Connect with us

News from the South - Texas News Feed

ICE Agents in Churches ‘Does Not Bode Well for the Future of Religion’ in America

Published

on

www.texasobserver.org – Francesca D’Annunzio – 2025-01-30 07:30:00

Last week, the federal Department of Homeland Security reversed longtime policies restricting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection arrests in certain locations including churches, schools, and hospitals.

The department’s announcement has sparked fierce pushback from immigrant advocates, school officials, and faith leaders. For decades, some religious activists have used houses of worship as “sanctuaries” to shelter migrants in danger of deportation. DHS’ policy reversal came swiftly after Trump’s inauguration and is part of the administration’s efforts to ramp up removal of undocumented people, with daily ICE arrests quickly rising to more than 1,000, per the agency. An Atlanta man was already arrested by immigration agents outside his church. 

 “Christians have been tempted by—what do we call it?—I guess the siren song of power.”

David Brockman is a Christian theologian and author based in Fort Worth. He is a nonresident scholar in the Religion and Public Policy Program at Rice University’s Baker Institute and teaches at Texas Christian University, and he’s contributed regularly to the Texas Observer’s coverage of religion.

Earlier this week, the Observer spoke with Brockman about the federal policy change, the First Amendment, and what Christians should do now.


TO: Now that ICE agents are allowed to arrest immigrants in churches, what do you think this shift signals for U.S. society and for Christianity in the U.S.?

To be honest, the very first thing I thought of when I heard about this policy change was the extreme irony. I’ve been studying Christian nationalism for the past 10 years, and one of the common claims by Christian nationalists about church-state separation—if they’re not outright denying that it exists at all—is they will call back to the idea that the wall of separation is a one-way wall that is meant only to keep the government out of the church, not to keep the church out of government. It’s a common claim that they make. With this change of policy, the president they support is potentially sending government agents into the churches, synagogues, mosques, and so forth to seize and arrest worshippers. That’s not keeping the government out of the church. I found that very ironic, to say the least. 

For the U.S. as a whole, this policy signals a return to some of the cruel and shameful policies that we’ve seen in our history, like the forced expulsion and resettlement of Native Americans in the Trail of Tears, or the internment of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor. It’s the same order of shamefulness, and it’s rousting people out of their homes and livelihoods for no real justifiable reason. I know that many of the defenders claim that the people they’re arresting and deporting are violent criminals, but even their own statistics don’t show that. So, that’s a very flimsy excuse. For Christianity, I think that this policy means the end, at least for now, of any kind of separate sacred space, a kind of religious realm that’s off-limits to the government and enshrined by the First Amendment. The implications of that also are troubling. 

If the government can invade sacred space and seize worshipers, what’s to keep it from dictating what can and cannot be preached, what people should or shouldn’t believe, and so on? I don’t generally like slippery-slope arguments, but I think this does have greater implications for religious life than just whether some undocumented people are arrested in a church setting. I think this does not bode well for the future of religion in the United States.

For Christian nationalists who are okay with ICE coming into churches, when do they want the government out of their churches? 

Again, that’s that irony that I was talking about before. Christian nationalists have complained about the Johnson Amendment keeping them from being able to endorse political candidates from the pulpit. Essentially they feel it is keeping them from being able to preach what they want to preach. But I think that we have a situation here where, through their endorsement of President Trump, they’re de facto endorsing government interference with the church—the very government interference with the church that they’ve complained about in the past, and government interference of a worse form. 

What does the Bible say about how Christians should treat immigrants? 

The Bible is a big book. It’s really a collection of books. The Bible can be used to prove just about anything, and it has been used to prove all sorts of crazy things in the past. But I think that serious students of the Bible—Jewish and Christian alike—if they sit down and read through the biblical texts, they’ll see running throughout the Bible the duty to care for the stranger, alongside widows and orphans, and other vulnerable people. One of the key stories in the Torah, that is the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, is the story of the ancient Israelites themselves being migrants, living in a foreign land. They migrated from their homeland to Egypt to escape a famine. It’s a very similar kind of situation to migrants that we see today who are fleeing famine or violence, warfare. There’s this theme that you just can’t miss in the Bible that we are to care for the stranger in our midst. For Christians, that’s something that’s commanded of us. That’s kind of the bottom line. 

There are all sorts of practical questions that come from that. How do we care for them? Does that mean that we just have a wide open border in which anybody can move around with no restrictions? Those are separate questions that have to be dealt with. But the bottom line is that Christians are supposed to care for the stranger among us. 

Other than the irony, what else did you think, as a theologian, when you saw the announcement about ICE enforcement in churches?

I just feel a deep sense of grief, sadness, and I guess this is not so much as a theologian, but as a student of the history of Christian theology and of Christianity. President Trump could not have won reelection without the enthusiastic support of conservative Christian and evangelical voters. Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and his threats of mass deportations were crystal clear during the runup to the election. So conservative and evangelical Christians who supported Trump had to know that something like this was going to happen—not necessarily raids on churches and schools, but maybe raids on workplaces and so forth. He talked about that in the past, and if they didn’t know about it, if this is a surprise to them, they just weren’t paying attention prior to the election. One of the things that I grieve about is that what we see here is a kind of echo of other shameful episodes in Christianity’s past: the Crusades, antisemitic pogroms in Europe, biblical defenses of American slavery by Christians. 

I think that too often throughout Christianity’s history, Christians have been tempted by—what do we call it?—I guess the siren song of power. Tempted by the desire for power over others, to stray from Jesus. 

How do you see churches and faith community leaders like Bishop Mariann Budde organizing to protect parishioners or pushing back?

We’ve had this fire hose of executive orders and we’re all struggling to figure out what the state of play is. I think there’s going to be a kind of discernment process where religious organizations are going to have to figure out what to do. I think it will help to hear from denominational leadership bodies like the National Council of Catholic Bishops or the United Methodist Church Council of Bishops. What may be needed right now is a kind of declaration—from particularly the mainline Protestant churches in the United States, like the Barmen Declaration. Let me give you a little context for that. Do you know what I’m talking about? 

I don’t think I do. 

Basically, in Germany, after Hitler took over, many German Christians willingly subordinated their theology, and they even regarded Hitler as a prophet. They were countered by a group of Protestant clergy and theologians that called themselves the Confessing Church, who were horrified by the church bowing down before Hitler. They collectively issued a declaration. It was more or less a statement of principle in opposition to bowing down before any earthly rulers, including Hitler. The point of the declaration was to say “We Christians are not bowing down to this new Nazi regime, we intend to stay faithful to what we understand to be the gospel, and if that puts us at odds with political authorities, so be it.” 

The major religious bodies in our country will need to come together and declare their fidelity to the basic core teachings of Christianity. I’m not equating Trump with Hitler, or saying we’re in the same boat right now. But I do think that this is something that Christians should be considering right now: a united statement to show the Trump administration that it does not have the support of all Christians. Not that that will not do anything politically, but at least the administration will be on notice of where many Christians stand. What would be even better would be to cross religious lines as well, to include Jews and Muslims and Hindus and Buddhists and other religious groups. I think that’s something that Christians need to think seriously about.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

SIGN UP FOR TEXAS OBSERVER EMAILS

Get our latest in-depth reporting straight to your inbox.


News from the South - Texas News Feed

Rain has ended and it'll be a cool & windy weekend ~ Sarah Spivey

Published

on

www.youtube.com – KSAT 12 – 2025-04-05 07:11:12

SUMMARY: Meteorologist Sarah Spivey reports a cool and windy weekend following recent rain. Today’s high in San Antonio will be 69°F with northwest winds at 20 mph, gusting higher. This evening will be chilly, around the low 60s. For those attending the March Madness Music Fest, a jacket is advised. Tomorrow morning temperatures will drop to 42°F in San Antonio and the 30s in the Hill Country, with wind chills feeling like the 30s and 20s due to gusts up to 35 mph. Sunday will see a high of 62°F, and Monday will start in the 30s. Humidity will remain low.

YouTube video

Rain has ended and it’ll be a cool & windy weekend. DETAILS: https://www.ksat.com/weather/2025/04/05/watch-live-tracking-developing-storms/

Source

Continue Reading

News from the South - Texas News Feed

Ken Paxton’s former aides win $6.6M in whistleblower case

Published

on

feeds.texastribune.org – By Ayden Runnels and Jasper Scherer – 2025-04-04 22:41:00

Attorney General Ken Paxton’s former aides win $6.6 million in whistleblower case” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.


A Travis County district court judge on Friday awarded $6.6 million to four former senior aides to Attorney General Ken Paxton who said they were improperly fired after reporting Paxton to the FBI.

Judge Catherine Mauzy stated in her judgment that the plaintiffs — Blake Brickman, Mark Penley, David Maxwell and Ryan Vassar — had proven by a “preponderance of the evidence” that Paxton’s office had violated the Texas Whistleblower Act. Each of the four were awarded between $1.1 and $2.1 million for wages lost, compensation for emotional pain, attorney’s fees and various other costs as a result of the trial.

The judgment also said Paxton’s office did not dispute any issue of fact in the case, which stopped the Attorney General’s office from further contesting their liability. Tom Nesbitt, the attorney for Brickman and Maxwell, said in a statement that Paxton “admitted” to breaking the law to avoid being questioned under oath.

“It should shock all Texans that their chief law enforcement officer, Ken Paxton, admitted to violating the law, but that is exactly what happened in this case,” Nesbitt said in the statement.

In a statement to the Tribune from his office, Paxton called the ruling “a ridiculous judgment that is not based on the facts or the law” and pointed blame at former Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, who led the Texas House effort to impeach him in 2023. “We will appeal this bogus ruling as we continue to clean up Dade Phelan’s mess,” Paxton said in the statement.

The judgment also ordered that the plaintiffs are entitled to additional attorney’s fees if they successfully defend or prosecute appeals, including up to $20,000 per plaintiff for various stages of review at the Supreme Court of Texas.

Late Friday, Brickman criticized Paxton’s intent to appeal the judgment in a post on X, calling the attorney general “ lawless and shameless” and claiming the judgment came because Paxton was avoiding a deposition.

“Paxton now wants to appeal? He literally already admitted he broke the law to @SupremeCourt_TX and the Travis County District Court — all to stop his own deposition,” Brickman wrote.

The case was sparked when eight former aides, including the four plaintiffs, reported Paxton to federal authorities in September 2020 over his relations with Nate Paul, a friend and Austin real estate investor. The whistleblowers accused Paxton of abusing his office to do favors for Paul, including by hiring an outside lawyer to investigate claims made by Paul and providing him confidential law enforcement documents.

In the days and weeks after the whistleblowers met with federal agents — a development they reported to Paxton — the attorney general fired them. Four of them sued Paxton in November 2020, alleging their dismissals were illegal under state law.

Paxton disagreed but offered to settle the suit and pay the whistleblowers $3.3 million. But when Paxton asked the Texas House for the money in 2023, lawmakers wanted him to publicly answer questions about why Texas taxpayers should foot the bill. The House’s ethics committee began investigating Paxton, and in May that year, the chamber impeached him on corruption and bribery charges based heavily on the whistleblowers’ testimony.

House investigators claimed that, in return for favors from Paxton, Paul paid for renovations at an Austin home owned by Paxton and his wife and also employed a woman with whom Paxton was having an extramarital affair.

After a two-week, high-profile trial, the Texas Senate acquitted Paxton of 16 charges and dismissed the remaining four. That trial cost the state roughly $5.1 million, according to a State Auditor’s Office report released in March that was requested by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Months later, in the still-pending whistleblower case in state court, Paxton said he would no longer contest the facts of the case — despite the fact that the allegations by the whistleblowers were similar to the ones his lawyers had vigorously disputed during the impeachment trial.

In November 2024, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that Paxton and three of his top deputies did not have to sit for depositions under oath, because Paxton’s agreement not to contest the lawsuit made the sworn testimony unnecessary.

Paxton also dodged a federal lawsuit, the Associated Press reported Thursday, when the Department of Justice declined to prosecute him in the final days of former President Joe Biden’s administration. Still, Paxton levied culpability on Biden in his statement to the Tribune on Friday night, claiming the House’s impeachment efforts were “in collusion with Joe Biden’s corrupt DOJ.”


Tickets are on sale now for the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas’ breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Get tickets before May 1 and save big! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/04/ken-paxton-whistleblower-case-judgment/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

The post Ken Paxton’s former aides win $6.6M in whistleblower case appeared first on feeds.texastribune.org

Continue Reading

News from the South - Texas News Feed

Bad quarter bites Texas Longhorns again, South Carolina moves to national title game 74-57

Published

on

www.kxan.com – Billy Gates – 2025-04-04 20:19:00

SUMMARY: South Carolina defeated Texas 74-57 in the Final Four, outscoring the Longhorns 20-9 in the third quarter. Texas took an early 12-4 lead, but foul trouble for Madison Booker and poor shooting in the second half hindered their comeback. South Carolina extended their lead with an 11-0 run, and Texas struggled with a scoring drought in the fourth quarter. Te-Hina Paopao led South Carolina with 14 points, while Joyce Edwards had a double-double. Texas was led by Jordan Lee with 16 points. South Carolina, the defending champions, will face UConn or UCLA for the national title.

Read the full article

The post Bad quarter bites Texas Longhorns again, South Carolina moves to national title game 74-57 appeared first on www.kxan.com

Continue Reading

Trending