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Texas Democrats urge DOJ probe into AG Paxton’s alleged voting rights violations

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Texas Democrats urge DOJ probe into AG Paxton’s alleged voting rights violations


Texas Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives formally requested the U.S. Department of Justice investigate potential civil and voting rights violations by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his Elections Integrity Unit.

In a letter, dated Sept. 6, the Texas delegation asked U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Paxton’s recent raids on the homes of Latino voting rights advocates and volunteers in South Texas and the San Antonio area.

“We are concerned that these actions are intended to intimidate American citizens, in particular Latinos and members of minority communities, from exercising their right to vote through political persecution or deny them that right altogether,” the representatives wrote. “We request that the department investigate these actions, including for violations of the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act, and take any necessary action to prevent further interference with the rights of voters in the state of Texas.”

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The letter follows staunch criticism from the League of United Latin American Citizens, a Hispanic civil rights group, which only days before held a news conference in Downtown El Paso alongside El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego and El Paso County Commissioner Sergio Coronado calling for an investigation.

Along with Paxton’s raids, the letter calls into question Gov. Greg Abbott’s hand in stifling the vote among minority voters with his recent purge of voting rolls, which included 6,500 alleged “noncitizens.”

“There is little to no transparency in how Governor Abbott has assessed these individuals to be ‘potential noncitizens,’” the letter stated, “and we fear these decisions may be made on the basis of those individuals’ perceived race or ethnicity and may deny American citizens their right to vote.”

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Paxton’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Who signed the letter?

While U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, and Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, led the charge in drafting the letter to the DOJ, they were joined by nine colleagues, all prominent Texas Democrats.

The signatories of the letter are: U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, who is now mounting a campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, in the Nov. 5 General Election; U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin; Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston; U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Houston; U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas; U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin; U.S. Rep. Lizzy Fletcher, D-Houston; Marc Veasey, D-Dallas; and U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen.

Allegations against Paxton’s office

The brunt of the letter centers around Paxton’s Elections Integrity Office, established in the wake of the 2020 presidential election and former President Donald Trump’s subsequent false claims about a stolen election.

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The raids were launched primarily against elderly Latino voting rights advocates and volunteers. Officers with Paxton’s EIO were reportedly instructed to seize computers, cellphones, tablets and all other election-related materials, according to the letter.

In one case described by LULAC during its news conference, an 87-year-old woman was pulled from her home by armed agents during an early morning raid and scarcely allowed to clothe herself before being forced outdoors as officers rummaged through her home.

“While states’ attorneys general have the right to investigate unlawful behavior and those suspected of it within their states, (Paxton’s) targeting of Latino activists, volunteers, and operatives raises concerns about potential ulterior motives behind these actions,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter, “particularly in a state like Texas, where state legislators and leaders like (Abbott) and (Paxton) have worked to actively undermine minority voices at the ballot box.”

Paxton’s ‘history of misusing his power’

This is hardly Paxton’s first foray into attacks against Texas Latinos, the letter contends, as he has a “well-established pattern of using the power of the attorney general’s office to target companies, organizations, and communities that do not align with his personal or political views.”

Earlier this year, Paxton launched an all-out assault on El Paso nonprofit Annunciation House by falsely accusing it of running a “stash house” and aiding illegal immigration.

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The same trend played out in Houston this year when Paxton attempted to shutter immigrant rights group Immigrant Families and Students in the Fight for allegedly violating state nonprofit rules.

“Given the Attorney General’s history of misusing his power,” the lawmakers wrote, “we believe it is imperative that the (DOJ) investigate these raids as potential civil rights violations and potential interference with Latinos’ right to vote fairly and freely.”



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Mexican singer Julion Alvarez postpones Texas show after US visa allegedly revoked | CNN

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Mexican singer Julion Alvarez postpones Texas show after US visa allegedly revoked | CNN




CNN
 — 

A popular Mexican singer, Julión Álvarez, says he and his band have had to cancel a show in Texas on Saturday night after the singer’s visa to enter the United States had been allegedly revoked.

The band, called Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda, was due to play at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, around 30 miles west of Dallas, for a sold-out concert with nearly 50,000 tickets sold, the artist’s team said in a statement Friday.

The artist, show promoter CMN and management company Copar Music said that the show had been cancelled “due to unforeseen circumstances,” and that Álvarez was “unable to enter the United States in time for the event.”

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Álvarez also announced the news on his Instagram account, saying in a video that he and his team were notified that his work visa had been revoked by US authorities earlier Friday.

“It is not possible for us to go to the United States and fulfill our show promise with all of you. It’s a situation that is out of our hands. That’s the information I have and what I can share,” he said in the video.

Álvarez said the stage had already been built and that his production team was already in Texas preparing for the show.

“I apologize to all of you, and if God permits, we will be in touch to provide more information,” he said.

The show’s promoter and Copar Music said they were working with Álvarez’s team to reschedule the performance. All previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new date and refund details will be provided for those who cannot attend, it said.

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A US State Department spokesperson declined to comment on Álvarez’s case, telling CNN that visa records are confidential and that, by law, they cannot comment on individual cases.

Álvarez and his band are the latest Mexican artists to allegedly have their US visas revoked amid Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown.

Last month, the State Department revoked the tourist visas of members of the Mexican band Los Alegres del Barranco, after they projected the face of a drug cartel boss onto a screen during a performance in the western state of Jalisco.

The Trump administration has also cracked down on foreign nationals allegedly linked directly or indirectly to drug cartels. This includes revoking the visas of artists whose work depicts drug cartels that the administration has deemed foreign terrorist organizations.

In 2017, Álvarez had his US work visa revoked after the US alleged he and around 20 other people – including soccer player Rafael Márquez – had ties to a drug trafficker linked to major cartels and were put under sanctions, according to a US Treasury statement.

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Álvarez denied those allegations and said he was only connected to the trafficker over a real estate purchase.

Álvarez was removed from the sanctions list in 2022 and was able to regain his visa, making a return to the United States earlier this year with three sold-out shows at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in April.

With nearly 17 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Álvarez is renowned in Mexico for his traditional music style with elements of banda, norteña, and mariachi. Some of his top hits include heartbreak hits like “Póngamonos de Acuerdo” and “Te Hubieras Ido Antes.”



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Small plane makes belly landing in Texas after landing gear fails

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Small plane makes belly landing in Texas after landing gear fails


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The pilot of a small plane asked an airport in Arlington, Texas, to spray foam on the runway to make the touchdown a little smoother because their landing gear was not working. The plane skidded to a halt with no issues, and all three people onboard walked away without injury.



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Jace LaViolette injury update: Texas A&M baseball star leaves SEC tournament with hand injury

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Jace LaViolette injury update: Texas A&M baseball star leaves SEC tournament with hand injury


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(This story was updated with new information)

As Texas A&M baseball continues to fight for its NCAA Tournament hopes, the Aggies have lost a key member of their team.

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In the top of the fifth inning of Thursday’s SEC baseball tournament game vs. No. 10 Auburn, Aggies star outfielder Jace LaViolette exited the game with an apparent hand injury after taking a pitch off his hand from Tigers’ left-hander pitcher Carson Myers.

After Thursday’s win vs. Auburn, Texas A&M manager Michael Earley told the SEC Network that LaViolette will miss the remainder of the conference tournament, confirming an earlier suspicion once LaViolette returned to the Aggies’ dugout in the seventh inning wrapped up in a split.

LaViolette is one of the more recognizable names in the Aggies’ offense, and entered Thursday’s game with a .259 batting average and 18 home runs. He is ranked as the No. 7 prospect in this year’s upcoming MLB draft by MLB Pipeline.

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Texas A&M staved off a solo ninth-inning home run to beat Auburn 3-2 at Hoover Met Stadium in Hoover, Alabama. The Aggies’ win advanced them to Friday’s quarterfinals vs. No. 3 seed LSU, the No. 1 nationally ranked team in the country.

Here’s the latest on Laviolette’s injury:

LaViolette left Texas A&M’s second-round game vs. Auburn on Thursday with an apparent hand injury. The SEC Network Broadcast showed LaViolette attempting to swing at a pitch before the ball came in on him and hit him off his knuckles and the knob of the bat.

After initially taking a pitch to his hand during an at-bat, LaViolette trotted down to first base while showing signs of pain. The SEC Network broadcast then showed LaViolette signaling to the Aggies’ dugout that he couldn’t stay in the game.

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He was replaced at first by pinch runner Jamal George, who would then enter the game in LaViolette’s place in the lineup the next half inning. After a lengthy time away from the dugout for X-rays, LaViolette was shown on the SEC Network broadcast returning to the dugout in the seventh inning with his left hand all wrapped up with a splint.

ESPN’s Kris Budden reported earlier on the SEC Network’s broadcast that LaViolette left the Aggies’ dugout for further testing after initially entering and going to sit on the bench once he came off the field.

“There is an X-Ray machine onsite so he does not have to leave and go to the hospital to have it checked out. He has not come back here in the dugout,” Budden reported. “When that happened, this place was so silent that from across the field that I could hear Jace screaming out in pain.”

Michael Earley on Jace LaViolette’s injury

After Texas A&M’s 3-2 win against Auburn on Thursday, Aggies manager Michael Earley told the SEC Network that LaViolette will miss the remainder of the conference tournament.

“I’m not sure if I can say but he will be out for the remainder of the tournament,” Earley said.

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What is Jace LaViolette’s injury?

While it has not been confirmed by Texas A&M, it appears that LaViolette sustained a hand injury in Thursday’s SEC tournament game.



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