Attempts to undermine church-state separation in Texas reached a crescendo in 2023, writes nonresident scholar David R. Brockman. In this paper, he explores how three high-profile bills introduced during the state’s 88th legislative session threatened to tear down the wall between church and state.
Six years after Hurricane Harvey deluged the Texas Gulf Coast, how exposed are Houston and Harris County to flooding risk? Jim Blackburn and Jennifer Borski examine key challenges and changes needed going forward.
Some court losses turn into wins. This paper explores two Texas coast cases with wider environmental implications for any community concerned about flood control, water recycling or endangered species.
Among the U.S. citizens migrating to Mexico in recent years are an unknown number of Americans who married Mexican citizens and were co-deported or departed voluntarily with their undocumented spouses, the authors report. Without improved consular services and a diaspora policy that anticipates the likely return of these Americans in the future, the authors worry that the United States risks re-inheriting a sizable U.S. population that may well require critical government services to reintegrate after a prolonged period abroad.
The authors explore the costs and benefits of a legalization program, contending that to realize the full benefits of comprehensive immigration reform and deter future unauthorized immigration, a broad and inclusive legalization program is needed.
Texas social studies curriculum standards do not give public school students the balanced coverage of religion they need to function effectively in an increasingly diverse society, contends the author. His comparison of equivalent curriculum standards in five culturally similar states identifies lessons Texas can learn from its counterparts.
On May 28, the Biden administration announced plans to speed up immigrant court cases — a bid to limit backlogs and extremely long waits for cases to be heard. The Center for the United States and Mexico wrote about this problem in its April 2021 recommendations for an "effective, nimble and fair” immigration court system.
Jim Blackburn, co-director of Rice’s SSPEED Center and a Baker Institute Rice faculty scholar, examines what the city of Houston has done to prepare for flooding and other extreme weather events brought about by climate change since Hurricane Harvey struck Houston more than three years ago.
Nonresident scholar David R. Brockman examines the role of Christian nationalism in Texas state officials' response to the COVID-19 pandemic between March and July 2020.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25613/q0td-0989
