Latest news with #TonyGonzales
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Northwest Florida Defense Coalition hosting congressional, military leaders
SANTA ROSA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — The Santa Rosa County Economic Development Office is hosting the 2025 Military Base Update this week. Bay Minette police search for 'armed' suspect after deadly shooting at house party This event will be at the Santa Rosa County Auditorium. Doors open at 7:30 a.m., and the program runs from 8 a.m. to noon. The forum will bring together senior military officials and congressional leaders to discuss military impact in the region and future plans, according to a news release from the Northwest Florida Defense Coalition. The release said mission updates from NAS Pensacola, NAS Whiting Field, Hurlburt Field and Eglin Air Force Base will be presented. Lawmakers responsible for military policies and appropriations will also participate including Texas U.S. Representatives John Carter and Tony Gonzales, according to the release. Severe T-Storm Watch Cancelled, More Severe Storms Possible Tuesday Carter is the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. Gonzales is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and a Navy veteran who served in Pensacola at Corry Station. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Is it law yet? See how far some of the most consequential bills have made it in the 2025 Texas Legislature
Texas lawmakers filed thousands of bills during the 2025 legislative session. However, most of those bills won't become law. Lawmakers will spend the final weeks before the session ends on June 2 trying to push through their priorities. They will also try to stop certain bills from going through by delaying votes and letting them miss key deadlines. If a bill fails, it might still be revived as an amendment to other legislation. Most new laws take effect Sept. 1. From now through the end of the session, we'll be tracking the status of the most noteworthy bills and their progress toward a final resolution. We've created a few options to help you follow along. We update the status of the bills we are tracking throughout the day. Here's how the legislative process works: Below is a quick view of the list of consequential bills introduced during this year's session and where they stand in the legislative process. Scroll further on to find more details about those bills and information about next steps. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
CBS News
18-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Texas Reps. continue to insist the state be reimbursed by federal government for efforts to secure the border
Texas representatives continue to push for the state of Texas to be reimbursed by the federal government for its efforts to secure the border. Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn along with Congressional Republicans from Texas want the $11 billion dollars requested by Governor Greg Abbott to be included in the bill that House and Senate Republicans are working on to pass President Trump's agenda without the help from Democrats. Earlier this month, Texas GOP Congressman Tony Gonzales of San Antonio asked the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for her opinion about the state getting paid back. "Yeah, it's been an incredible, the partnership Texas has put together with the federal government and how they stepped up so many times when the Biden administration did not secure our border," responded Noem. "Texas filled the gap. There have not been any decisions on reimbursing states, but I know the Governors have asked for it. We've appreciated their help." Gonzales said, "It's not fair for the last four years a lot of our states have been on their own and had to pay out of pocket. I think it's a great opportunity for the federal government to reimburse some of these states. I'm certainly committed to making sure Texas gets reimbursed for some of the funding we've done along the border." Decline in border crossings The number of people entering the southern border illegally continues to show steep declines since last year. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol statistics show that during the first four months of 2025, there were more than 96,000 people apprehended at the southern border. That's a fraction of the number from the first four months of 2024, when more than 735,000 people were apprehended at the southern border. While these numbers are sharply lower, the immigration courts are seeing historically high volumes of cases. There are 3.6 million immigration cases pending in the U.S., according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC. The organization keeps data on the federal government's enforcement activities. Two million of those pending cases are asylum-seekers, including 225,000 in Dallas. Paul Hunker, former chief counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Dallas, said in an interview that the backlog is "quite extensive." "Increased apprehensions created it, so a lot of people apprehended at the border and then released and put into removal proceedings," Hunker said. "It got worse during the Biden administration." CBS News Texas sat in on several dockets in Dallas' immigration court, where dozens of asylum-seekers received court dates. All were scheduled for years away, most of them in 2028. In the U.S., about 700 immigration judges are serving 71 courts. Hunker said that is not nearly enough to clear the current backlog. TRAC data shows on average in the past five fiscal years, 56% of asylum cases have been denied.
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Ranchers sound alarm on new migrant crossing hotspot
Ranchers along the southern border are sounding the alarm on a terrifying new hotspot where migrant crossings are exploding. The vast and remote Big Bend area of Texas is now so busy with illegal migrant crossings that it's been described as 'hotbed' been called a 'hotbed' by Congressman Tony Gonzales. 'What I'm hearing from my ranchers is that, for everyone else, they've gotten relief, but that area—the Big Bend Sector—continues to be a hotbed in particular,' Rep. Gonzales said during a Capitol Hill hearing Thursday. Unlike the rest of the US-Mexico boundary, where migrant encounters have plummeted , Big Bend is seeing higher numbers than it did when Pres. Joe. Biden was in office, according to federal statistics by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP.) In October, 291 encounters with illegal immigrants were reported by US Border Patrol. Last month, under Trump, that number shot up to 324. The numbers might seem low, but what's more concerning is who is not being caught. The sheriff who's in charge of 91 miles of Big Bend told he knows others are successfully sneaking into the country here. 'We have been stumbling onto groups from out west (that) we didn't know they crossed, and while tracking other groups, came across their sign (footprints,' Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland, also a retired Border Patrol agent, told DM. Traditionally, migrants have avoided this sector, opting for easier entries in urban zones. 'Some nights we don't apprehend anyone. Then we might have a group of 10 or so that week,' Cleveland explained of what is usual. In recent weeks, the sheriff's office has aided the Border Patrol agents in tracking down as many as 60 people in one week--often dressed in camouflaged garments given to them by smugglers to help them blend in with the terrain. Big Bend has been a low-traffic region traditionally because it's so rugged and absent of big cities on either side of the international boundary. To get into the US, migrants have to cross the Rio Grande river with fast-flowing water and rapids. If they make it over successfully, they have to immediately scale cliffs-- a task that can take a day or two. After that, it takes at least three to four days to walk to the nearest town, Sanderson. There are no roads in this isolated desert where the possibility of breaking a leg, getting bit by a snake and being abandoned by the cartel smuggling guide is high for migrants. If they reach the 700-person town, they can access the highways where smugglers are waiting to pick up the illegal immigrants and drive them to their next destination inside the US. Big Bend is also sandwiched between two big hot spots: El Paso, currently the busiest entry point , to the West and Del Rio to the East. 'As other parts of the border receive more resources, it will force people out this way,' the sheriff added. Most of the people making illegal entry here are Mexican citizens on their way to the fields of California to pick America's produce, Cleveland stated. Since Trump took over in January, two Army Stryker tanks have been stationed there. However, the area is just too big, with 91 miles of border between just two counties. There's only 50 federal immigration agents stationed in Sanderson, plus another 15 on loan from other parts of the agency. 'Is there anything that we can do to alleviate some of their high foot traffic,' Rep. Gonzales pressed CBP Commissioner Pete Flores during the congressional hearing. As part of his response, the top dog at CBP admitted the Border Patrol has more manpower than ever before. 'We continue to plan for where we see problem spots or hot spots along the border, and we continue to re-evaluate how we're deploying our agents,' Flores responded. Sheriff Cleveland believes more boots on the ground is the solution. 'What is needed is technology and even more important, more men and women with badges,' he said.
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Border ranchers sound alarm on terrifying new hotspot where migrant crossings are exploding
Ranchers along the southern border are sounding the alarm on a terrifying new hotspot where migrant crossings are exploding. The vast and remote Big Bend area of Texas is now so busy with illegal migrant crossings that it's been described as 'hotbed' been called a 'hotbed' by Congressman Tony Gonzales. 'What I'm hearing from my ranchers is that, for everyone else, they've gotten relief, but that area—the Big Bend Sector—continues to be a hotbed in particular,' Rep. Gonzales said during a Capitol Hill hearing Thursday. Unlike the rest of the US-Mexico boundary, where migrant encounters have plummeted, Big Bend is seeing higher numbers than it did when Pres. Joe. Biden was in office, according to federal statistics by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP.) In October, 291 encounters with illegal immigrants were reported by US Border Patrol. Last month, under Trump, that number shot up to 324. The numbers might seem low, but what's more concerning is who is not being caught. The sheriff who's in charge of 91 miles of Big Bend told he knows others are successfully sneaking into the country here. 'We have been stumbling onto groups from out west (that) we didn't know they crossed, and while tracking other groups, came across their sign (footprints,' Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland, also a retired Border Patrol agent, told DM. Traditionally, migrants have avoided this sector, opting for easier entries in urban zones. 'Some nights we don't apprehend anyone. Then we might have a group of 10 or so that week,' Cleveland explained of what is usual. In recent weeks, the sheriff's office has aided the Border Patrol agents in tracking down as many as 60 people in one week--often dressed in camouflaged garments given to them by smugglers to help them blend in with the terrain. Big Bend has been a low-traffic region traditionally because it's so rugged and absent of big cities on either side of the international boundary. To get into the US, migrants have to cross the Rio Grande river with fast-flowing water and rapids. If they make it over successfully, they have to immediately scale cliffs-- a task that can take a day or two. After that, it takes at least three to four days to walk to the nearest town, Sanderson. There are no roads in this isolated desert where the possibility of breaking a leg, getting bit by a snake and being abandoned by the cartel smuggling guide is high for migrants. Despite the spike in arrests by Border Patrol agents, the sheriff adds that they often discover footprints in the desert, indicating that other groups of illegal immigrants have successful made it into the US undetected If they reach the 700-person town, they can access the highways where smugglers are waiting to pick up the illegal immigrants and drive them to their next destination inside the US. Big Bend is also sandwiched between two big hot spots: El Paso, currently the busiest entry point, to the West and Del Rio to the East. 'As other parts of the border receive more resources, it will force people out this way,' the sheriff added. Most of the people making illegal entry here are Mexican citizens on their way to the fields of California to pick America's produce, Cleveland stated. Since Trump took over in January, two Army Stryker tanks have been stationed there. However, the area is just too big, with 91 miles of border between just two counties. There's only 50 federal immigration agents stationed in Sanderson, plus another 15 on loan from other parts of the agency. 'Is there anything that we can do to alleviate some of their high foot traffic,' Rep. Gonzales pressed CBP Commissioner Pete Flores during the congressional hearing. As part of his response, the top dog at CBP admitted the Border Patrol has more manpower than ever before. 'We continue to plan for where we see problem spots or hot spots along the border, and we continue to re-evaluate how we're deploying our agents,' Flores responded. Sheriff Cleveland believes more boots on the ground is the solution.
