Marfa Public Radio’s weekly newscast is a roundup of local and state stories for the week.
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By Annie Rosenthal
Gov. Greg Abbott allows state to return migrants to border
We start with new updates on Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s controversial border security efforts.
On Thursday, Abbott ordered the National Guard and state police to detain migrants crossing the border without authorization and return them to the border.
Immigration law enforcement is the exclusive province of the federal government. As the Texas Tribune reportsAbbott appears to be testing the limits of state authority by using state resources to bring immigrants to ports of entry, without expelling them from the country.
The order comes just a day after the Texas Tribune and ProPublica reported that the Justice Department is investigating Abbott’s border security initiative, Operation Lone Star, for alleged civil rights violations.
The report says the federal investigation is looking into allegations that the governor’s operation, which has arrested thousands of migrants for trespassing on private property, has subjected people to “differential and illegal conditions” because of their race, color or origin. national.
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A new report says an Uvalde officer asked permission to shoot the gunman, but got no response.
A new report commissioned by the Texas Department of Public Safety says an officer had a chance to shoot the gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School before he entered the school.
According to the report, a Uvalde police officer armed with a rifle saw the gunman before he entered the school and asked his supervisor for permission to shoot. It’s unclear if his supervisor didn’t hear him or responded too late.
The report identified a total of three missed opportunities to stop the mass shooting before it started, and several ways law enforcement could have reached victims sooner.
Following Texas Supreme Court ruling, abortion clinics move out of state
Late last Friday, the state Supreme Court ruled that a 1925 Texas law banning abortions can be enforced. A Harris County judge had previously blocked it.
That ruling has prompted abortion clinics across the state to stop performing abortions, even before the state’s “trigger law” takes effect in the coming months. Julián Aguilar, a journalist with the Texas Newsrooma collaboration of public radio stations in Texas, explains that some of those clinics, including with Whole Women’s Health, are now moving to New Mexico, where abortion remains legal.
“The ruling of the Supreme Court of Texas, although it does not have criminal penalties, it does have civil penalties, and it is enough for that organization, Whole Women’s Health, to no longer be able to have a business here in the state of Texas,” he said.
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In the Big Bend region, a new abortion advocacy group is helping people know their rights
Here in the Big Bend region, a new reproductive rights organization called Big Bend Reproductive Coalition is working to inform people of their rights as laws change.
As the group determines what it can legally do to advocate for abortion access, organizer Lisa Kettyle says her focus is sharing educational resources.
Kettyle says she encourages West Texans concerned about their access to reproductive care to consider resources that are still legal, like Plan B, and to show up to vote in local elections, as prosecutors and judges Locals are the ones who would enforce abortion laws.
“The district attorney in our area is the person who would prosecute and we are firmly in the position that the district attorney should not prosecute abortion and miscarriage cases,” he said.
Do you have questions about abortion laws and access in West Texas?
As we navigate this confusing and rapidly changing landscape of abortion laws, Marfa Public Radio wants to help answer your questions. If you have questions about reproductive health in West Texas, from what resources exist here for pregnant people to what actions can be penalized, let us know. You can send your questions here.
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