Migrant apprehensions drop to 2021 levels
The number of migrants apprehended by federal officers in June was at its lowest level in more than three years, according to figures released by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and reported by The Texas Tribune.Border Patrol agents apprehended 83,356 migrants in June across the southern border, down from 117,901 in May and the lowest since January 2021, the month President Joe Biden took office.
“Recent border security measures have made a meaningful impact on our ability to impose consequences for those crossing unlawfully,” acting CBP Commissioner Troy A. Miller said in a statement. “We are continuing to work with international partners to go after transnational criminal organizations that traffic in chaos and prioritize profit over human lives.”
Biden issued an executive order, effective June 5, that essentially ended granting asylum to migrants.
Gov. Greg Abbott in previous statements has credited the state’s multibillion-dollar mission, Operation Lone Star, for the decline in migrant apprehensions, The Tribune reported.
Feds OK SNAP hot- food purchases in Beryl-affected counties
Federal food assistance recipients in 36 counties affected by Hurricane Beryl can use their benefits to buy hot foods and ready-to-eat meals, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission announced last week.
The approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture applies to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients in Angelina, Austin, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Hardin, Harris, Houston, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Lavaca, Liberty, Madison, Matagorda, Montgomery, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Polk, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Trinity, Tyler, Victoria, Walker, Waller, and Wharton counties.
“The ability to purchase hot food is a necessity for SNAP recipients who are still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Beryl,” said HHSC Deputy Executive Commissioner of Access and Eligibility Services Molly Regan. “Many families still cannot prepare meals due to power outages.
No action is required of SNAP recipients to receive this additional benefit. To find local resources, such as food and shelter, dial 211 and select Option 1.
Experts: Power outages likely to continue
Experts say widespread outages such as that caused in July by Hurricane Beryl, and in recent years by other weather-related events, are likely to continue in the future because the state’s massive power grid is unprepared for severe weather events, The Tribune reported.
The state had 210 weatherrelated power outages from 2000 to 2023, according to data from the U.S. Department of Energy — more than any other state. In July, Beryl knocked out power to 2.6 million customers in Southeast Texas. That came on the heels of a mid-May windstorm, known as a derecho, that hit the Houston area with 100-mile-per-hour winds and knocked out power to 1 million customers.
“It’s like the big, bad wolf: huff and puff and blow the house down,” said Michael Webber, an energy resources professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “And I don’t think any utility or city designs for weather like that, at least not weather that frequent.”
The state’s stand-alone power grid will need decades of public investment in order to make it more resilient against storms, which down poles and power lines across Texas.
“The current distribution infrastructure isn’t adequate apparently for the job at hand,” Michael Skelly, CEO of Grid United, said. “What level of reliability do we want to try to get to and what are we prepared to invest?”
Both CenterPoint and Oncor have proposed investing billions to strengthen poles and wires, and install underground wires, but that will likely come at a cost to consumers.
“Ultimately, the bill is going to get loaded onto the backs of the customers, whether or not they were pleased with how [the power outage] was handled,” Sandra Haverlah, president of the Texas Consumer Association, said.
Gary Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress. com.