailed with a heavy fine.” – Sam Bridges
     

• “[W]e need DETERRENT-LEVEL-PENALTIES for existing laws.” – Jim Moyer
      

• “No to new laws. Yes to enhanced penalties.” – Virginia Choate
      

• “The existing laws that make it illegal to interfere with law enforcement engaged in their sworn duties should be enough. These ‘protesters’ are nothing more than low-life criminals themselves and should be treated as such.” – Ken Bintliff
     

• “The problem isn’t a lack of laws—it’s a lack of enforcement, including but not limited to immigration. Let's start holding violators accountable under existing law and apply penalties to the full extent already authorized.” – Melissa Rowell
      

• “Impeding law enforcement is equivalent to aiding and abetting a crime and should be treated as such.” – Chris Corcoran
     

• “We do not need any more laws to deal with insurrectionists, traitors, or otherwise - we already have them. What we need is enforcement of existing laws, prosecutions, public trials, and public executions of traitors so people understand there ARE consequences for their actions.” – Natalie Miller 
      

• “No new laws are needed. What we need are prosecutors and judges that are willing to enforce the laws we already have.  New laws will be just as ineffective when not enforced. Pay attention to the candidates and vote with wisdom.” – Brian Willoughby 
   

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