Latest / Austin Signal / Demonstrations against ICE continue in Austin

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Demonstrations against ICE continue in Austin · Austin Signal

0:09
Demonstrations against ICE continued
0:11
in Austin this weekend after an
0:12
officer fatally shot a woman last
0:14
week in Minnesota.
0:15
We're going to hear about the
0:16
activity around town and its
0:18
aftermath, and an Austin mother
0:20
and her five-year-old daughter were
0:21
taken into ICE custody last week
0:23
after police responded to
0:25
a disturbance call at their home.
0:27
The circumstances that led to their
0:29
detention, those stories, and
0:31
more coming up on today's show.
0:32
The Austin Signal is a production
0:34
of KUT News, hosted by
0:36
Jerry Quijano.
0:38
Plus, smokeable hemp could be
0:40
outlawed in Texas by the end of this
0:42
month. The state's health agency has
0:44
proposed new rules that could upend
0:45
the hemp market here in Texas,
0:47
the new proposals, and how Texans
0:49
are feeling about the future.
0:51
And news from our collaborators at
0:53
Austin Current, all that up next,
0:56
right here on Austin Signal.
1:09
Howdy out there.
1:10
This is Austin Signal.
1:12
It's Monday, January 12th.
1:14
Thank you for starting the week off
1:15
here with us.
1:16
We've got lots for you today, so
1:18
let's get right in.
1:30
Protests against immigration and
1:31
customs enforcement continued into
1:33
the weekend after the fatal shooting
1:35
of Renee Nicole Good.
1:37
Here in Austin, demonstrators
1:38
gathered outside the Capitol Friday
1:40
night, and during the day On
1:41
Saturday, demonstrators were outside
1:43
City Hall.
1:48
Eyes out, no king!
1:55
That was Congressman Greg Casar,
1:57
who joined more than 400 protesters
1:59
that morning.
2:01
For more about the weekend's
2:02
activity, we are speaking with KUT's
2:04
government accountability reporter
2:05
Andrew Weber, who was on the
2:07
scene. Andrew, thanks for coming on
2:09
Austin Signal.
2:10
Yes, sir. Thank you for having me,
2:11
Jerry. So, I know there were a few
2:12
demonstrations going on throughout
2:14
the weekend. Can you kind of sum up
2:15
for us how they went, how they
2:17
played out here in Austin?
2:18
Yeah, there were a couple, uh, there
2:20
was one Friday night outside the
2:22
state capital, there are about
2:23
50, 60 people there,
2:26
uh chanting like for, you know,
2:27
about an hour and a half.
2:29
Um, and then on Saturday morning,
2:31
you, we just heard some tape from
2:32
that. Uh, it was out, there, was a
2:34
big gathering about 400, 450
2:36
people outside Austin city
2:38
hall. And, uh yeah, it.
2:40
A pretty peaceful protest.
2:42
Like you heard at the top, there a,
2:43
there's a brass band there,
2:45
uh, lots of whistles, lots, of
2:46
signs, lots of chanting.
2:48
Okay, lots of chanting, lots people,
2:51
lots different voices.
2:52
Some of the protesters that you
2:53
spoke to, what did you hear from
2:54
them?
2:55
Yeah, I spoke to a handful
2:57
of folks who were just sort
2:59
of compelled to come out
3:01
in light of, of Renee
3:03
Nicole Good's death and
3:05
just sort of push back
3:07
against the narrative that the Trump
3:08
administration has put out there,
3:10
saying that she was a domestic
3:10
terrorist, saying that, that she was
3:12
trying to harm ICE agents.
3:14
Um, and you know, basically
3:16
folks who are protesting
3:18
just the presence of ICE in
3:20
Austin.
3:21
And we know that you spoke to
3:23
one woman by the name of Joanna
3:25
Ford, and we have a little bit of
3:26
tape from her. Let's play that right
3:27
now.
3:29
What are we doing, you know?
3:30
It's just really disheartening
3:32
and just sad to know
3:34
what's going on.
3:35
You know, I feel like
3:37
Miss Good, her death
3:39
is now, I feel, like going to
3:41
be a catalyst.
3:43
And if nothing changes after
3:45
this, then
3:47
I'm sorry.
3:48
I feel we're doomed to become a
3:50
fascist state.
3:53
So there was a demonstration on
3:55
Saturday in front of Austin City
3:56
Hall, Austin Congressional
3:58
Representative Greg Casar was out on
4:00
the scene. Why did he say he was
4:01
there? What did he he say to the
4:02
crowd? He basically
4:03
said, you know, there isn't a
4:05
lot that we can do here in Austin,
4:07
we meaning the demonstrators,
4:10
because you know this is
4:11
probably he sort
4:13
of guessed this wouldn't be
4:15
happening here in Austin.
4:17
It's a red state.
4:18
The Trump administration isn't going
4:20
to you know sort of flood the city
4:21
with ICE patrols in the same
4:23
way that has happened in
4:25
Minneapolis.
4:26
But he did say that you know it's
4:28
important that protesters
4:30
continue to demonstrate when
4:32
they can while they can.
4:34
Okay you also get a little bit of
4:35
tape from there let's hear that
4:38
We honor Renee's memory by
4:39
living her values, rejecting
4:41
hate and choosing compassion,
4:43
turning away from fear and pursuing
4:45
peace, refusing division
4:47
and coming together to build a
4:49
world where we all come home safe
4:51
to the people we love.
4:54
Choosing courage, choosing kindness,
4:56
choosing to look out for one
4:58
another. That is the world we are
5:00
fighting for and it is honored to
5:02
be in that fight alongside each
5:03
and every one of you in Austin,
5:05
Texas.
5:07
Okay Andrew, you mentioned that it
5:08
was mostly peaceful out there
5:10
around town.
5:11
I did see from your article at
5:12
KUT.org five people were arrested
5:14
and later charged that night.
5:16
What happened there? What are the
5:17
charges?
5:18
Yeah, there was a, there's a protest
5:19
that was kind of spun up pretty
5:21
quickly outside the JJ Pickle
5:22
building and, you
5:24
know, roughly two dozen
5:26
folks were, were initially trying to
5:28
block the street and, uh,
5:30
in protest outside of that building,
5:32
uh DPS and APD responded and
5:34
sort of broke that up.
5:36
Uh, they, they deployed pepper
5:37
balls, which was just, you know,
5:39
basically pepper spray and a little
5:40
paintball.
5:41
And four folks were arrested
5:43
for obstructing a roadway
5:45
and another person was arrested for
5:47
interfering with public duties.
5:49
And I did have a question, you said
5:50
DHS was the one who fired the pepper
5:52
balls? DPS. DPS, okay, I just wanted
5:54
to verify that bit again.
5:56
We have more from Andrew's reporting
5:58
over at KUT.org.
6:01
He is KUT's Government
6:02
Accountability Reporter, and he's
6:04
going to be speaking with us here on
6:05
The Signal. Andrew, thank you a ton.
6:14
Well, many eyes are following ICE
6:16
enforcement operations in Minnesota,
6:17
just as they had followed operations
6:19
in Chicago previously and
6:21
Washington, D.C.
6:22
Before that.
6:23
And here in Austin, ICE enforcement
6:24
has continued.
6:26
Most recently last week, when a
6:27
mother and her child were taken into
6:29
ICE custody after police arrived
6:31
at their home for a disturbance
6:32
call.
6:33
For more about this story, we're
6:34
speaking with Mose Buchele.
6:35
He's been covering immigration for
6:37
the Texas newsroom.
6:38
Mose, glad to have you on.
6:39
Hi, Jared. So, can you just give
6:41
us an update? What was the situation
6:42
here, and when did this take place?
6:44
So it took place about a week ago,
6:46
early in the morning, Austin police
6:47
say they were responding to
6:49
a domestic disservance call,
6:52
and police showed up and
6:54
ran background checks
6:56
on some of the people involved.
6:58
This is where the story gets a
6:59
little bit more unclear, but what
7:00
police say is that it appeared as
7:02
though the person who made the call
7:04
triggered a
7:06
what they called administrative
7:07
warrant from ICE.
7:09
So this is like a warrant that ICE
7:10
can put out to suggest that the
7:12
person may have violated
7:14
immigration law.
7:17
And again, this is where the story
7:18
gets a little bit even more muddy.
7:20
Police then notified
7:22
ICE that this
7:24
warrant had been triggered.
7:26
So then federal agents showed up at
7:27
the scene and
7:29
arrested and detained this
7:32
mother and her five-year-old
7:34
We had you on the signal a couple
7:35
months ago talking about ICE
7:37
pickups at Travis County jails
7:39
and we talked about kind of the
7:40
process that happens whenever
7:42
somebody goes to the jail.
7:45
What do we know about the APD's
7:47
process here? Is this something that
7:48
they normally do, run these kinds of
7:50
checks?
7:50
Yeah, what happened on Monday
7:52
is raising a lot of questions
7:54
about that. We know and we've
7:56
reported, and the local police are
7:58
quite public about their idea
8:00
that it is not the job of
8:02
local police to enforce immigration
8:03
law. They say that it can erode
8:05
trust in the community.
8:06
They repeatedly say they don't ask
8:08
people's immigration status.
8:09
However, they
8:12
do run background checks that can
8:14
trigger ICE
8:16
interactions. And there's a standing
8:17
order with local police in fact that
8:19
if they trigger what's called an ICE
8:21
detainer request, this is when ICE
8:22
asks that someone be detained, they
8:24
will in fact have to honor that,
8:26
that's state law.
8:27
The question of these warrants
8:29
they're referring to is a little
8:30
different and that's something we're
8:32
trying to get answers from the
8:33
police about and we're
8:35
actually waiting on those answers
8:36
right now.
8:36
As we work to find out
8:38
more answers, I want to ask, this is
8:40
something that activists were
8:41
actually kind of worried about
8:43
happening previously, correct?
8:44
Absolutely. Yeah.
8:45
I mean, the notion that
8:48
people can get
8:50
wrapped up in essentially
8:52
the deportation process after what
8:54
could be routine interactions with
8:56
the police is something an activist
8:57
is worried about often in this
8:59
case. And in fact, in Austin,
9:01
we have records showing people even
9:03
contacting the police for help who
9:05
are then later on
9:07
turned over, essentially their
9:08
information turned over to ICE after
9:10
reaching out to the police, for
9:11
help. This is not saying that local
9:12
please.
9:13
Uh... That they say they don't want
9:15
this but it's happening and that's
9:16
what we're trying to figure out
9:17
Okay we've been speaking about the
9:19
local police reaction, what does
9:21
DHS have to say about this
9:22
situation?
9:23
Very little.
9:24
Most of our communications have come
9:26
through local advocate groups,
9:28
grassroots leadership being the main
9:29
one, and then also some statements
9:31
by Austin police.
9:33
Last week, Austin police said we
9:35
could expect a statement from
9:36
ICE on this. I haven't seen that
9:38
yet.
9:39
But yeah, most of this
9:41
information is coming from the
9:42
family of this woman and her
9:44
daughter, local advocates,
9:46
and the occasional police statement
9:48
on what happened.
9:49
In these types of situations, we've
9:51
frequently seen how hard it is for
9:52
families to get information on where
9:54
their loved ones are after they
9:56
are detained by police or taken by
9:57
police.
9:58
Does their family know their
9:59
whereabouts? Do we have any
10:00
information about that?
10:01
This is another unusual and
10:03
concerning thing about this case for
10:05
the family members.
10:06
They went days, they said, without
10:07
knowing where this
10:09
woman and her daughter were being
10:11
detained.
10:12
And that of course complicated
10:14
their legal efforts, perhaps to try
10:15
to, to, you know, get, get out of
10:17
detention.
10:18
The last thing I heard,
10:20
and again, this is coming from
10:22
advocate groups is
10:24
that they have actually been
10:25
deported, that they were deported
10:26
over the weekend to Honduras.
10:28
Okay well we will continue to report
10:30
and follow on that story.
10:32
We have been speaking with Mose
10:33
Boucher, he has been covering
10:34
immigration for the Texas Newsroom.
10:37
Mose is always great to have you on.
10:50
All right, we have a lot more Austin
10:52
signal coming your way this
10:54
afternoon.
10:55
In a little while, we're going to
10:55
get an update from Nathan Bernier,
10:57
who was at last week's meeting of
10:59
the Department of State Health
11:01
Services. They are considering tons
11:03
of rules changes to the Texas
11:05
hemp market, including possibly
11:07
effectively outlawing smokable
11:09
hemp products that will not apply to
11:12
gummies or drinks, things of that
11:13
nature. But we're gonna have an
11:14
update form Nathan, as well
11:16
as how some Texans are feeling
11:18
about that.
11:20
The Austin Current launched today
11:22
and its education reporter
11:24
Acacia Coronado is going to come on
11:26
the show. Give us an update on what
11:28
AISD is planning to do
11:30
in the months ahead, ahead of
11:31
closing some schools before next
11:34
school year.
11:35
A lot more Austin Signal coming up
11:36
here on listener powered public
11:38
radio.
11:39
Thanks for making us part of your
11:40
Monday. This is KUT News.
12:08
Welcome back, this is Austin
12:10
Signal.
12:10
Smokable cannabis products sold
12:12
legally across Texas could disappear
12:14
by the end of January.
12:17
Proposed state regulations would
12:18
redefine how THC is measured
12:20
and dramatically raise costs
12:22
for hemp businesses.
12:24
The State's Health Commission held a
12:25
public hearing on Friday about the
12:27
new rules.
12:28
KUT's Nathan Bernier was there.
12:31
The rules were drafted by the Texas
12:32
Department of State Health Services
12:33
based on an executive order issued
12:35
in September by Governor Greg
12:37
Abbott. The recommendations were
12:38
posted online the day after
12:40
Christmas, kicking off a public
12:42
comment period that's still
12:43
underway.
12:44
Some of the proposed regulations are
12:46
supported by just about everyone,
12:48
like child-resistant packaging and
12:50
labels that clearly state what's
12:52
inside the products.
12:53
The new rules would also require
12:54
more extensive testing and tracing
12:56
of products, recall procedures.
12:59
And they would outlaw packaging that
13:01
appeals to children, including
13:02
anything with cartoons or animals on
13:04
it. But Texas hemp retailers and
13:06
manufacturers say some of the
13:08
proposed rules will put them out
13:10
of business.
13:11
Like new fees that are 100 times
13:13
higher than what they are now.
13:14
Stores that sell hemp products, for
13:16
example, would see their
13:17
registration fees increase from $150
13:20
per location each year to
13:22
$20,000 per location.
13:25
Proposed fees don't
13:27
regulate small businesses, they
13:29
eliminate them.
13:29
Estella Castro is the owner of the
13:31
hemp store Austin Cannabis Company.
13:33
She testified at a state hearing on
13:35
the new rules.
13:36
After six years of me operating
13:38
legally, creating jobs,
13:40
contributing to the Texas economy,
13:43
this proposal would force
13:45
me to close, despite of
13:47
doing everything right.
13:48
Under Texas law, hemp is
13:50
defined as cannabis containing
13:52
no more than 0.3%
13:55
delta-9 THC.
13:57
Delta-9 is the primary psychoactive
13:59
compound in marijuana.
14:00
That definition of hemp was adopted
14:02
by state lawmakers in 2019,
14:04
and closely mirrored federal
14:06
legislation past the year before.
14:08
But neither state nor federal law
14:10
banned something called THCA.
14:13
That's a naturally occurring
14:14
cannabis compound that converts into
14:16
delta-nine when it's or smoke.
14:18
So the proposed regulations would
14:20
include THCA amounts
14:22
in the calculation of Delta-9
14:24
levels, and that change would
14:26
effectively outlaw smokable hemp
14:28
products.
14:29
Jason Neeson with the San
14:30
Antonio-based hemp business Reggie&
14:32
Drow accused commissioners of
14:34
exceeding their authority by
14:35
attempting to rewrite state law.
14:37
The rule does not regulate the hemp
14:39
market.
14:40
It eliminates it.
14:41
By counting THCA prior
14:43
to heat, you are banning
14:45
products the legislator legalized in
14:47
House Bill 1325.
14:49
A few of those testifying on the new
14:51
hemp rules said they don't go far
14:53
enough. Dr. Lindy McGee is
14:55
a Houston pediatrician who spoke to
14:56
commissioners on behalf of the Texas
14:58
Medical Association and the Texas
15:00
Pediatric Society.
15:01
She called for stricter labeling
15:02
requirements, including statements
15:04
that warn THC can be habit-forming
15:06
and take more than two hours
15:08
to kick in.
15:09
This should be easily recognizable
15:11
and large enough for a grandparent
15:12
who is babysitting to be able
15:14
to tell that the gummies are edibles
15:16
and not something they should be
15:18
giving their grandkids.
15:20
That's another thing we see in the
15:21
emergency department.
15:22
Christine Scruggs is an anti-THC
15:24
activist who said her son developed
15:26
psychosis from cannabis use and
15:28
required medical treatment to
15:29
recover.
15:30
She wants hemp products banned
15:31
entirely.
15:32
Thank you for increasing license
15:34
fees. The more difficult it is for
15:35
the industry to addict users, the
15:37
better.
15:38
Age limit should be higher than 25.
15:40
I ask you to let the truth guide
15:42
you on what is healthy and
15:44
safe for Texans of all ages.
15:46
State health officials can still
15:47
revise the rules based on public
15:49
feedback.
15:50
The regulations could take effect as
15:52
soon as January 25th.
15:54
I'm Nathan Bernier in Austin.
16:02
Many school districts in the area
16:03
are getting back in the swing of
16:05
things, and that includes the Austin
16:06
Independent School District.
16:08
2025 was quite an eventful year for
16:10
AISD.
16:11
The district plans to shutter
16:12
multiple campuses over the summer
16:14
before the next school year.
16:16
Acacia Coronado is the education
16:18
reporter for The Austin Current,
16:20
a collaborator here with Austin
16:22
Signal and a partner with KUT's
16:24
newsroom in covering the city.
16:25
She's with us now to take us through
16:27
what's happened and what is in store
16:29
for AISD.
16:30
Howdy, thanks for coming on the
16:31
show.
16:31
Thank you for having me.
16:32
So let's start first by
16:34
reminding folks out there, why is
16:36
AISD closing these schools in the
16:37
first place?
16:39
So the closures come as
16:41
a result of a combination of
16:43
the state taking kind of a closer
16:45
look at the school district and
16:47
also financial issues that
16:49
the district came into this year's
16:50
budget with.
16:51
They came in with about a
16:53
close to 20 million dollar deficit
16:55
that they are trying to
16:57
bridge. So right
16:59
now this comes as a result
17:01
of both financial pressures and
17:03
also the state taking a
17:05
closer look at the district.
17:06
And there were a few versions of
17:08
which schools were slated to be
17:09
closed. We've been covering that
17:10
here at KUT and on the Austin
17:12
Signal.
17:13
Can we go back to that list?
17:14
How many schools are going to be
17:15
close? Which are they?
17:17
Originally, there was 13
17:19
schools listed to be closed.
17:21
Currently, they have voted
17:23
on closing 10 campuses,
17:25
11 schools in total.
17:28
So three schools got taken off
17:30
the list in late November
17:32
before the vote was taken.
17:34
And those schools,
17:36
the vote on their closure has
17:38
been delayed.
17:39
Okay, well, you have a couple
17:41
stories out today for Austin
17:43
Current. You report on the closures,
17:44
as we've been talking about.
17:46
You also report on bond money that's
17:48
tied to some of the schools that are
17:49
slated to be closed.
17:51
Which one did you focus on in your
17:52
story?
17:53
So the primary school that we
17:55
focused on was Oak Springs
17:56
Elementary because they
17:59
are a very tangible example
18:01
of bond money that was spent on a
18:03
school that is now slated to be
18:04
closed.
18:05
In total about 48 million
18:07
dollars were either spent or
18:09
committed and are still set to
18:11
be paid to contractors
18:13
as part of the construction
18:15
that was set for
18:17
a new building for Oak
18:18
Springs Elementary.
18:20
We are still unsure
18:22
if that construction will be
18:23
completed and what the future of
18:25
that construction is if it is
18:26
completed, but Oak Springs
18:28
Elementary as it is, is
18:30
currently slated to close.
18:31
And we hear about bonds frequently.
18:34
Can you remind us how specifically
18:35
do school districts use them?
18:38
So school districts petition
18:41
the public for approval
18:43
to spend this bond money
18:45
on things like infrastructure,
18:48
improving technology on campuses,
18:51
building a new campus, fixing
18:53
HVAC systems.
18:54
So it's money that is slated to
18:56
go for the improvement or new
18:58
construction of schools.
19:00
In 2022, voters approved a
19:02
$2.4 billion bond for
19:04
Austin ISD.
19:05
To spend that money on either
19:07
new constructions or improvements
19:10
to existing school buildings.
19:12
There's been a lot of criticism
19:13
about lots of things going on with
19:15
this Austin ISD plan.
19:17
Specifically, I wanted to ask about
19:19
this voter-approved money.
19:20
There's a been a critique from
19:21
taxpayer advocacy groups.
19:23
What have they had to say?
19:25
So one of the advocacy groups
19:27
that we spoke with most
19:30
notably said that the
19:32
taxpayers had approved this money to
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go to these specific students
19:36
in these campuses and
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now with these school closures
19:40
happening the bond
19:42
money that was spent on these
19:44
closing campuses is kind of
19:46
up in the So their
19:47
criticism is that this money
19:49
now as it looks looks
19:52
wasted
19:53
And I know you spoke with the AISD
19:54
school board president, Lynn
19:55
Boswell, about this story, and
19:57
specifically about that point, what
19:59
did she have to say about the bond
20:00
money?
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So in speaking with
20:04
the school board president, I
20:06
learned that a lot of schools were
20:08
slated to get improvements.
20:09
So she said that most
20:11
schools that could have been on
20:13
that list of closures were
20:15
likely schools that had received
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some improvement with bond money.
20:19
Okay, that makes sense.
20:22
So avoiding closing
20:24
schools that had improvements
20:26
done with bond money would have been
20:28
difficult.
20:29
That said, she did
20:31
say that they are hoping
20:33
that the remaining bond money that
20:36
is slotted for some of these closing
20:38
campuses will still go to
20:40
Austin ISD students.
20:41
Okay, so we've heard from taxpayer
20:43
advocacy groups and the school board
20:45
president. I wanted to ask last,
20:47
how are Oak Springs parents feeling
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about this?
20:49
Who have you spoken with?
20:51
So in speaking to some of the
20:52
parents outside of the school
20:54
area, I learned that
20:57
parents were expecting
21:00
to have a new building.
21:01
They were expecting to have any
21:03
school, and they were expecting,
21:05
to have this money go to benefiting
21:06
their students.
21:07
And so the parents that I
21:09
spoke with just feel disillusioned
21:11
that not only will their students
21:13
not benefit from this bond money,
21:14
but they will also no longer have a
21:16
school. They will be reassigned
21:19
to schools in this rounding area.
21:21
Okay, well, is there anything about
21:23
your reporting in these either
21:24
stories that I haven't asked you
21:26
about that you really want us
21:28
to ask you about?
21:29
I think the main sentiment
21:31
that I've gotten from Austin ISD
21:33
families is that they
21:35
feel disillusioned by how
21:37
this money was spent
21:39
on schools that are now
21:41
slotted to close.
21:42
Okay, that is Acacia Coronado,
21:44
education reporter with Austin
21:46
Current, KUT's collaborator
21:48
on Austin Signal, and a
21:50
partner with KUT Newsroom in
21:52
covering the city of Austin.
21:53
Thank you for coming on the show.
21:54
Thank you for having me.
21:57
And that is it for
21:59
today's show.
22:00
Thank you to Andrew Weber,
22:02
Mose Buchele, Nathan Bernier,
22:04
and Acacia Coronado for making
22:06
it a reality.
22:08
Kristin Cabrera is our managing
22:09
producer, and Rayna Sevilla is
22:12
our technical director.
22:13
I'm your host, Jerry Quijano.
22:15
We will be back with you tomorrow.
22:17
Talk to you then.