Austin, TX
After Title 42’s end, Texas DPS pauses Austin patrols so officers can head to the border
/static.texastribune.org/media/files/2f90ad38b16138e4de081247bb784457/0511%20Title%2042%20End%20IPA%20TT%2013.JPG "After Title 42’s end, Texas DPS pauses Austin patrols so officers can head to the border")
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A contentious, short-lived partnership in which the Texas Department of Public Safety helped Austin police patrol city streets is being paused so state troopers can assist border cities facing the expiration of a federal order that quickly expelled migrants coming into the country.
The emergency public health order known as Title 42 ended late Thursday night, but has not yet resulted in a “major influx” of migrants according to Biden administration officials.
Still, state troopers will be sent south, according to an Austin police statement first reported by the Austin American-Statesman.
“APD was informed Friday that due to the expiration of Title 42 and the related issues at the border, Texas DPS is being deployed heavily in border cities,” the Austin Police Department said in a statement.
At the request of Mayor Kirk Watson, Gov. Greg Abbott directed DPS to come to the capital to help address Austin’s short police staffing and long response times to 911 calls in late March. Weeks after the APD and DPS joined forces, statistics released by local officials revealed almost 90% of people arrested by state troopers were Black or Latino.
Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon said Saturday would be the last day DPS would operate in Austin under the partnership, just over six weeks after it was announced. He said it wasn’t known when DPS would return to Austin, “but it will not be for several weeks at least.”
Immigration agents used Title 42, a pandemic-era policy invoked over three years ago by former President Donald Trump, to send migrants back to Mexico. Ahead of the Title 42’s expiration, Abbott sent hundreds of Texas National Guard soldiers to the southern border to prepare for the large groups of migrants expected to enter the United States. The chaotic end to Title 42 anticipated by federal, state and border officials failed to materialize Thursday. Also this week, Abbott also sent two more buses of migrants to Washington, D.C., continuing his practice of transporting thousands of people to Democrat-led cities to draw attention to the record number of border crossings.
Some Austin residents and leaders have criticized DPS’s presence in the capital from the outset, which was planned without input from the public or city council members.
When the Travis County Attorney’s Office released statistics at the end of April revealing stark racial disparities in misdemeanor charges issued by DPS, criticism of the partnership mounted. Nearly nine out of 10 of those arrested were Black or Latino.
State and local officials said on May 2 that DPS has largely been patrolling predominantly Latino neighborhoods at the request of Austin police whose leaders said the areas were chosen because they have the highest crime rates and largest number of 911 emergency calls.
“The supplemental staffing has shown really real results in faster response times for assistance and decrease in violent crime,” Watson said at a City Council discussion on May 2. “The traffic enforcement, however, has been troubling. If there have been unintended or unwanted consequences, we must address them immediately. We want to ensure Ausitinites don’t feel racially profiled.”
A similar pattern emerged when Abbott sent DPS to Dallas after a spate of homicides four years ago. Many Black and Latino residents felt harassed by state troopers and the three month experiment ended shortly after state troopers shot and killed a Black man who was holding a handgun after the officer pulled him over for failing to use a turn signal.
Neither DPS nor Abbott’s office immediately returned a request for comment Saturday.
In addition to increasing the presence of state law enforcement in southern Texas cities, the Legislature is poised to pass a sweeping border funding bill during a legislative session that ends May 29. On Wednesday the House approved a bill with bipartisan support that would create a new state border policing unit and send nearly $100 million to border communities for new detention centers, courts, border security, higher education and economic development projects.
An earlier version of House Bill 7 would have created a “Border Protection Unit” that would have let civilians arrest or detain people. Immigration advocates criticized that proposal, saying it would increase the potential for human rights violations. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle this week changed the bill, adding a requirement that the unit use only commissioned peace offers for enforcement actions.
Tickets are on sale now for the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival, happening in downtown Austin on Sept. 21-23. Get your TribFest tickets by May 31 and save big!
TEXAS — YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul is set to fight former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson on Friday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Missed out on tickets but still want to experience the fight with a crowd? Here are some watch party options around the state:
Austin
Manchaca Sports Bar in South Austin is hosting a watch party starting at 7 p.m. There is no cover charge and the bar will be open until 2 a.m. 10402 Menchaca Rd Bldg 1, Austin, Texas 78748.
The Warehouse Billiard Bar is hosting a watch party starting at 7 p.m. You can get tickets at this link. 509 E Ben White Blvd, Austin, TX 78704.
Dallas
Heroes Lounge is hosting a watch party starting at 4 p.m. which will go until 2:30 a.m. 3094 N Stemmons Fwy, Dallas, TX 75247.
High Fives Dallas is hosting a watch party with free face tattoos. They will also be hosting a Tyson punch-out contest. If you DM them on Instagram, you can reserve a table for the event. 1804 McMillan Ave, Dallas, TX 75206.
Reservoir at Toyota Music Factory will be hosting a watch party starting at 7 p.m. There will be no cover charge for this watch party. 330 West Las Colinas Boulevard, Irving, TX 75039.
San Antonio
Rock & Brews San Antonio is hosting a watch party from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. With free entry and numerous TV screens, you won’t miss any of the action. 5702 Landmark Pkwy, San Antonio, TX 78249.
Smoke Skybar will be hosting a watch party with free entry before 8 p.m. It is $10 for entry after 8 p.m. 1100 E Houston St, San Antonio, TX 78205.
Camp 1604 will be hosting a watch party with no cover charge. They will have early drink specials and a food truck for the event. 5535 N. Loop 1604 W, San Antonio, TX 78257.
AUSTIN, Texas — It’s Spanish only for the kids enrolled at Cielito Lindo Spanish Immersion Preschool. Maria Dominguez owns three Spanish immersion preschools in Travis County.
“We focus on the social and emotional part of child development,” said Dominguez.
The average cost of child care in Texas is $1,300 per month, and while Cielito Lindo offers scholarships, many families still can’t afford it.
“Even for those kids that we do receive assistance, they’re not paying the full amount that we charge a month. We’re constantly trying to make up for that amount because, again, we still have to pay for a facility for teachers being able to provide competitive wages because they deserve it,” said Dominguez.
Last week, Travis County voters approved Proposition A, a property tax increase which is expected to generate $75 million to create nearly 2,000 new child care slots and nearly 4,000 new after-school and summer programming slots for school-age children. But there are nearly $80,000 children on a waitlist for subsidized care in Texas with an estimated wait time of two years.
Child care advocates suggest it will cost $90 million per year in state funding to get at least 10,000 kids off the waitlist.
“We have seen voters say over and over again that this is a priority,” said David Feigen with Texans Care for Children.
During the last legislative session, lawmakers defeated a $2 billion proposal to step in and fund child care providers. And now that federal pandemic-era funds are gone, policy experts say state lawmakers need to act.
“If we don’t provide this funding, we will see more parents leaving the workforce, more businesses struggling to recruit and retain staff, more children in low-quality settings,” said Feigen.
Travis County Judge Andy Brown hopes the passage of proposition A sends a message to state leaders to act.
“If we are figure out ways to provide that, like we’re doing here in Travis County, it’s going to help our economy,” said Brown.
But some representatives expressed uncertainty about allocations this time around during an interim House hearing.
“We don’t always know, in the environment, [if we] can keep funding going up because there are other priorities for our states,” said Republican Rep. Angie Chen Button.
The priority for child care providers will always be the kids.
AUSTIN, Texas — Freshman Justice Carlton and senior Shay Holle each scored 15 points and No. 4 Texas defeated Lamar 95-58 Wednesday night.
Holle converted 3 of 4 3-point attempts. Carlton added three steals.
Madison Booker of Texas (2-0), an AP preseason All-American, missed the game with a sore hamstring and her status is day-to-day.
Freshman Jordan Lee started in place of Booker and scored 12 points. Bryanna Preston, also a freshman, added nine points, four assists and two steals.
Point guard Rori Harmon finished with eight points, eight assists and five steals in 18 minutes. Harmon, who missed the final 26 games last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, limped off the court in the third quarter after tweaking her ankle. She later returned to the game.
Akasha Davis led Lamar (1-1) with 14 points. Sabria Dean scored 13.
Takeaways
Lamar: The Cardinals, defending Southland Conference regular-season champions, trailed Texas 51-14 at halftime. The Cardinals matched the Longhorns’ 44 points in the second half.
Texas: Laila Phelia, an all-Big Ten guard at Michigan last season, made her debut for Texas. She had eight points in 21 minutes as a reserve. Phelia averaged nearly 17 points last season.
Key moment
Texas outscored Lamar 20-3 during the final 7:12 of the first quarter. The Cardinals made only three free throws during the span. The Longhorns, using full-court defensive pressure, coaxed 10 turnovers in the quarter, seven of them steals. Harmon made four of the steals.
Key stat
Lamar committed 22 turnovers in the first half, allowing Texas to take a 51-14 lead at the break. The Longhorns made 14 steals in the half.
Up next
Lamar plays at SMU on Nov. 22, and Texas is at DePaul on Sunday.
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