The latest John Cornyn news from The Texas Tribune.
In a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and six other Republican senators on the Judiciary Committee say the dismissals of cases against aliens is a result of a directive from ICE Director John T. Morton to staff attorneys ordering them to review and dismiss cases that do not involve Level 1 offenses—aggravated felonies or two or more felonies. Full Story
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Senate Republicans voted unanimously against opening debate for the defense authorization bill this afternoon, a move that blocked the so-called DREAM Act, a controversial immigration measure. Full Story
As anti-immigration sentiment continues to rise along with border violence, proposals to abolish the 14th Amendment’s birthright citizenship provision have ricocheted through the political noise machine as an antidote for the incidence of “anchor babies.” But as a practical matter, what would the removal of birthright citizenship mean for the country? Pierce the fog of rhetoric and you’ll quickly discover that nobody really knows — including the state and federal lawmakers yelling loudest for change. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading. Full Story
Joining her home state Republican colleague, John Cornyn, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison will oppose Elena Kagan's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading. Full Story
Despite grousing from congressmen and state officials in Arizona and Texas — notably Gov. Rick Perry — that the Obama administration has abdicated its role in the protecting the nation's borders from illegal immigration, the Department of Homeland Security’s largest investigative units this year each recorded their highest monthly number of cases referred for prosecution since the Bush administration, according to a report from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. Full Story
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The senator says Kagan has not made clear she would "protect the fundamental rights written in our constitution." Full Story
He may be able to stay on message politically, but Gov. Rick Perry might still have something to learn when it comes to staying on topic on the phone. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading. Full Story
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The battle over Texas' environmental regulations came to a head as the Environmental Protection Agency shot down the state's air-pollution permitting regime for large plants. It's the latest episode in a larger cultural and political fracas pitting Texas against Washington — and business against government — that continues to take center stage in the race for governor. Full Story
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Federal and military officials say Texans needn't worry about 17 Afghan military trainees who disappeared from Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. Many of the Afghans, who were studying English, have been located — and they say none of them pose the national security threat U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and other lawmakers fear. Full Story
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With the parties over, it's back to business for the squabblers. Full Story
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Ted Bundy’s fried hair. Sperm from college campus shooter Wayne Lo. Dirt from the crawl space where John Wayne Gacy stored 26 bodies. All are collectors’ items in the macabre world of murderabilia. The more infamous the killer, the bigger the price tag — at least for now. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and a Houston city official are working to exterminate the industry they say allows murderers and rapists to make money from their crimes. Murderabilia peddlers insist they operate in good taste. “We don't push this into anyone's face,” says the owner of murderauction.com. Full Story
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Since George W. Bush exited the White House, Texas has lost in place at the center of the political universe. But Texas Republicans, who gathered this weekend in Dallas, say there's still plenty here for the rest of the nation to emulate and embrace. Ben Philpott filed this report for KUT News and the Tribune. Full Story
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Physician-owned hospitals, which provide some of the best health care in the nation but have been in danger since health insurance reform passed, are taking their case to court. Full Story
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There was mixed reaction in Texas to the president's remarks yesterday on the response to the Gulf oil spill, which critics have labeled "Obama's Katrina." KUT's Matt Largey reports. Full Story
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U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is pushing hard for the FAA to approve a second aerial drone to surveil the Texas-Mexico border — holding an Obama nominee hostage until Texas gets its way. Full Story
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Calderon and Obama talk immigration and cartels, fun times with the SBOE, Bill White's cheat sheet and the smoking ban that wasn't in San Antonio. Full Story
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The Obama administration's push to pass carbon control legislation got a boost yesterday with the release of a new version of the bill in the U.S. Senate. Here in Texas, as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the state's GOP leadership continues to fight back against what they view as an energy tax bill. Full Story
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