What Gov. Greg Abbott didn’t say about immigration in a recent CNN interview speaks volumes about why the nation has not had serious immigration reform in decades.
Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor and presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee, recently conceded that there is a border crisis and Democrats need to acknowledge it, something this editorial board has urged Democrats to do.
“When they’re asked if it’s a crisis, you need to answer, ‘Yes, it’s a crisis.’ And then deal with it,” Walz said in an interview on the Ezra Klein Show, days before he became Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate.
It’s important for leading Democrats to get serious about acknowledging what Walz did in plain language. Conservatives are fairly skeptical about the left’s willingness to engage in strong border enforcement, but Walz didn’t mince words.
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“Leaving it and saying it’s not a problem is a political detriment to Democrats,” he said. “Just acknowledge it is. You’re not denigrating anyone, and you’re not helping them — being the immigrants — by saying it’s not a problem. Because they know better than anybody it’s a problem. Because they’re stuck at a border community with nowhere to go.”
Abbott’s decision to bus migrants out of Texas to deep blue cities got near universal condemnation from the left. The reality was that it demonstrated states like Texas cannot and should not be forced to bear the burden of an unmanaged border. And it helped wake up the country to the problems at the border.
Walz characterized Abbott’s busing program as cruel and inhumane. That’s unhelpful. The governor was fairly criticized in 2022 for dropping off more than 100 migrants near the Naval Observatory in below-freezing temperatures without coordinating with local groups. But Texas has bused more than 100,000 people without incident, and many have expressed gratitude for the free trips.
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Walz did concede that the action “suggests the problem in Texas is pretty bad.”
That’s a start at least on getting real about how difficult mass migration has been on Texas and especially on border towns and cities.
Walz importantly said that he would support the bipartisan Sinema-Lankford immigration reform bill that we think balances serious enforcement with humane processing of asylum applications.
When Abbott was asked on CNN whether he would work with a potential Harris-Walz administration on border security, he rightly pointed out key policy differences. That’s fair. But it’s unfortunate he stopped short of saying that he would engage with Democrats in Washington who are ready to look at solutions.
That is what most Americans find so frustrating about the immigration debate. Abbott might harbor frustration with federal inaction, but he must also signal a willingness to work with anyone who is willing to bring forward some answers.
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We get that it is difficult for a Republican to promise to work with a Democrat or vice versa in this highly polarized environment, especially when presented with a hypothetical question. Nonetheless, Walz’s gesture is welcome, and we wish Abbott would have acknowledged it.
It used to be common to hear a politician say, “I’ll work with anyone who wants to work with me.” Now, somehow, that’s political poison.
It is true that, for months, Harris and President Joe Biden wrongly insisted that the border was secure even as tens of thousands or more crossed it illegally. Only after the border crisis became undeniable did the Biden-Harris administration belatedly enact an executive order to reduce illegal migration and back the bipartisan border security package.
GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump foolishly helped kill that measure earlier this year to preserve a campaign issue. Harris has promised to resubmit the measure if elected.
Americans want and deserve border and immigration solutions. We are tired of years of unproductive cynicism. Border issues are solvable but require leadership, outreach and compromise to not make perfection the enemy of progress, beginning with Democrats and Republicans, regardless of whether they are in the White House, Congress or state capitols.
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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump just can’t seem to choose among friends in the Texas Senate Republican primary.
So when he travels to the state on Friday for his first post- State of the Union trip, where he plans to promote his energy and economic policies, Trump will have all three candidates in the competitive race join him — just days before his party casts ballots in the primary race.
Sen. John Cornyn is battling for his fifth term and is being challenged by state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt in a primary fight that has become viciously personal. And all three men, missing the coveted endorsement from Trump, have been trying to highlight their ties to him as they ramp up their campaigning ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
For his part, Trump will be seeking to ride the message of his State of the Union address from Tuesday, where he declared a return to economic prosperity and a more secure America — two centerpiece arguments for Republicans as they campaign to keep their congressional majorities this fall.
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Trump’s hesitation to endorse in the Texas Senate primary speaks to the tricky dynamics of the race.
Cornyn is unpopular with a segment of Texas’ GOP base, in part for his early dismissiveness of Trump’s 2024 comeback campaign and for his role in authoring tougher restrictions on guns after the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. But Senate GOP leadership and allied groups see Cornyn as the stronger general election candidate, in light of a series of troubles that have shadowed Paxton.
Paxton beat impeachment on fraud charges in 2023, and has faced allegations of marital infidelity by his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, right, is joined by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, left, during a campaign stop in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. Credit: AP/Eric Gay
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, have urged Trump to endorse Cornyn. They and allied campaign groups argue that the seat would cost the party hundreds of millions more to defend with Paxton as the candidate.
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“It is a strong possibility we cannot hold Texas if John Cornyn is not our nominee,” Scott told Fox News on Wednesday.
Hunt, a second-term Houston-area representative, was a later entry to the race, but claims a kinship with Trump, having endorsed him early in the 2024 race. Hunt campaigned regularly for Trump and earned a prime-time speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
If no candidate reaches 50% in Tuesday’s primary, the top two finishers will advance to a May 26 runoff.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, arrive before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. Credit: AP/Allison Robbert
Cornyn’s campaign and a half-dozen allied groups have poured more than $63 million into the race since last fall, chiefly trying to slow Paxton but recently attacking Hunt in an effort to keep him from making it to the runoff.
Earlier this month, Trump feinted toward weighing in on the race when he said he was taking “a serious look” at endorsing in the Texas primary. He has since reaffirmed his neutrality.
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Still, you wouldn’t know it from watching TV in Texas. Cornyn has been airing ads since last year touting his support for Trump’s agenda, even though his relationship with the president has been cool at times. Paxton and Hunt both have ads airing now featuring them standing with Trump.
“I like all three of them, actually. Those are the toughest races. They’ve all supported me. They’re all good. You’re supposed to pick one, so we’ll see what happens. But I support all three,” Trump said earlier this month.
The GOP battle comes as Democrats have a contested primary of their own in Texas between state Rep. James Talarico, a self-described policy wonk who regularly quotes the Bible, and progressive favorite U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
Trump hasn’t been shy about wading into other contested Republican primaries in the state. Parts of Corpus Christi fall within Texas’ 34th congressional district, where former Rep. Mayra Flores is fighting to reclaim her seat against the Trump-endorsed Eric Flores. (The two are not related.) The winner of the primary will face off against Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, long a target of the GOP, whose district was redrawn to make it easier for a Republican to win.
Eric Flores will be at the Trump event at the Port of Corpus Christi, which technically is located in a neighboring district.
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Elsewhere in the state, the president has also endorsed Rep. Tony Gonzales, who is fighting calls from his own party to resign from Congress after reports of an alleged affair with a former staffer who later died after she set herself on fire. Gonzales is refusing to step down and has said that there will be “opportunities for all of the details and facts to come out” and that the stories about the situation do not represent “all the facts.”
Gonzales is facing a primary challenge from Brandon Herrera, a gun manufacturer and gun rights influencer who Gonzales defeated by fewer than 400 votes in their 2024 runoff. The White House did not return a request for comment on Thursday on whether Trump stands by his endorsement of Gonzales.
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after admitting his reckless driving caused a head-on collision in rural West Texas that killed Laura Lynch, a founding member of the country music group now known as The Chicks, prosecutors said.
Domenick Chavez, 33, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with Dec. 22, 2023, crash in Hudspeth County, according to a news release Tuesday from El Paso County District James Montoya, who also oversees nearby Hudspeth County.
The news release said Chavez was driving a truck westbound when he tried to pass four vehicles on a two-way undivided highway and collided head-on with Lynch’s eastbound truck. Lynch, 65, of Dell City, was trapped in her vehicle and died. Prosecutors said Chavez was traveling between 106 mph and 114 mph.
Prosecutors said alcohol wasn’t a factor in the crash but that Chavez was driving on a suspended license, which had been revoked due to his failure to comply with DWI-related surcharges and penalties from convictions in 2014 and 2017.
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Lynch, along with Robin Lynn Macy and sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer, formed The Dixie Chicks in the late 1980s. Lynch and Macy eventually left the band and Natalie Maines joined the sisters. The trio hit commercial fame with their breakthrough album “Wide Open Spaces” in 1998 and have won 13 Grammys. In 2020, the band changed its name to The Chicks.
In a social media post after Lynch’s death, The Chicks said Lynch had “infectious energy and humor” and was “instrumental” in the band’s early success.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Billy Richmond III scored 23 points and No. 20 Arkansas took advantage of Texas A&M’s miscues to beat the Aggies 99-84 on Wednesday night.
Richmond, who shot 8 of 13 from the floor and has scored 20 points or more in the last four games, had 15 points in the first half as the Razorbacks (21-7, 11-4 Southeastern Conference) took a 37-28 lead into halftime.
They carried the advantage in large part because Texas A&M (19-8, 9-6) couldn’t take care of the ball. Thirteen first-half turnovers led to 15 points for Arkansas.
Darius Acuff Jr. scored 22 points for Arkansas, Malique Ewin had 18, Trevon Brazile 14 and Meleek Thomas 13. Acuff, who entered leading the SEC in scoring with 22.2 points per game, had been held to just five points until the final nine minutes as he made his last six of his last seven shots from the floor after a 1-for-12 start.
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Texas A&M forward Rashaun Agee (12) is fouled as he tries to drive past Arkansas defenders D.J. Wagner (21) and Malique Ewin (12) during an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Fayetteville, Ark.
Michael Woods / AP
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Zach Clemence came off the bench to score a career-high 29 points for Texas A&M. Rashaun Agee added 17.
After the teams traded baskets to start the game, Texas A&M went on an 11-0 run as Arkansas went more than 4:30 without a field goal, missing seven straight. The Razorbacks followed with a run of their own, scoring 16 straight points over the next 3:28 to take the lead for good.
Texas A&M pulled within five points with 9:21 left on Agee’s layup. But Arkansas countered with a 9-2 run to stretch its lead back to double-digits.
For the game, the Aggies committed 16 turnovers and were outscored in transition 30-13.
Up next
Arkansas plays at No. 7 Florida on Saturday. The Razorbacks have won at Florida just twice in 18 games since joining the SEC ahead of the 1991-92 season.
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Texas A&M hosts Texas on Saturday.
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NCAA women’s basketball bracketology: Where are local teams projected in March Madness?
Find more college sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Find more Texas A&M coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
