Again- and- back rulings from the world’s highest courts over Texas ‘ new immigration created legitimate whiplash. Amid the battle for his political job, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan appears with Gov. Greg Abbott officially— and addresses the fact that Abbott has n’t endorsed his reelection bid. President Joe Biden raises millions of dollars in Dallas. Jack spoke with one of his vital supporters in the area about why his election campaign is fundraising and advertising earlier than normal.
Jack Fink covers these reports and more in the latest version of Eye on Elections (original air time: March 24 ).
Legal Whiplash
The past year Texans witnessed legal injury at our nation’s highest authorities involving SB 4, the fresh Texas law that allows state and local law enforcement officers to arrest, sue and arrest workers for crossing into Texas improperly.  ,
Here’s the timetable just this year only:
- At the beginning of the year, the country’s law was not in consequence.
- At around 1 p. m. Tuesday, the U. S. Supreme Court allowed the policy to take impact and sent the case up to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to thoroughly consider it.
- Only eight days afterwards, at 9: 45 p. m. Tuesday, three courts at the Fifth Circuit blocked the law — meaning it was no longer in effect.
To know why there was so much back and forth, you have to go back in time:  ,
- On Feb. 29, national city Judge David Ezra ruled SB 4 was illegal and he blocked it from taking effect.  ,
- The next day, after the condition appealed, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals filed what’s called an operational remain and reversed Ezra’s decision without explaining why, allowing the Texas rules to go into effect while it more considered whether its legal.
” If the Fifth Circuit had just said, this really keep it where it is, nothing’s going to change what Judge Ezra said until we can find a full presentation we consider ourselves, it would have been a little smoother run of things in these last couple of weeks”, said David Coale, an appellate lawyer in Dallas who’s never related to the case.
The Fifth Circuit is set to carry a hearing April 3. But the situation may go back to the Supreme Court before finally depending on what happens.  ,
Gov. Greg Abbott, who has championed the rules, was campaigning in Rockwall when the Supreme Court allowed it to take effect Tuesday evening.  ,
” Texas may start enforcing the emigration law”, he announced after a worker handed him the statement with the media.
Jack interviewed Abbott entirely at the time.  ,
See above:
 , Critics of the law say state and local law enforcement are n’t equipped to handle immigration enforcement.
” These police officers that are supposed to implement SB 4, they do n’t have a minute in training on how immigration laws work”, said Fernando Garcia, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights. ” For us, this is illegal and unconstitutional, and the premise of this regulation is basically a racist unfair version of Texas”.
A bruising social war
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan is fighting to preserve his political job at the Texas Capitol. He’s in the May 28 runoff against opponent David Covey, who’s backed by Attorney General Ken Paxton, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and former President Donald Trump.  ,
If he wins the discharge, he may face a challenge to stay in his position at the Capitol.
Four- word Republican Representative Dr. Tom Oliverson of Cypress has announced he may run for Speaker in December.
” It became evident to me that the status quo is very destructive to maintain and change from top to bottom is needed”, Oliverson told KEYE, the CBS online in Austin.
Earlier next year, Speaker Phelan was in Dallas and spoke with investigators after an official function. He said he’s “extremely comfortable” he’ll make it through the drainage and been reelected Speaker.
” I’ve delivered on traditional laws”, said Phelan. ” No one can dispute that”.
For the first time in decades, Phelan appeared side by side with Gov. Abbott at a media conference at UT Dallas about a people- exclusive relationship for manufacturing semiconductor chips.
Abbott has stayed on the sidelines in the Speaker’s primary and has n’t endorsed him or Covey. Phelan said he’s not disappointed by that.
” There’s the big three and typically we stay out of each other’s races”, Phelan said. ” That’s been the tradition here in the state of Texas. Of course, the lieutenant governor decided not to follow that tradition”.
For months now, Attorney General Ken Paxton has campaigned against and criticized Phelan for allowing the investigation and impeachment against him to take place in the House.
Phelan said he has no regrets:
” I go to bed every night proud of the courage of my convictions and I think Mr. Paxton at the end of the day is going to have convictions”.
Paxton will be back in a courtroom in Houston on Tuesday. There will be a hearing on the felony state fraud charges he has faced for nine years.
Biden raises millions in Texas
President Joe Biden raised millions of dollars for his re- election campaign in Texas last week, including Dallas.
CBS News quotes a source familiar as saying the Biden- Harris campaign raised close to$ 7 million during two fundraisers in Dallas Wednesday evening and one fundraiser in Houston Thursday.
President Biden did not hold any public appearances while in the Lone Star State.
Jack spoke with Regina Montoya of Dallas, a co- chair of the Women’s Leadership Forum at the Democratic National Committee. She explained why Biden’s campaign started fundraising and advertising earlier than normal.
Watch that interview below:
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The Biden- Harris campaign and Democrats nationally and in Texas are making abortion rights a campaign issue in conservative states where the procedure has been banned since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in June, 2022.
Jack spoke with Republican State Senator Bryan Hughes of Tyler, who wrote the state’s abortion laws, to get his take.  ,
Watch that interview below:
Every week, CBS News Texas political reporter Jack Fink breaks down some of the biggest political stories grabbing headlines in North Texas and beyond. Watch the latest episode of Eye on Politics in the video player above and watch new episodes every Sunday at 7: 30 a. m. on air and online.  ,
