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Demonstrations against ICE continued in Austin this weekend after an officer fatally shot Renee Nicole Good last week in Minnesota. We’ll hear about the activity around town and its aftermath.
We’ll also hear about an Austin mother and her five-year-old daughter who were taken into ICE custody last week after police responded to a disturbance call at their home.
Plus, smokable hemp could be outlawed in Texas by the end of this month. The state’s health agency has proposed new rules that could upend the hemp market in Texas. We’ll delve into the new proposals and how Texans are feeling about the future.
We also take a look at news from our collaborators at Austin Current.
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] Demonstrations against ICE continued in Austin this weekend after an officer fatally shot a woman last week in Minnesota. We’re going to hear about the activity around town and its aftermath, and an Austin mother and her five-year-old daughter were taken into ICE custody last week after police responded to a disturbance call at their home. The circumstances that led to their detention, those stories, and more coming up on today’s show.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:32] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:38] Plus, smokeable hemp could be outlawed in Texas by the end of this month. The state’s health agency has proposed new rules that could upend the hemp market here in Texas, the new proposals, and how Texans are feeling about the future. And news from our collaborators at Austin Current, all that up next, right here on Austin Signal. Howdy out there. This is Austin Signal. It’s Monday, January 12th. Thank you for starting the week off here with us. We’ve got lots for you today, so let’s get right in. Protests against immigration and customs enforcement continued into the weekend after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good. Here in Austin, demonstrators gathered outside the Capitol Friday night, and during the day On Saturday, demonstrators were outside City Hall.
Protest Attendees [00:01:48] Eyes out, no king!
Jerry Quijano [00:01:55] That was Congressman Greg Casar, who joined more than 400 protesters that morning. For more about the weekend’s activity, we are speaking with KUT’s government accountability reporter Andrew Weber, who was on the scene. Andrew, thanks for coming on Austin Signal. Yes, sir. Thank you for having me, Jerry. So, I know there were a few demonstrations going on throughout the weekend. Can you kind of sum up for us how they went, how they played out here in Austin?
Andrew Weber [00:02:18] Yeah, there were a couple, uh, there was one Friday night outside the state capital, there are about 50, 60 people there, uh chanting like for, you know, about an hour and a half. Um, and then on Saturday morning, you, we just heard some tape from that. Uh, it was out, there, was a big gathering about 400, 450 people outside Austin city hall. And, uh yeah, it. A pretty peaceful protest. Like you heard at the top, there a, there’s a brass band there, uh, lots of whistles, lots, of signs, lots of chanting.
Jerry Quijano [00:02:48] Okay, lots of chanting, lots people, lots different voices. Some of the protesters that you spoke to, what did you hear from them?
Andrew Weber [00:02:55] Yeah, I spoke to a handful of folks who were just sort of compelled to come out in light of, of Renee Nicole Good’s death and just sort of push back against the narrative that the Trump administration has put out there, saying that she was a domestic terrorist, saying that, that she was trying to harm ICE agents. Um, and you know, basically folks who are protesting just the presence of ICE in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:21] And we know that you spoke to one woman by the name of Joanna Ford, and we have a little bit of tape from her. Let’s play that right now.
Joanna Ford [00:03:29] What are we doing, you know? It’s just really disheartening and just sad to know what’s going on. You know, I feel like Miss Good, her death is now, I feel, like going to be a catalyst. And if nothing changes after this, then I’m sorry. I feel we’re doomed to become a fascist state.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:53] So there was a demonstration on Saturday in front of Austin City Hall, Austin Congressional Representative Greg Casar was out on the scene. Why did he say he was there? What did he he say to the crowd? He basically
Andrew Weber [00:04:03] said, you know, there isn’t a lot that we can do here in Austin, we meaning the demonstrators, because you know this is probably he sort of guessed this wouldn’t be happening here in Austin. It’s a red state. The Trump administration isn’t going to you know sort of flood the city with ICE patrols in the same way that has happened in Minneapolis. But he did say that you know it’s important that protesters continue to demonstrate when they can while they can.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:34] Okay you also get a little bit of tape from there let’s hear that
Greg Casar [00:04:38] We honor Renee’s memory by living her values, rejecting hate and choosing compassion, turning away from fear and pursuing peace, refusing division and coming together to build a world where we all come home safe to the people we love. Choosing courage, choosing kindness, choosing to look out for one another. That is the world we are fighting for and it is honored to be in that fight alongside each and every one of you in Austin, Texas.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:07] Okay Andrew, you mentioned that it was mostly peaceful out there around town. I did see from your article at KUT.org five people were arrested and later charged that night. What happened there? What are the charges?
Andrew Weber [00:05:18] Yeah, there was a, there’s a protest that was kind of spun up pretty quickly outside the JJ Pickle building and, you know, roughly two dozen folks were, were initially trying to block the street and, uh, in protest outside of that building, uh DPS and APD responded and sort of broke that up. Uh, they, they deployed pepper balls, which was just, you know, basically pepper spray and a little paintball. And four folks were arrested for obstructing a roadway and another person was arrested for interfering with public duties.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:49] And I did have a question, you said DHS was the one who fired the pepper balls? DPS. DPS, okay, I just wanted to verify that bit again. We have more from Andrew’s reporting over at KUT.org. He is KUT’s Government Accountability Reporter, and he’s going to be speaking with us here on The Signal. Andrew, thank you a ton. Well, many eyes are following ICE enforcement operations in Minnesota, just as they had followed operations in Chicago previously and Washington, D.C. Before that. And here in Austin, ICE enforcement has continued. Most recently last week, when a mother and her child were taken into ICE custody after police arrived at their home for a disturbance call. For more about this story, we’re speaking with Mose Buchele. He’s been covering immigration for the Texas newsroom. Mose, glad to have you on. Hi, Jared. So, can you just give us an update? What was the situation here, and when did this take place?
Mose Buchele [00:06:44] So it took place about a week ago, early in the morning, Austin police say they were responding to a domestic disservance call, and police showed up and ran background checks on some of the people involved. This is where the story gets a little bit more unclear, but what police say is that it appeared as though the person who made the call triggered a what they called administrative warrant from ICE. So this is like a warrant that ICE can put out to suggest that the person may have violated immigration law. And again, this is where the story gets a little bit even more muddy. Police then notified ICE that this warrant had been triggered. So then federal agents showed up at the scene and arrested and detained this mother and her five-year-old
Jerry Quijano [00:07:34] We had you on the signal a couple months ago talking about ICE pickups at Travis County jails and we talked about kind of the process that happens whenever somebody goes to the jail. What do we know about the APD’s process here? Is this something that they normally do, run these kinds of checks?
Mose Buchele [00:07:50] Yeah, what happened on Monday is raising a lot of questions about that. We know and we’ve reported, and the local police are quite public about their idea that it is not the job of local police to enforce immigration law. They say that it can erode trust in the community. They repeatedly say they don’t ask people’s immigration status. However, they do run background checks that can trigger ICE interactions. And there’s a standing order with local police in fact that if they trigger what’s called an ICE detainer request, this is when ICE asks that someone be detained, they will in fact have to honor that, that’s state law. The question of these warrants they’re referring to is a little different and that’s something we’re trying to get answers from the police about and we’re actually waiting on those answers right now.
Jerry Quijano [00:08:36] As we work to find out more answers, I want to ask, this is something that activists were actually kind of worried about happening previously, correct?
Mose Buchele [00:08:44] Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, the notion that people can get wrapped up in essentially the deportation process after what could be routine interactions with the police is something an activist is worried about often in this case. And in fact, in Austin, we have records showing people even contacting the police for help who are then later on turned over, essentially their information turned over to ICE after reaching out to the police, for help. This is not saying that local please. Uh… That they say they don’t want this but it’s happening and that’s what we’re trying to figure out
Jerry Quijano [00:09:17] Okay we’ve been speaking about the local police reaction, what does DHS have to say about this situation?
Mose Buchele [00:09:23] Very little. Most of our communications have come through local advocate groups, grassroots leadership being the main one, and then also some statements by Austin police. Last week, Austin police said we could expect a statement from ICE on this. I haven’t seen that yet. But yeah, most of this information is coming from the family of this woman and her daughter, local advocates, and the occasional police statement on what happened.
Jerry Quijano [00:09:49] In these types of situations, we’ve frequently seen how hard it is for families to get information on where their loved ones are after they are detained by police or taken by police. Does their family know their whereabouts? Do we have any information about that?
Mose Buchele [00:10:01] This is another unusual and concerning thing about this case for the family members. They went days, they said, without knowing where this woman and her daughter were being detained. And that of course complicated their legal efforts, perhaps to try to, to, you know, get, get out of detention. The last thing I heard, and again, this is coming from advocate groups is that they have actually been deported, that they were deported over the weekend to Honduras.
Jerry Quijano [00:10:28] Okay well we will continue to report and follow on that story. We have been speaking with Mose Boucher, he has been covering immigration for the Texas Newsroom. Mose is always great to have you on. All right, we have a lot more Austin signal coming your way this afternoon. In a little while, we’re going to get an update from Nathan Bernier, who was at last week’s meeting of the Department of State Health Services. They are considering tons of rules changes to the Texas hemp market, including possibly effectively outlawing smokable hemp products that will not apply to gummies or drinks, things of that nature. But we’re gonna have an update form Nathan, as well as how some Texans are feeling about that. The Austin Current launched today and its education reporter Acacia Coronado is going to come on the show. Give us an update on what AISD is planning to do in the months ahead, ahead of closing some schools before next school year. A lot more Austin Signal coming up here on listener powered public radio. Thanks for making us part of your Monday. This is KUT News. Welcome back, this is Austin Signal. Smokable cannabis products sold legally across Texas could disappear by the end of January. Proposed state regulations would redefine how THC is measured and dramatically raise costs for hemp businesses. The State’s Health Commission held a public hearing on Friday about the new rules. KUT’s Nathan Bernier was there.
Nathan Bernier [00:12:31] The rules were drafted by the Texas Department of State Health Services based on an executive order issued in September by Governor Greg Abbott. The recommendations were posted online the day after Christmas, kicking off a public comment period that’s still underway. Some of the proposed regulations are supported by just about everyone, like child-resistant packaging and labels that clearly state what’s inside the products. The new rules would also require more extensive testing and tracing of products, recall procedures. And they would outlaw packaging that appeals to children, including anything with cartoons or animals on it. But Texas hemp retailers and manufacturers say some of the proposed rules will put them out of business. Like new fees that are 100 times higher than what they are now. Stores that sell hemp products, for example, would see their registration fees increase from $150 per location each year to $20,000 per location.
Estella Castro [00:13:25] Proposed fees don’t regulate small businesses, they eliminate them.
Nathan Bernier [00:13:29] Estella Castro is the owner of the hemp store Austin Cannabis Company. She testified at a state hearing on the new rules.
Estella Castro [00:13:36] After six years of me operating legally, creating jobs, contributing to the Texas economy, this proposal would force me to close, despite of doing everything right.
Nathan Bernier [00:13:48] Under Texas law, hemp is defined as cannabis containing no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC. Delta-9 is the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana. That definition of hemp was adopted by state lawmakers in 2019, and closely mirrored federal legislation past the year before. But neither state nor federal law banned something called THCA. That’s a naturally occurring cannabis compound that converts into delta-nine when it’s or smoke. So the proposed regulations would include THCA amounts in the calculation of Delta-9 levels, and that change would effectively outlaw smokable hemp products. Jason Neeson with the San Antonio-based hemp business Reggie& Drow accused commissioners of exceeding their authority by attempting to rewrite state law.
Jason Neeson [00:14:37] The rule does not regulate the hemp market. It eliminates it. By counting THCA prior to heat, you are banning products the legislator legalized in House Bill 1325.
Nathan Bernier [00:14:49] A few of those testifying on the new hemp rules said they don’t go far enough. Dr. Lindy McGee is a Houston pediatrician who spoke to commissioners on behalf of the Texas Medical Association and the Texas Pediatric Society. She called for stricter labeling requirements, including statements that warn THC can be habit-forming and take more than two hours to kick in.
Lindy McGee [00:15:09] This should be easily recognizable and large enough for a grandparent who is babysitting to be able to tell that the gummies are edibles and not something they should be giving their grandkids. That’s another thing we see in the emergency department.
Nathan Bernier [00:15:22] Christine Scruggs is an anti-THC activist who said her son developed psychosis from cannabis use and required medical treatment to recover. She wants hemp products banned entirely.
Christine Scruggs [00:15:32] Thank you for increasing license fees. The more difficult it is for the industry to addict users, the better. Age limit should be higher than 25. I ask you to let the truth guide you on what is healthy and safe for Texans of all ages.
Nathan Bernier [00:15:46] State health officials can still revise the rules based on public feedback. The regulations could take effect as soon as January 25th. I’m Nathan Bernier in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:16:02] Many school districts in the area are getting back in the swing of things, and that includes the Austin Independent School District. 2025 was quite an eventful year for AISD. The district plans to shutter multiple campuses over the summer before the next school year. Acacia Coronado is the education reporter for The Austin Current, a collaborator here with Austin Signal and a partner with KUT’s newsroom in covering the city. She’s with us now to take us through what’s happened and what is in store for AISD. Howdy, thanks for coming on the show.
Acacia Coronado [00:16:31] Thank you for having me.
Jerry Quijano [00:16:32] So let’s start first by reminding folks out there, why is AISD closing these schools in the first place?
Acacia Coronado [00:16:39] So the closures come as a result of a combination of the state taking kind of a closer look at the school district and also financial issues that the district came into this year’s budget with. They came in with about a close to 20 million dollar deficit that they are trying to bridge. So right now this comes as a result of both financial pressures and also the state taking a closer look at the district.
Jerry Quijano [00:17:06] And there were a few versions of which schools were slated to be closed. We’ve been covering that here at KUT and on the Austin Signal. Can we go back to that list? How many schools are going to be close? Which are they?
Acacia Coronado [00:17:17] Originally, there was 13 schools listed to be closed. Currently, they have voted on closing 10 campuses, 11 schools in total. So three schools got taken off the list in late November before the vote was taken. And those schools, the vote on their closure has been delayed.
Jerry Quijano [00:17:39] Okay, well, you have a couple stories out today for Austin Current. You report on the closures, as we’ve been talking about. You also report on bond money that’s tied to some of the schools that are slated to be closed. Which one did you focus on in your story?
Acacia Coronado [00:17:53] So the primary school that we focused on was Oak Springs Elementary because they are a very tangible example of bond money that was spent on a school that is now slated to be closed. In total about 48 million dollars were either spent or committed and are still set to be paid to contractors as part of the construction that was set for a new building for Oak Springs Elementary. We are still unsure if that construction will be completed and what the future of that construction is if it is completed, but Oak Springs Elementary as it is, is currently slated to close.
Jerry Quijano [00:18:31] And we hear about bonds frequently. Can you remind us how specifically do school districts use them?
Acacia Coronado [00:18:38] So school districts petition the public for approval to spend this bond money on things like infrastructure, improving technology on campuses, building a new campus, fixing HVAC systems. So it’s money that is slated to go for the improvement or new construction of schools. In 2022, voters approved a $2.4 billion bond for Austin ISD. To spend that money on either new constructions or improvements to existing school buildings.
Jerry Quijano [00:19:12] There’s been a lot of criticism about lots of things going on with this Austin ISD plan. Specifically, I wanted to ask about this voter-approved money. There’s a been a critique from taxpayer advocacy groups. What have they had to say?
Acacia Coronado [00:19:25] So one of the advocacy groups that we spoke with most notably said that the taxpayers had approved this money to go to these specific students in these campuses and now with these school closures happening the bond money that was spent on these closing campuses is kind of up in the So their criticism is that this money now as it looks looks wasted
Jerry Quijano [00:19:53] And I know you spoke with the AISD school board president, Lynn Boswell, about this story, and specifically about that point, what did she have to say about the bond money?
Acacia Coronado [00:20:02] So in speaking with the school board president, I learned that a lot of schools were slated to get improvements. So she said that most schools that could have been on that list of closures were likely schools that had received some improvement with bond money. Okay, that makes sense. So avoiding closing schools that had improvements done with bond money would have been difficult. That said, she did say that they are hoping that the remaining bond money that is slotted for some of these closing campuses will still go to Austin ISD students.
Jerry Quijano [00:20:41] Okay, so we’ve heard from taxpayer advocacy groups and the school board president. I wanted to ask last, how are Oak Springs parents feeling about this? Who have you spoken with?
Acacia Coronado [00:20:51] So in speaking to some of the parents outside of the school area, I learned that parents were expecting to have a new building. They were expecting to have any school, and they were expecting, to have this money go to benefiting their students. And so the parents that I spoke with just feel disillusioned that not only will their students not benefit from this bond money, but they will also no longer have a school. They will be reassigned to schools in this rounding area.
Jerry Quijano [00:21:21] Okay, well, is there anything about your reporting in these either stories that I haven’t asked you about that you really want us to ask you about?
Acacia Coronado [00:21:29] I think the main sentiment that I’ve gotten from Austin ISD families is that they feel disillusioned by how this money was spent on schools that are now slotted to close.
Jerry Quijano [00:21:42] Okay, that is Acacia Coronado, education reporter with Austin Current, KUT’s collaborator on Austin Signal, and a partner with KUT Newsroom in covering the city of Austin. Thank you for coming on the show.
Acacia Coronado [00:21:54] Thank you for having me.
Jerry Quijano [00:21:57] And that is it for today’s show. Thank you to Andrew Weber, Mose Buchele, Nathan Bernier, and Acacia Coronado for making it a reality. Kristin Cabrera is our managing producer, and Rayna Sevilla is our technical director. I’m your host, Jerry Quijano. We will be back with you tomorrow. Talk to you then.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
