From KPRC 2. This is
Houston newsmakers with khambrel Marshall.
So, what’s going on in this country, the political battles are all over
the place from the border and immigration with a big showdown
in the works. For the next week
to the State Senate. Voting to Grant the authority to overturn Harris County
elections, if conditions warrant
and there’s a lot going on. And then there’s a debt ceiling debate,
which party will be responsible if the country defaults on its debt
and
there’s much more. How can we sort it all out? Well, we’ve got some very good
help this morning,
dr. Mark, Jones, political science fellow at the
baker Institute for public policy at Rice University
doctor.
Atomo Cortina
University of Houston population, Health director of Faculty research
initiatives.
Also associate professor in the department of political science. Good morning to both
of you.
We have a lot to talk about. We got 23 hours to do it.
We need that much, right? I don’t have that much.
Hey,
immigration policy,
this whole thing
title 42 was it needed and now that it’s ending,
what does it mean for immigration policy? You first what was never really needed
maybe at a small point in time, but it was really designed by the Trump
Administration.
Stration to be able to deport people who otherwise would
have been eligible to
request Asylum and remain in the United States. While their Asylum
claims are being processed
Biden, was under pressure initially to get rid of it. Since it was a
trump error policy, but since he found it also convenient to use,
he’s kept it for a while but he’s pretty much used as long as he can,
it’s going to fade away now
and
You’re going to see more immigrants coming to the United States now because they know
that
once they cross over request, political asylum in about 3/4
of the cases, they’ll get it. And then that gives them the ability to stay here
and work and live
for somewhere between
two and five years was 42 necessary. Do you think?
Well, I mean, it was it’s
necessary. If you look at it from a public health perspective
was it really really necessary. Well,
that’s debatable. Right?
But the point now is that the violin ministration has been
preparing itself
to enact title light and title, ladies expedited
removal.
So with expedited removal what happens
along the lines. What Mark is saying, is
if there is a credible threat, then you go through the
whole,
you know, formal process of a hearing.
If there is no credible threat, then you’re going to be deported immediately
Mexico.
Just signed a new
agreement with the United States in terms of receiving
more people that are going to be get
deported through title late.
And in the meantime since 2022 2023, we
have seen that title A deportations, according to CB P
data, have increased surpassing the numbers
that title 42 expedite
removals have been taken. So we see that change and
obviously we see that the Machinery is working and
in addition they’re going to send more resources to the borders. So that
being the case is the immigration policy
as it’s going to be the you see it as being effective or
is there.
Such thing as an effective immigration policy in this country or in
the future in this country as you see it. Well, there could be
if we had
a bipartisan immigration reform but that’s unlikely
to ever be passed as the result is. We’re stuck with an asylum
policy that’s not made for the massive number of people who are coming
to request Asylum,
it was more designed for the error where people were
fleeing political persecution, in the Soviet Union or
Cuba and small numbers.
It’s not geared up to be able to handle
200,000 people from out.
Salvador 300,000 from Honduras, 500,000
from Guatemala in Haiti, requesting political Asylum.
Because if you go through the process, the way it’s supposed to be
used and effectively follow the rules, even
under expert, if you expedite and try to kick out a few more people who don’t
pass the
barrier, it’s still a low enough borrow that you’re going to have to give
people their day in court and our system simply can’t handle that. So,
the politics promised to get worse,
Governor Abbott is continuing to sin migrants by bus to other cities.
Florida,
Governor DeSantis recent got the legislature to give him
12 million dollars to do the very same thing.
So
the escalation doesn’t seem anywhere in sight. Is there any
opportunity that you see down the road for any
part
by part of you know you’re shaking your head? No
absolutely not. I mean
it’s what Mark says right? We haven’t got a serious
immigration
reform, whether it’s
piecemeal comprehensive whatever you want to call it.
And the problem is these issue of polar
Asian
so parties cannot sit down at the table, and
really these cause of policy options because
immigration policy is a regional phenomenon, right?
You cannot just control it.
You have to manage immigration policy
and what Mark said is our immigration policies are completely
outdated,
right to reflect, what’s going on in the world, what’s going on in Latin, America
and other countries?
And the problem is also that immigration policy provides you
with enough political capital on both sides of
Of the aisle to highlight certain issues.
So, the status quo provides incentives
to both political parties to say, you know what, we’re
going to wait a little bit because these helps me with
my constituents and the other political party says the same.
So it’s outdated. They are policy is outdated and our elected
officials are sent to office to try to fix those kinds of things.
And what you’re saying is basically they’re just going to do this in point
the other guy. Okay yeah, no hope in the future that hold on,
Sure. So we’ll say
thank you for this opportunity.
Hey, State Legislature coming to an end of its session soon. I want your opinion on
a couple of things here. One of the most recent Senate bills passed
allows gives them a chance to overturn
the election in Harris County. The secretary of state will be able to do that.
If they think there’s something
wrong there, irregularities
how unprecedented is it for something like this to happen?
And does it look like it’s only a Harris County issue that’s being
taken on by
some of those leaders of state-level? Yeah, this is
Really directed at Harris County
for a couple of reasons. One, its, the largest county it’s a blue
County
and its elected officials have consistently, sort
of poke, the Bear in Austin,
which makes them different from. Say, the Democrats Who Run Dallas County
and the City of Dallas or Bexar County in the city of San Antonio.
They
also, while poking the bear
have screwed up their past two elections and a pretty
egregious way
unlike the other two hundred and fifty Three Counties. So they put a Target on their back
there.
Result is that
Republicans in Austin are adopting this nuclear option. I don’t
think they would ever want this
Secretary of State to actually overturn elections.
So what they’re saying is,
if you don’t handle your own problems in Houston, if you don’t, make
sure that every ballot plays has paper ballots, at least within
an hour,
then you run this risk,
I don’t think they have any desire actually though to get into the process of trying
to overturn election results because that would be a
constitutional
legal and political nightmare. So, but I remember when they put
a law in the place 24h
SD and they said, well, we don’t really want to take over HISD,
but
but that’s what happened here. So I don’t know if I’m as
optimistic as you are. That they won’t do anything there, but obviously once
it becomes law, once it becomes the, the law of the state,
you know,
they will have the prerogative to do whatever. They see best,
whether it has political consequences, legal consequence,
of course, is going to have those things, but it’s going to be on the books
and the possibility exists.
And you know the issues whether paper ballots were
In whether these weather that,
you know, that’s
a different discussion, right?
But they can find or someone can find
saying that, you know, they didn’t like the shade of the
trees on a pole location and therefore,
X Y or Z.
So it has write that potential and I think it’s
opening
the door for, you know,
basically taking the will of the people one way
or the other
and just completely change it. Elections are
going to have always
As are going to have problems, right? Because elections are run by humans
and we’re going
we’re going to have those problems. Whether
the problems that we have changed the will of the
people. Well, that’s a different discussion.
Well, we’re going to talk more, you’re going to say, oh yeah, I think
the law says that if
paper ballots are not provided it within an hour, if they’re like
absent for a more than 2% of the polling places,
then you can then the secretary state has the prerogative to overturn the election.
I
think, as long as Harris County make sure that their ballots
There.
And in the end of the day, Harris County also has to reform. It’s pretty ridiculous.
Election day voting sister system
with 782 voting sites. We don’t need that many
of the ratcheted that down and organized it more effectively
had paper. The site’s, I think they won’t come into any problems
with the Secretary of State. I don’t even,
like I said, I don’t think the Republicans would be want to be put in the position of overturning,
the will of Voters in Harris County.
All right. Well, from
from your mouth to
the election guys,
more with you guys in a minute, we’re going to talk about the mayor.