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The Austin Police Department is changing its rules over how officers report people to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The change comes after the detention and apparent deportation last week of a Honduran mother and her 5-year-old daughter.
We’ll go over the changes and the reaction from Austin City Council members.
And Austin voters could once again be faced with deciding whether to raise property taxes to help the city tackle expenses like park improvements and public safety. KUT’s city council reporter will have more on that.
Austin Poet Laureate Zell Miller talks about his new theatre program. It’s first production? A hip-hop rendition of Aesop’s fables.
Plus, KUTX hip-hop show “The Breaks” is up for a Best Radio Show award in the Austin Music Awards Poll. We hear about how they’d like to continue growing their show.
The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:09] The Austin Police Department is changing its roles over how officers report people to immigration and customs enforcement. The change comes after the detention and apparent deportation last week of a Honduran mother and her five-year-old daughter. We’re going to talk about the changes in APD policy and the reaction from Austin city council members, and Austin voters could be soon faced again with deciding whether to raise property taxes to help the city tackle expenses like park improvements and public safety. We’re going to have more about considerations for a new bond package coming up on today’s show.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:41] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:46] Plus, the KUTX hip-hop show The Breaks is up for a Best Radio Show award in the Austin Music Awards poll. Come hear about how they’d like to continue growing their show. That’s up next on Austin Signal. Howdy, you are tuned in to Austin Signal. It is Thursday, January 15th. I’m your host, Jerry Kehannel. Thank you for making us part of your day. A quick update from the KUT newsroom to start us off today. Austin voters this fall could once again decide whether or not to raise property taxes. City leaders are considering putting a bond package on the ballot after voters rejected a property tax rate increase last year known as Proposition Q. We’ve got more about that coming up in today’s show. We’re two months out from the South by Southwest takeover of Austin But the Sydney edition of South by is not happening this year Festival organizers announced this week that the decision was made in light of a quote changing global environment That’s impacting events and cultural programs around the world. This would have been the fourth year South by took place in Australia We’ve got lots more news for you. That’s on the KUT app and online at KUT Let’s jump into today’s show. The Austin Police Department is changing its rules over how officers can report people to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And the change comes after the detention and apparent deportation of a Honduran mother and her five-year-old daughter. For more about this story, we’re talking with Mo’s Bouchel. He’s been covering it for the Texas Newsroom. Mo’s, thanks for joining the show. Hey, Jerry. So this has been a fast-moving situation. We actually had you on the show Monday talking about this case of the Honduran mother and her daughter. Listeners can go back to listen to that episode. But can you give us a brief rundown for people who might not have been tuned in on Monday of what occurred in this case?
Mose Buchele [00:02:42] So last week, a woman called Austin Police Department on a disturbance call, it was Monday of last week now, so over a week ago, APD showed up and ran the caller, this woman’s information in a database that police have when they do background checks. That flagged what they call an ICE administrative warrant. ICE had flagged her as potentially being in the country, you know, without authorization. The police officer then called ICE, ICE arrived and detained her and her daughter, who was an American citizen, according to the other family members and advocates. And now the advocates say both of them were deported. That’s the backstory. That’s what has happened to now kind of spark this whole debate over police policy.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:31] And can you tell us about the change in police policy?
Mose Buchele [00:03:34] So the idea is that in Texas, state law prohibits cities from stopping local officers from communicating with ICE. It’s called SB4. This is a state law that was passed in 2017. But Austin and many other large cities in Texas do not want to turn their local law enforcement into agents of federal immigration enforcement. They say it’s bad policy that it that it disrupts the, you know, trying to stop crime in the city.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:04] Something you’ve talked about with us here on the show absolutely
Mose Buchele [00:04:06] Absolutely. And also kind of ruins trust among immigrant communities. So Austin’s kind of between a rock and a hard place here. State law says you can’t stop police from cooperating to some degree with ICE, but the city doesn’t want to do that. What this incident with the mother and her daughter showed was that police are seeing these administrative warrants come up in background checks and officers are contacting ICE. So, Austin Police. To decide we need to update our city policy. All right, you know, we need a look at state law and advise officers about what they can do. And I interviewed the police chief earlier this week and what she said was that state law is relatively clear. She said that she cannot, she said that officers have the discretion. They can call ICE when they find these warrants and that they’re going to update city policy to let police officers know that they can contact ICE. She can’t stop them from doing that. She also said other things. She said that she’s going to have it so they have, they first call their shift commanders before they contact ICE. Other things like that we can get into. But what she said was, was she said, law is clear on this. She had been advised by the city legal that she can’t stop officers from calling ICE on these administrative warrants. And so that was the, that was a story that we ran earlier this week about this, this policy change
Jerry Quijano [00:05:24] We broke this news yesterday and almost immediately there was response from various city council members. What has been the reaction? What are they saying about this policy?
Mose Buchele [00:05:33] So, yeah, very soon after we came out with the story, city council members took to social media saying that they were upset, that there may be this kind of greater discretion or leeway for officers to talk to ICE. Some of them suggested that the story would, basically that our reporting was different from what they had heard from the chief of police. Or from the city legal team uh… And that they were confident that some that somehow the city could thread this needle to be able to assure people that they won’t be reported ice while staying on the right side of state law which says at basically that they can’t do that and that’s where we are now we’re in this kind of big debate in public discourse over what’s what uh… Our city can’t and can’t deal in light of state law when it comes to immigration enforcement.
Jerry Quijano [00:06:25] Okay well last question for you, I know you also asked the city’s legal department for a response to this story, what have you heard from them?
Mose Buchele [00:06:31] Uh… So city legal did it this morning uh… It was in the session the city can the city this morning uh… Gave us the memo is produced by the city legal staff these are public members are also private ones that are that are subject to its attorney-client privilege that we can’t see but the public memos at as as far as my initial read appear to echo what the chief said uh… The public memo say the city is in a tough position and and really cannot cannot unilaterally stop, well certainly cannot stop officers. From reaching out to ICE enforcement when they see one of these warrants.
Jerry Quijano [00:07:05] Okay, well, we have more about this story at kut.org again This this is a case of the hundred mother and her five-year-old daughter happened last week We brought the story to you on Monday and there’s been lots of changes since then So there could be lots more to be reported on and when that happens We will bring Moe’s Bouchelle and he has been covering the story for the Texas newsroom We’re gonna have a link to the story at KUT org slash signal and in our podcast show notes most. Thank you Thank You Jerry Austin voters could once again be faced with deciding whether to raise property taxes to help the city tackle expenses like public safety and park improvements. As KUT’s Luz Moreno Lozano reports, the City Council is considering a new bond package.
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:07:55] If Austin leaders put a bond on the ballot this November, it would be the second time in a year they’d go to voters for financial help. Last year, Austinites rejected a controversial property tax rate increase known as Proposition Q. Without that extra money, the city was forced to cut $95 million from its budget. Councilmember Krista Lane fears it might be too soon to ask voters for more money.
Krista Lane [00:08:17] What we need to do as a city is we need to not just talk about, but deliver savings that come from increased efficiencies that allow us to fund our priorities. And also the work has been ongoing, but our voters, it’s not enough for them to hear us say that. They have to see it begin to happen.
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:08:35] Over the next several months, the Austin City Council will weigh whether to put this bond before voters and how much to ask for. An initial list outlines nearly $4 billion in potential projects. Those include addressing space constraints at Austin Animal Services, expanding library branches, and renovating public safety facilities. The redesign of the Sixth Street Entertainment District, parkland improvements, and emergency homeless shelters could also be part of the deal. But that list will have to be whittled down. City staff are recommending a bond package totaling no more than $750 million to minimize the impact on taxpayers. Kim Olivares, Austin’s financial services director, says the average homeowner pays about $450 a year in taxes toward the city’s debt, and a new bond would add to that tax burden.
Kim Olivares [00:09:22] But at this current rate, it’s about $14.34 for every $100 million of debt that you issue. That impacts the taxpayer on an annual basis.
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:09:33] Discussions of a potential bond, comments, residents, and advocates have raised concerns about the city’s spending. The Austin City Council is coming up with a decision-making process to ensure the money would be spent efficiently. Olivares says the city should also consider how bond elections fared across Texas this past November.
Kim Olivares [00:09:49] In November 2025, there were 14 cities that held bond elections of the $852.7 million proposed to voters, only 30% of it was ultimately approved.
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:10:02] City staff will continue to gather feedback as they develop the bond package over the next several weeks. The City Council is expected to get a final recommendation on projects and the total cost of the bond in August. I’m Luz Moreno-Luzano in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:10:20] Thank you for spending part of your Thursday here with Austin Signal on KUT News 90.5. On the KUT app and online at KUT.org. Don’t forget to subscribe to Austin Signal wherever you listen to your shows and you can find everything that we’ve been working on at Kut.org slash Signal. We’re going to take a break but after that we’re going hear from the Austin Poet Laureate and we’re gonna talk to the hosts of the breaks. Are up for. The best radio show award in the Austin Music Awards poll. That’s coming up next.
Zell Miller III [00:11:05] Hi, my name is Zell Miller III. I am the Artistic Director of Black Rose Theater ATX, and this is Austin Sigma. I am the inaugural poet laureate of Austin, Texas, which is very cool to be the first. So I am now a Jeopardy Question, which I’m also, you know, that’s awesome. And so I’ve been performing, doing things in Austin probably for 30 years. 26 of those have been as a theater artist and 24, 25 of those has been as teaching artists. I’m starting a theater company called Black Rose Theater ATX and the reason it is called Black Rose theater ATX is because my mother who passed away, Rest in Power, Vernell, she had a black rose tattoo on her ankle. So this is in honor of her. But I’ve been a theater artist for like I said, 20 something years. And so, a friend of mine, Andrew Levesque, very brilliant young man, he has been a fan of my work. And so one day he was just like, Hey man, let’s let’s do a nonprofit. I’ll be the board president. You get some people, and let’s make this happen. Let’s continue to push what you’re doing with theater into the stratosphere. And so this was the year that I decided that I’m gonna step out and be a nonprofit. There is no one doing Black Children’s Theater Voices in the city of Austin, Texas on a consistent basis. So we aim to change that. So we’re gonna do full service. We’re gonna have theater for children ages five to 12. We’re going to have productions for youth, which everybody ignores. So we’re going work with that group as well, do productions for them. And then, of course, we’ll be doing adult productions as well. I practice my theater art in something called the jazz esthetic, which was taught to me by my mentor, Laurie Carlos, Rest in Power. Jazz esthetic is a way of kind of destroying that idea of what theater looks like from a western perspective. And we use a lot of gesture language because we talk with our hands, I’m doing it right now. But we talk our hands and we kind of, we’re very expressive people. So the jazz study basically takes that and puts it on stage. So there could be. Someone’s saying a monolog and they could be moving their hands and doing different things to accent that monolog. And their hand gestures might not go along with what’s being said out of their mouth. And while that’s happening, two people could be doing movement across the stage. So Western theater is like A person, A I’m talking, no one does anything. B responds. But jazz esthetic, there’s a lot of different things going on. So it kind of forces the audience to take in theater in a different perspective. That’s the way I’ve been working for the last 15 years and that’s the only way that I know how to work. So I’m excited that when we start doing our camps, we’ll be teaching youth how to work in the jazz esthetic as well. The first production is going to be a hip hop version of Aesop Fables. My name is Zelma the Third. I am the Artistic Director of Black Rose Theater ATX and Austin’s inaugural poet, L’Orient. And you are listening to Austin’s Signal.
Jerry Quijano [00:14:23] You can find out more about Zell and his story at KUT.org. And if you’re interested in more artsy things, we’ve got more arts coverage, plus a list of recommendations of what’s going on around town this weekend. That is at K-U-T.org slash art beat. Voting ends in the Austin Music Awards poll on Monday and our good friends over at KUTX are up for a bunch of awards We’re gonna include a link for you to cast your ballot in our show notes But those KUTx nominations include Best Radio Station, Best Radio Personality for Taylor Wallace and Mark Fort and Best Radio Show for The Breaks with Confucius Jones and Fresh Night. They’re joining us on Austin Signal today fellas Thank you for your time Thank you for having us, man. So congrats on your nomination. For our listeners who might not be familiar with your show, how long have y’all been hosting it and how long y’al known each other?
Fresh Knight [00:15:27] Uh, we just made nine years, uh, last week.
Jerry Quijano [00:15:32] Oh, no, of the show. Oh, man.
Fresh Knight [00:15:33] We just made 9 years of The Breaks being in existence last week on the 7th. We started January 7th, 2017.
Jerry Quijano [00:15:41] So the breaks existed before KUTX then? Uh, no, but… Oh, it’s been on KUTx since 2017? Yes. Holy moly, okay, wow, time really flies. Okay, so how long have y’all known each other? Because if you listen to the show, you guys have a great rapport. As far as I know, you’re the only tag team hosting show that we have on Kut or KUT-X. So, you know, what’s the secret to your success? How long have you all known each others, first and foremost?
Confucius Jones [00:16:04] Well, we met each other during the breaks, uh, I knew before that, uh we probably met around my oldest son is 13, he’ll be 14, so we probably meet 15 years ago.
Fresh Knight [00:16:16] Yeah, that sounded about right.
Confucius Jones [00:16:17] He was at school at Prairie View blogging and I was trying to manage an artist.
Fresh Knight [00:16:22] And DJ. He was, he was being tagged to me as the great Confucius Jones.
Confucius Jones [00:16:27] I was? Oh yeah, from the new kid. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was DJ, I was doing mixtapes. And so we just, our worlds came together and he would help me with artists and and then, you know, I couldn’t, I could do the artist thing anymore. We tried to go into podcasts, which we did. We did pretty well at podcasts. We had those damn combo guys, which is still active. We just don’t do it as much anymore.
Jerry Quijano [00:16:46] We don’t have the time yeah because you say pretty busy doing the breaks right exactly and you are also radio personalities 4k UTX in addition
Confucius Jones [00:16:55] Yes. So it’s kind of hard to, it’s like our side project. We’ll get back to it at some point, but and then from there we just started doing radio. Just felt like a natural progression. We felt like we did a lot in podcasting and we said let’s do radio and then led to the break.
Jerry Quijano [00:17:08] And Fresh, you’re born and raised Austinite? Yes, we both are. You both are, okay, that was my next question. So you all have been pretty steeped in the hip hop scene basically since you’ve been born. I will say basically since I’ve been bored. How long would you say that?
Fresh Knight [00:17:24] The last two decades, I would say. Roughly the last few decades.
Confucius Jones [00:17:28] It’s got to be at least three for me now to think about it. Yeah, because I was bootlegging CDs in middle school and I was like 98. Selling mixtapes then.
Jerry Quijano [00:17:38] So how have you all seen the the hip-hop the local scene grow in your time in your three decades in your two decades?
Confucius Jones [00:17:44] I’ve seen it grow a lot, you know, we felt growing up like hip hop was more like a niche thing, like you just kind of had to know it or know the right people to find it. And I would say that it’s grown to a place where it’s a lot more accessible. Shows like The Breaks and other shows too on different hip hop shows and different radio stations always highlight what’s going on, so I think that’s the biggest change I’ve ever seen.
Fresh Knight [00:18:05] I would agree. Accessibility to rap has changed greatly in Austin. It’s more, what’s the word I’m looking for, it’s more people are more welcoming to it now. And I guess that attributes to the large amount of transplants that we now have living in the city is that we now live in a time where hip hop is the dominant genre. So people want to hear some form of hip hop and they want to know what is going what though what rap sounds like in this city in particular.
Jerry Quijano [00:18:38] Okay well speaking of that, could you all give us maybe one or two artists that you think maybe kind of embodies what Austin hip hop is about, an artist that you’re excited about these days?
Fresh Knight [00:18:47] Uh, yeah, sure, uh, I would advise people to check out Lynn.
Lynn [00:18:53] Anyway, I got my muscle up. I’m pop out but a waste gotta know I keep it up and some truies always Gotta know I’ll keep it flesh know that
Fresh Knight [00:19:01] L-Y-N-N, originally from Alabama. And I just found out she’s been living here for like the last decade. I was shocked to know that.
Confucius Jones [00:19:10] It’s gonna be like that.
Fresh Knight [00:19:11] But yeah, I would say Lynn, she has a great album out now called entitled 10,000 Hours. And then I would also say Jay Soulja, who has done a lot and just got his own day December 11th, 2025, Jay was pronounced Jay Souljaday. So yeah, I would, I will say those two.
Jerry Quijano [00:19:31] What about you Confucius?
Confucius Jones [00:19:32] I was gonna say those two.
Jerry Quijano [00:19:34] That’s okay. Well, that’s that’s what I think that’s part of the synergy that y’all have you kind of working on one brain sometimes That’s that totally fine. We’re gonna we’ll go with that Jay Soulja and Lynn L Y and N Okay, I have one last question for y’ all you’ve done the show since 2017 as I learned during this interview I know that yall have done the South by Southwest showcase and you’ve taken your show done an interview at ACL as well Did you ever first off? Did you never imagine hosting a hip-hop show on a public radio station? Oh god
Fresh Knight [00:20:05] cool for political science.
Confucius Jones [00:20:06] I didn’t go to school at all. We were just talking about this the other day. We never.
Fresh Knight [00:20:11] This wasn’t the dream.
Confucius Jones [00:20:12] Wasn’t the dream um i 10 years ago i thought i’d be a bigger dj than i am i don’t care but uh
Fresh Knight [00:20:18] 10 years ago, I thought I’d be mayor by now. Really? It’s not too late, but I had been planning on running for mayor by then.
Confucius Jones [00:20:29] Yeah, radio just kind of happened. I always tell people podcasting was like our independent run. And we were like, let’s sign to a major. And we come to KTX and it’s like, maybe we should stay in the dependent on it. We put our great albums here, but the independent stuff was where it was at.
Jerry Quijano [00:20:45] We all have been doing great things regardless. So how would you like to see the show grow in the future? Or what would you do in the feature? How would you see the breaks continue to flourish here in Austin?
Confucius Jones [00:20:56] For me, I want us to start doing more live shows. I think we turn out pretty well. We have a pretty good turnout when we do it. We did a few before COVID, right? And they were at Empire. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They did pretty decent. I want to get back to that. I feel like the best way to grow a brand is to go out amongst the people so they can kind of see the process of it. The magic and how the sausage is made. And also more high profile guests. We get maybe a handful a year, but I’m gonna see that number go up. Okay. So it’s just a matter of us reaching out.
Fresh Knight [00:21:25] Um, what would I like to see the show be?
Confucius Jones [00:21:29] Syndication about that syndication out
Fresh Knight [00:21:32] syndication. If it’s not nationally, at least throughout the state, uh, Texas is pretty big that I think like we could service the rest of the state of Texas, especially with the, uh what’s the word I’m looking for? Um, especially with a way public media has been treated as of late. I think it would, uh behoove KU T X to like get our voices out there a little bit more, man. You know, they brag about it everywhere else. Yeah, they love us, man, so yeah, That’s my ultimate goal.
Jerry Quijano [00:22:02] All right, sweet, well if you know someone somewhere else out in Texas that wants to stream it, let us know. We’ve been chatting with Fresh Night and Confucius Jones. They are hosts of The Breaks Saturday nights on KUTX. They are nominated for best radio show in the Austin Music Awards poll. Voting ends on Monday. Again, we’re gonna have a link in our show notes. Guys, thanks for your time. Thank you.
Jsola [00:22:22] Turned a little to a light, now we at your own top Oh, look at how this changed up on him Look at how I came off on him
Jerry Quijano [00:22:30] And thank you for listening, spending part of your Thursday here with us, that is it for today’s show. This is Austin Signal, and thank you to Moe’s Bouchelle, Luce Moreno Lozano, Fresh Night, and Confucius Jones for helping us out today. Kristin Cabrera is Austin’s Signals managing producer, and Reyna Sevilla is the show’s technical director. I’m your host, Jerry Kehannel. We will talk to you tomorrow. Have a good one out there.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
