MRT 4/28/25 (free) (sponsored by No Scrubs): W. TX. Federal Judge Halts Deportations Temporarily // TX House Dems Fold // 162 Murdered by Offenders Out on Bond in Harris County Since 2021 // Lotto.com Sues TLC

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MustReadTexas.com – @MustReadTexas
BY: @MattMackowiak 

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MONDAY | 4/28/2025

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• TOP NEWS

"US judge temporarily stops west Texas immigrant deportations under Alien Enemies Act,” AP's John Raby -- "A federal judge in west Texas joined other courts in temporarily blocking the deportations of Venezuelan immigrants under an 18th-century wartime law known as the Alien Enemies Act.

U.S. District Judge David Briones in El Paso, Texas, issued the ruling Friday while he ordered the release of a couple accused of being members of a Venezuelan criminal gang. Briones wrote that government lawyers “have not demonstrated they have any lawful basis” to continue detaining the couple on a suspected alien enemy violation.

A message left with an attorney for the couple wasn’t immediately returned Saturday.

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The couple is accused of being part of Tren de Aragua, which the Trump administration has designated a foreign terrorist organization. Trump has invoked the Alien Enemies Act from 1798 that lets the president deport noncitizens 14 years or older who are from a country with which the U.S. is at war.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked, for now, the deportations of any Venezuelans held in northern Texas under the act. The high court also ruled anyone being deported under Trump’s declaration deserved a hearing in federal court first and are given “a reasonable time” to contest their pending removals.

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Briones’ ruling applies only to Venezuelan immigrants in federal custody in his judicial district. Federal judges in Colorado, south Texas and New York previously issued similar rulings. Briones ordered the government to give a 21-day notice before attempting to remove anyone in west Texas — in contrast to the 12 hours that the government contends is sufficient.

The El Paso case comes as the Trump administration and local authorities clash over the president’s sweeping immigration crackdown. Briones’ ruling occurred the same day as the FBI’s arrest of a Milwaukee judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities.

Briones, who was nominated to the court in 1994 by President Bill Clinton, said that “due process requirements for the removal of noncitizens are long established” under the Immigration and Nationality Act as well as previous U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

“There is no doubt the Executive Branch’s unprecedented peacetime use of wartime power has caused chaos and uncertainty for individual petitions as well as the judicial branch in how to manage and evaluate the Executive’s claims of Tren de Aragua membership, and the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act as a whole,” Briones wrote.

The couple, Julio Cesar Sanchez Puentes and Luddis Norelia Sanchez Garcia, was granted temporary protected status after entering the United States from Mexico in October 2022. They were notified that their status was terminated on April 1.

They were arrested April 16 at the El Paso airport as the couple prepared to return to their home in Washington, D.C., where they live with their three children. They had flown to Texas for an April 14 pretrial hearing related to removal proceedings. That case was continued until June 23, and the couple was allowed to remain free on bail, according to court documents." AP

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• TOP NEWS

"Texas megachurch pastor T.D. Jakes says he's passing ministry to daughter, her husband” UPI

• #TXLEGE

"Can Texas lawmakers agree on how to spend billions to save the state's water supply?” Texas Tribune

"Texas House Democrats appear to fold on threat prompted by school choice vote” DMN ($)

"Texas lawmakers want to exempt police from deadly conduct charges” Texas Tribune

"162 murdered by offenders out on bond in Harris County since 2021, state senator says” Fox 26 Houston

• STATE GOVERNMENT

“Lotto.com operator files lawsuit against Texas Lottery Commission over courier ban” KVUE

• LOCAL GOVERNMENT

“CEO departs Visit San Antonio amid push for Convention Center expansion” SAEN ($)

“HFD terminates 12 cadets ahead of graduation for 'racist and hateful' behavior, chief confirms” Houston Chronicle ($)

• 2025

“Can a Republican win the mayor’s race in blue San Antonio?” SAEN ($)

• NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

> TX TRIB: "In booming Central Texas, wastewater is polluting rivers and streams" TX TRIB

> HOU CHRON: "Trump's first 100 days: Steamrolling government, strong-arming allies and igniting trade wars" HOU CHRON

> DMN: "May Day protesters rally in downtown Dallas against Trump policies on labor rights" DMN

> AAS: "Scandals are no strangers to Texas Lottery Commission directors. Here's some history." AAS

> AAS: "An inside look as Texas House Democrats strategize at the State Capitol, see the photos" AAS

> WACO TRIB: "'We the People' rally draws 400 to Indian Spring park" WACO TRIB

> SA REPORT: "Texas’ big-city mayors have gotten less progressive. Will San Antonio follow suit?" SA REPORT

> SA REPORT: "Early voting lags in San Antonio’s high-profile mayoral race" SA REPORT

> SAEN: "North Korea confirms that it dispatched troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine" SAEN

> TPR: "A family planning expert weighs in on the Trump administration's pronatalist policies" TPR

> HOU CHRON: "Chronicle named 2024 Newsroom of the Year by Texas Managing Editors" HOU CHRON

> HOU CHRON: "Apple and Nvidia picked Houston for AI plants. Can the city rise to the moment?" HOU CHRON

> SAEN: "Light pollution puts night skies near Big Bend National Park under threat" SAEN

> HOU CHRON: "2 teen girls hospitalized after hit and run in north Harris County, sheriff says" HOU CHRON

> FWST: "2 men killed, 1 injured in Arlington shooting; 17-year-old suspect arrested" FWST

> DMN: "Arlington gas station triple shooting: 2 dead after fight broke out, third man injured" DMN

> FWST: "Mom and 1-year-old daughter die after car goes into Texas river, cops say" FWST

• EXTRA POINTS

Recent Texas sports scores:
Sat
> MLB: San Francisco 3, Texas 2
> MLB: Kansas City 2, Houston 0
> NBA: Golden State 104, Houston 93
> MLS: Houston 2, Austin 0
> NHL: Colorado 4, Dallas 0
Sun
> MLB: Houston 7, Kansas City 3
> MLB: San Francisco 3, Texas 2
> MLS: Dallas 4, Miami 3

Tonight's Texas sports schedule:
> 7:05pm: MLB: Oakland at Texas
> 7:10pm: MLB: Detroit at Houston
> 8:30pm: NHL: Colorado at Dallas (ESPN)
> 9pm: NBA: Houston at Golden State (TNT)

Tomorrow's Texas sports schedule:
> 7:05pm: MLB: Oakland at Texas
> 7:10pm: MLB: Detroit at Houston

DALLAS COWBOYS: "2025 NFL draft grades: What national experts are saying about Cowboys’ selections" DMN ($)

DALLAS STARS: "Dallas Stars rule out Miro Heiskanen for Game 5 vs. Colorado Avalanche" DMN ($)

TEXAS RANGERS: "5 things we learned about the Rangers this week: How important is the first month anyways?" DMN ($)

TEXAS FOOTBALL: "Texas football: 5 things we know after the Longhorns end spring practice" AAS ($)

TEXAS FOOTBALL: "Texas football sets program record with 12 players taken in 7-round draft" AAS ($)

TEXAS BASEBALL: "Texas vs. Texas A&M baseball: Adrian Rodriguez helps Longhorns complete sweep of Aggies" AAS ($)