 Even though the Latino voting population played a major role in electing the new chief executive officer in the Oval Office—making up 42% of the overall vote—the war on Latinos has not stopped. ICE continues to raid communities in Chicago, New York, Texas, and across the United States.
During the campaign trail, the political promise was to “get rid of the criminals” coming across the border committing crimes. At first glance, many assumed that meant targeting individuals guilty of serious offenses—rape, murder, drug or human trafficking. Yet, it has become clear that the real “crime” being targeted is the crime of being brown or Black while seeking asylum in America. In Houston alone, deportations have skyrocketed by 1,000%, and Texas Republicans are now proposing a secret operation to hunt down Black and Brown immigrants without legal documentation around the clock. Two key tools in this modern-day manhunt are non-safety traffic stops and the Flock camera surveillance system. Flock cameras operate like digital cell towers, constantly pinging your car’s location every time your license plate passes by. This allows law enforcement to track your routine—where you live, work, study, or spend time with family. Once they’ve learned your pattern, they move in—picking people up from work, church, school, or even their homes. The only “crime” many of these individuals have committed is existing in America while undocumented and of color. When people aren’t captured through surveillance, they’re targeted through predatory non-safety traffic stops. Black and Brown drivers are constantly pulled over for no reason other than “driving while colored.” These stops often become citizenship checks. If you have an accent or appear foreign, the next question is: “Where are your papers?” If you don’t have them, you’re taken away—to what can only be described as modern-day concentration camps—awaiting deportation. But we are not powerless. There are at least two ways to push back against these senseless deportations:
Written By: RoShawn C. Evans Wired A new ICE proposal outlines a 24/7 transport operation run by armed contractors—turning Texas into the logistical backbone of an industrialized deportation machine. https://www.wired.com/story/ice-is-building-a-24-7-shadow-transportation-network-across-texas/ How Latinos Voted in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election https://www.as-coa.org/articles/how-latinos-voted-2024-us-presidential-election TCRP Report finds racial disparities among Houstonians pulled over for non-moving traffic violations https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/criminal-justice/2023/09/19/462759/report-finds-racial-disparities-among-houstonians-pulled-over-for-non-moving-traffic-violations/ By Enabling Police Surveillance, Elected Officials Fuel Trump’s Agenda https://truthout.org/articles/by-enabling-police-surveillance-elected-officials-fuel-trumps-agenda/
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 The controversial One Big Beautiful Bill Act was sponsored by Texas Congressman Jodey Arrington. We’ve seen elected officials boasting about how beautiful it is. Who is it really beautiful for? Whenever there is excitement about legislation supposedly for the people and offering bold changes and reforms, individuals needing the most resources aren’t prioritized. They end up targeted. So, I decided to focus on them as I delved into this ACT. Unsurprisingly, the “reforms” mentioned signify a lot of red tape for individuals relying on safety net programs. These “reforms” are not “beautiful” at all for over 66 million people who were enrolled in Medicare, according to Medicare.gov , the 71,258,215 people who were enrolled in Medicaid from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid, the 41 million people nationwide in 2024 who were on SNAP according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. “In Texas, more than 76% of SNAP participants consist of families with children; more than 30% are in families with members who are older adults or are disabled; and more than 46% are in working families.Yes, there are working families who earn so little they actually qualify for food stamps because wages are low, the skyrocketing costs for utilities, child-care, housing expenses, and more.
https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/a-closer-look-at-who-benefits-from-snap-state-by-state-fac t-sheets#Texas What happens when YOU get older? People may not be able to live independently. Will you have to reside in a nursing home? Nursing Homes are funded primarily through Medicaid, Medicare for skilled nursing services, Long-term Care Insurance, and private payers. They are costly! Now remember, this bill cut funding and removed the automatic streamlining process for individuals on Medicare, SNAP, and Medicaid which would have automatically enrolled them in these programs and additional cost-saving programs. If you’re a member of a SNAP household, your benefits will decrease due to the significant budgetary cuts. Work requirements or community engagement activities of 80 hours per month are now expected for individuals 55 to 64 years old, parents of minor children ages 14 and up, and veterans. There are some exceptions. “As a result of the staggering cuts to Medicaid more than 300 rural hospitals are currently at “immediate risk” of closure, especially now that the OBBBA is projected to cut Medicaid spending by $1.02 trillion”. People who have been diagnosed with Intellectual Disabilities will be unable to afford their medications. Lack of access to mood stabilizing prescriptions will cause a mental health crisis from psychosis, manic disorders, or depression leading to interactions with law enforcement. Unhoused people having to submit documentation and not being alerted about their case status will be removed from these programs. Those arrested would have to get mental health treatment from jails because of the budget cuts to community based programs, supports, and services to keep them from inside of institutions. This shouldn’t be the case at all. Our government is currently working to give 40 billion dollars to Argentina and will not give food aid to the poorest of Americans who rely on food assistance by not tapping into our contingency reserves during the shutdown. We need to have a closer look at those elected into power. Officials should have invested in crucial and critical programs to address homelessness prevention programs, mental health programs, substance abuse and treatment programs, infrastructure, climate initiatives, the National Weather Service, domestic violence programs, supporting youth aging out of foster care, and also helping to solve food insecurity but they didn’t. The realization is millions will lose their healthcare, food assistance, be removed from nursing homes, and lose much needed Long-Term Care Supports. Alarms and warnings were sent regarding Project 2025. Here is a tracker to see the progress that has been made on those priorities. https://www.project2025.observer/en. Politics will always impact you! Don’t just hope legislators will vote in your best interest. You must take action, get involved, and vote! Vote during all elections including special elections, primaries, and general elections. Do not wait and just vote every four years. Your lives literally depend on it. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-truth-about-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-acts-cuts-to-medicaid -and-medicare/ By: Joy Davis  Misinformation and disinformation are insanely close to being the same word with just one letter making the difference. However, one holds a much darker and sinister definition. Misinformation is the spread of incorrect information. In other words, not having your facts straight. We have all been guilty of this at one point in our lives by either repeating hearsay or by stating personal opinions that aren’t rooted in facts. Disinformation is a deliberate act of spreading false information with the intention to mislead. This is what us black folks call “playing in your face.” While misinformation can potentially cause harm, disinformation is just out right dangerous.
On Jun 18, 2025, the Houston Chronicle broke a story about false information circulating accusing a Houston attorney, Brian Trachtenberg, of being the alleged suspect, Vance Boelter, who was arrested for the murders of the Democrat Minnesota lawmaker and her husband. Initially, it could have been mistaken for misinformation but, after taking a deeper look it appears to have been an intentional act. Brian Trachtenberg is the husband of the former chair of the Harris County Democratic Party and the disinformation intent was to shape the narrative that the suspect was a Democrat not a Republican who is said to be a Donald Trump and right-wing influencer supporter as well as very conservative politically. The truth is, it’s a very thin line between misinformation and disinformation and bluntly saying, during both Trump administrations is when this fact was made abundantly clear and has been exploited extensively! Disinformation has been a deliberate tactic of this administration to lead the country astray and worse, to influence their disingenuous agendas. Last year, Elon Musk sent out a fury of tweets on X full of disinformation during Congress end-of-year funding deal. Tweets circulated that the deal would increase pay for lawmakers as well incorrect information concerning the cost of a football stadium in Washington D.C. X users spread the information around like wildfire! The confusion ultimately caused Trump to send lawmakers back to the drawing board with a few specific provisions for the deal. The most specific being, “he wants Congress to pass a “streamlined spending bill” that doesn’t give Democrats “everything they want” and has “an increase in the debt ceiling.” This is essentially the outcome Musk was gunning for. Honestly, I could go on and on in my Erykah Badu voice but, I digress because I wholeheartedly believe you get my point. So, at this point I’m sure you’re asking how do we combat such information manipulation? First, we need to understand that misinformation and disinformation are shape shifters. They come in multiple forms from false information spreading quickly online, to fake videos made with AI, wild conspiracy theories, and government-backed lies. Next, understand that we hold a duty to not spread information that we haven’t fact checked or know for sure to be true. Unknowingly participating in the circulation of misinformation or disinformation still causes the same harm regardless of intent. Also, knowing the proper way to correct misinformation is essential for content creators or those who just enjoy sharing information. According to Nonprofitquarterly.org, there are three A’s for effective messaging: “Make sure your content is accurate, actionable, and aspirational.” It was encouraged that, “movement communicators and organizers should pause and reflect when someone repeats bad information. Paying attention to what’s missing from a narrative allows us to “re-present what we want to present in a way that replaces instead of repeats the misinformation.” For the millions of people that just enjoy consuming content, take the time to do a narrative analysis. Meaning, look at the story being told, examine how it’s structured and delivered, and understand the deeper meanings, values, or assumptions behind it. Now, if you’re anything like me and just want the easiest way out of this never ending cycle, the simplest way to fight back is to fact check before you repost and don’t believe everything that comes across your social media feeds! Simple, right? By: Sharia Legette  There is a rise in fascist speak in relation to Black Americans online, in political spaces and casual social settings. White nationalist speech and Online incel culture push the incentive to reprimand the black existence under the guise of harmless comedy, while on a more federal level, political regression is highly encouraged. Daring to speak out against injustice and borderline racism warrants quick dismissal and social out casting, and those who bear witness to this event are silenced by fear of social isolation. To enable the social outcast of Black Americans is to be promised the rewards that are entailed in the American dream.
Due to this quick-happening phenomenon, it is becoming distasteful to be proud of Black American culture and all the varieties it arrives as. Socially, words are taken from AAVE and twisted into new meanings, woke now being a dog-whistle for the intolerant, the abbreviation of yn being spoken so casually by nonblack people, and the term Black fatigue on the rise, a phrase spoken in a joking matter to signify irritation due to being around black people. The long-term goal of what is deemed to be the American dream is the pursuit of a unilateral, concept that excludes our right to political freedom, with possibility of another silent generation, in vague hopes of still achieving the said American Dream. A uniform and frankly totalitarian approach to one, if not, of the most diverse countries in the world. The freedom to express one's identities, cultures and beliefs should not fall flat in the giant shadow of what's deemed to be the American Dream. Dismantling the American dream and addressing it for what it is, assimilation. Young Americans must refuse to adhere to the slow tide of totalitarianism, be unashamed of culture and identity, as well as standing tall against political repression. The only prompt for not being bold enough to stand in the face of adversity, is silent hopes that subtle inclination to the uniform approach of traditionalism will be a saving grace. Clinging onto a dream that is not truly yours results in appallment when you realize far too late you weren't pictured in America's everchanging rush to America's conjoined Conservative-Fascism. By Destiny Varnado  What is a diversion program? Diversion programs can happen at any point in a person’s life – and their singular goal is to keep folks out of the prison system. They come in many shapes, sizes, and forms (and exist for youth, too), and can happen before someone even encounters a situation with the police. Diversion programs can also happen before an arrest, before a charge is made, and before a trial has happened. They seek the underlying cause of behavior: ranging from substance (ab)use, to a lack of affordable, accessible housing, to food insecurity. Diversion programs work to address the underlying issues in the community: access to food, access to affordable, accessible housing, access to treatment: these can all keep someone out of prison. So then, what’s recidivism? Recidivism is the rate at which folks who are convicted of a crime re-offend. The three-year recidivism rate in Texas is 20.3% – which means that 3 years after release, over 20% of people who are convicted of crimes end up back in prison in Texas. The nationwide rate is even higher: “almost 44% of [convicted people] released return before the first year out of prison.” From an economic standpoint, each additional year of incarceration costs $56,200 – $66,800. The prison system is morally repugnant, and it’s just bad for the country as a whole – we are incentivized as taxpayers to use data and diversion programs to lower the rates at which folx are imprisoned: it’s better for our bottom line. Diversion is public safety. Jail, prosecution, and prison alone do little to defer future criminal behavior: because the underlying, root cause of the behavior has not been dealt with. Diversion programs, however, seek the underlying factors that led to an alleged offense – and then seek to rectify those factors so that a person can avoid prison time. A 2018 study of Harris County’s diversion programs revealed that “Diversion substantially decreased a person’s future convictions by 48 percent 10 years” – that means we’ve almost halved our community’s recidivism rate with these programs – if there is access to them. While the data holds that diversion programs are economically, as well as morally, beneficial, access to these programs is fraught. Sometimes the programs are “pay to play,” meaning that historically underpaid communities can lack access. Sometimes it falls to prosecutors to decide who is “worthy” of diversion because, “Even when an individual qualifies based on their charge, criminal record, or need for treatment, they must ultimately be offered diversion.” Equal access to diversion programs will produce a safer society by diverting someone’s potential to re-offend and resourcing them with organizations, relationships, and aid that can help them avoid more prison time. It is in all of our best interests to support diversion programs. By: Beck Havens  Yesterday, the City Council voted to approve the City of Houston’s budget which included over 832 million dollars for the Houston Police Department’s Union Contract. This will cause such an enormous portion of the city’s budget to go directly towards funding law enforcement and not programs proven to help reduce crime.
Budget departments, organizations, and concerned community members passionately addressed city council discussing the negative fiscal impacts of cuts to grants, federal funding, and resources by the current federal administration. City Departments and agencies will be hit pretty hard, yet cities always find the money to fund law enforcement. Billions are not going towards programs or services effectively proven to reduce crime. This magnitude of funding is not for housing, shelters, poverty prevention programs, substance abuse treatment programs, mental health services outside of the carceral system, summer programs, or proactive programming that keeps all of us safe. We are constantly funding reactive measures which don’t reduce crime and recidivism. It seems as if people want to believe the notion that arresting people will cause a reduction in crime. Data shows it doesn’t. https://www.vera.org/news/research-shows-that-long-prison-sentences-dont-actually-improve-saf ety#:~:text=A%202021%20meta%2Danalysis%20of,because%20incarceration%20destabilizes% 20people's%20lives. What are we going to do when the next disaster hits? We are now in hurricane season. I’m terrified about what will happen in the upcoming months and I am not the only one. We live in a city consistently plagued by disasters such as floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Houstonians still haven’t fully recovered from disasters as recent as last year. Blue tarps are still visible on residents' homes. Folks whose homes were demolished were rebuilt with constructional flaws. Yet, we find 832 million to give to law enforcement. Make it make sense! Because of the laws passed by our Republican led Texas Legislature we can’t reduce the law enforcement budget without penalties or taking it directly to the voters. If emergency resources are needed right then and there, we are screwed. Will the city increase taxes to help pay for programs and services that actually keep us safe? The enthusiasm I saw as the vote was taking place on the police union contract and this budget was very eye-opening! Only three council members voted no on the budget. What about housing, flooding and drainage projects, healthcare, mental health treatments, substance abuse programming, shelters, and after school programs? Why can’t we proactively fund programs proven to reduce crime instead of being reactive? At the end of the day, you fund what you prioritize and HPD was clearly the big winner. The definition of safety varies by person and neighborhood. In River Oaks, it may be perceived to some that HPD may protect and serve them. In areas such as Northline and Sunnyside police officers are coming to overpolice and arrest people. Advocates from Pure Justice, NAC, West Street Recovery, Texas Civil Rights Project, 50 Fathers and others spoke to city council about what is at stake and offered alternatives. If you really want to solve crime, you have to look at why it’s happening in the first place. It takes a deeper dive instead of an expensive band-aid approach. HPD is the biggest contributor to the jail population in Harris County due to the number of their arrests. More police and more arrests will lead to more people getting sent out of the county and state to be incarcerated. That alone is costing us around 50 million dollars a year. Investments in restorative justice practices in a holistic way actually reduces crime and recidivism. Let’s fund those programs instead. https://restorativejustice101.com/title-breaking-the-cycle-the-impact-of-restorative-justice-in-reducing-recidivism/  Fast Facts
Critical Consensus: Fair Housing Challenges in Harris County Opinions in Harris County are as diverse as the local culture, but there are a couple of things that truly seem to unite folks. While there’s definitely consensus about Shipley’s superiority over Krispy Kreme and Centerpoint Energy’s inferiority as an emergency resource provider, people are also on the same page about rising housing costs. Yes, the Houston metro area is comparatively cheaper than the United States’ other largest cities like New York or Los Angeles, but there is still a critical lack of affordable, safe, fair housing options. In preparing plans that’ll guide the area’s housing policy and development for the next five years, Harris County’s Department of Housing and Community Development found that 87% of survey respondents were anxious about losing their housing and being displaced due to rent increases. This valid and familiar anxiety is not dramatic - it reflects people’s experiences navigating an expensive, complicated and inequitable housing system. It feels harder than ever for households to stay afloat right now, and Harris County’s own report about housing equity confirms and conveys how people really haven’t been able to catch a break. Between wage stagnation, rampant inflation and a 22% increase in average rent (totaling $1,609 as of January 2024) over the past five years, many people are barely making ends meet. One in five people in Harris County are burdened by the cost of their rent, meaning that they spend over a third of their monthly income on housing. Unfortunately and paradoxically, Black, Latino and Native American households are most likely to be cost-burdened while also being least likely to be approved for assistance that alleviates this burden. Even with countless side hustles and extra shifts, people are struggling to close major financial gaps. Considering that eviction cases in Harris County more than doubled, skyrocketing from 35,000 in 2021 to 81,513 in 2023, it is clear that our communities and families are reaching a breaking point. We as stakeholders - community members, builders, local administrators - are watching Harris County’s affordable housing problem snowball into a full-blow housing crisis. We also have the power to stop it. In keeping with our other recent housing policy work, we at Pure Justice submitted formal comments regarding Harris County’s drafted five-year plan documents. Since county officials must review and consider all comments, we took the opportunity to call attention to prescient issues and make recommendations. We suggested increased tenant protections and support resources for those facing eviction to minimize household disruptions for families. We reminded Harris County about ongoing de facto housing discrimination that those with arrest records face and urged administrators to measurably affirm their fair housing rights in accordance with HUD’s new guidance. We addressed the need for greater diversity within actual public housing developments; we desperately need more floorplans for large families, seniors, and disabled folks. Our comment didn’t exclusively feature call-outs, though. We encouraged Harris County to use different sorts of policy tools to incentivize private developers to designate and reserve space for systems-impacted community members. By allowing ourselves to re-imagine safety for everyone, we can envision affordable housing solutions that can work for anyone. Even though our personal definitions of affordable may differ, I think we can all agree that now’s the time for local officials to meaningfully ensure fair housing opportunities. Referenced Documents: Harris County, TX’s PY2024-2028 Consolidated Plan Harris County, TX’s PY2024-2028 Fair Housing Assessment Link to Pure Justice’s Comments on Harris County’s Drafts of PY 2024-2028 Consolidated Action Plan, PY 2024-2028 Fair Housing Assessment & PY 2024 Annual Action Plan: 2024 Pure Justice Harris County Public Housing Comment Written By: Salena Braye-Bulls  Here in Texas, felons are not permitted to vote until they have completed their entire sentence which is a nebulous and subjective legal term that is unclear and up for debate. In an ideal world, of course, every legal standard would be both clear, and just, but of course we are living in the United States in the year 2024.
The legal system, as well as policing and prisons, are systems heavily influenced by local, statewide, and federal politics: the policies we enact arguably most heavily impact those whose days are completely under the charge of the state: people in prison or jail, people who are on probation, and people on parole. Taking away the ability of felons to vote on the systems that impact them the most not only prevents them from impacting their own futures, but also holds our entire country back from progress. Florida tried to take a step forward when, “in November 2018, nearly 65 percent of Florida voters approved Amendment 4, a constitutional amendment that automatically restored voting rights to most Floridians with past convictions who had completed the terms of their sentence,” – but while Florida is moving forward to allow felons to vote, this right does not follow from other states. Much like the laws currently governing marijuana (which are state-based, but remain federally in limbo), this right in Florida only remains if the state where the person was convicted would also allow that person to vote in that state. Having our state and local decisions decided by, and impacted by, the specific location of a conviction muddies the waters of who can vote, and where. Here in Texas, we passed a law making it (still) harder to vote in 2021 – which caused voters of color to have a 30% higher rate of having their ballot (or voter application) rejected. This is absurd - justice should apply to all of us equally, and we cannot allow for it to impact some of us more egregiously than others. And if this doesn’t seem unfair yet, “since 1990, nearly one in five new prisoners added to the nation’s prisons was in Texas…” and let’s also consider that “one out of every four adult black men in Texas is under some form of criminal justice supervision.” Local policing undoubtedly has a huge impact on who arrives at the doors of a prison cell – and one way to attempt to course-correct who does that policing, and how a person is treated by the justice system, is of course to allow those who are already impacted by the justice system are still allowed a say in the direction of our entire nation. Written By: Beck Havens Instagram - @bee.eee.see.kay Twitter - @uhhhhbeck  What it is and what we can and must do about it.
You’ve probably heard of the school-to-prison-pipeline (STPP), but I think it’s a subject that needs more airtime. Like a song that keeps playing over and over on the radio until you begin to sing it, we must have frequent and continuous conversations about STPP to put an end to it. What is STPP? It is a concept that encompasses many different policies and procedures. It’s not a specific policy or procedure, and every district goes about it in a different way. For instance, the use of school resource officers who are given carte blanch in enforcing school codes. It’s teachers who can determine which students will get expelled and which ones will be given second chances. And, if you didn’t already know, it is deeply rooted in bias, prejudice, and racism. It removes mostly brown and black children from the classroom preventing them from obtaining the education they need to compete in a global workforce, and it is a mainstay in the school system. What can we do about it? First, we must teach our boys that it’s ok to be smart. Many times a smart black or brown boy is made to feel ashamed or is taunted by others. Our male children are more than the next Lebron James, who by the way is quite smart. They can be both great on the court and great in the classroom, but they must hear it from us, the adults, that it’s ok. Second, our girls must be taught that they are beautiful just the way they are. Too much focus is on appearance. Simone Biles had to clap back at those talking about her hair at the Olympics. Enough already. Young girls should be applauded for their smarts as well as their looks. Lastly, we, the adults in the room, must continue to support them, create safe environments where they can thrive, and keep working on changing the system. It’s a long, hard game that we cannot afford to lose. Written By: Yvette Scheiber PhD  Police killed the highest number of people on record in 2023, but as a white, female-presenting person (with a significantly lower statistical rate of being killed by police), I view my responsibility in this work creates a duty to put my body between people of color and police, just as protestors did during Breonna Taylor protests in Louisville in 2020. The best way to prepare for any moment of tension between civilians and the police is to have a plan in advance, preparing yourself for what to do in the moment. This way you’re not both trying to make a strategically safe decision, while adrenaline pulses through you, and someone’s life may also be on the line.
Written By: Beck Havens |
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