New DHS Secretary Praises Controversial Anti-Sanctuary City Law in Texas: Your Texas Roundup

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Be afraid, @tedcruz. Be very afraid.”

—Former San Antonio mayor and Obama administration cabinet member Julián Castro in a tweet. Castro issued the warning after Democrat Doug Jones defeated Republican Roy Moore in the Alabama gubernatorial election on Tuesday. It’s the first time a Democrat has won a Senate seat in Alabama since 1992.

BIG NEWS

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Kirstjen Nielsen speaks during a nomination announcement at the East Room of the White House on October 12, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Trump has nominated Nielsen to be the next homeland security secretary.Alex Wong/Getty

High Praise
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was only confirmed to her post by the Senate a week ago, but she wasted no time getting to Texas, where she praised Senate Bill 4, the state’s controversial law targeting sanctuary cities, on Monday. In Austin, Nielsen lauded Texas for taking what she called a “firm stand against dangerous and destructive sanctuary cities,” according to the Associated Press. “I hope other states follow this lead,” she said, calling for the elimination of a “shadow society outside the rule of law.” As the AP notes, by coming to Texas to discuss sanctuary cities so soon after taking her post, Nielsen pledged her commitment to Trump’s immigration agenda. Nielsen even called out Austin itself, where Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez has publicly resisted SB 4 compliance. Nielsen called Austin “a city whose political leadership has at times fought SB 4,” and urged Congress to deny “certain grants and funding” to communities nationwide that don’t have anti-sanctuary city policies. “It is quite simple to me,” she said. “If these sanctuary states and cities do not want to protect their citizens by upholding federal law, then they are not entitled to the federal government’s money.”

MEANWHILE, IN TEXAS

Return of the Mack
“Mattress Mack” is back at it. Houston’s benevolent bed salesman (also known as Jim McIngvale) has made headlines since Hurricane Harvey for his charity work helping victims of the storm. He’s kept up the do-gooding, this time turning his attention to parts of California that have been devastated by recent wildfires. McIngvale shipped more than sixty mattresses over the weekend to horse trainers and workers in San Diego County, where at least thirty elite thoroughbred race horses have perished in the wildfires, according to KPRC. McIngvale previously owned thirty horses at San Luis Rey Downs in Southern California, which was recently evacuated. “They opened the stall doors and let them all out. They all ran down the track, ran around the track, and then came back to their stalls. They, like, committed suicide. So it was horrible,” McIngvale told KPRC. More than two dozen horses died, while hundreds of others and their keepers were forced to quickly relocate. “All of the track people that live in the track that take care of the animals moved to Del Mar. So they needed mattresses so I called our Sealy guy and we got them mattresses,” McIngvale said. “We delivered like sixty mattresses on Saturday and we’re going to deliver another fifty or sixty tomorrow. I’m a big animal fan. I love race horses, love the grooms who take care of those horses, the least I can do.”

Disturbing Allegations
A month after a woman detained in the T. Don Hutto immigration detention center in Williamson County alleged that a guard sexually assaulted her, the FBI is officially investigating the complaint, according to the Associated Press. According to immigrant advocacy group Grassroots Leadership, Laura Monterrosa said a guard repeatedly touched her breasts and legs without consent at the women’s federal detention facility. The group says Monterrosa’s complaints were ignored by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and by facility operator CoreCivic, formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America. After Monterrosa first alleged the sexual assault in November, two more women said they were sexually assaulted by guards at the facility. As of last week, Monterrosa was still being held at the detention center.

Back In
San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard returned to action on Tuesday after missing the entire start of the NBA season to an injury. He didn’t play much, taking the court for just sixteen minutes before heading to the bench for good in the third quarter, but he looked sharp in limited action, scoring thirteen points on 6-0f-12 shooting while adding six rebounds, a block, and a steal. Even though the Spurs lost to the Mavs, it’s a good sign for the team to have the face of the franchise playing again after sitting out all of the preseason and missing the team’s first 27 games while recovering from right quadriceps tendinopathy. “I thought he was wonderful,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after the game, according to ESPN. “He’s trying to get some rust off and that kind of thing. Obviously, he’s confident. He’s a heck of a player, and it was really frustrating for him to just start getting loose and have to come off the court.” The team took him out early to give him a jump start on his recovery process, and he’ll probably be on a minutes restriction for the near future as he works his way back to full strength.