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Many Republican-led states like Texas require police officers to cooperate with federal immigration agents. That’s left liberal cities like Austin debating how to respond when they don’t want spend resources on immigration enforcement.
ICE operations are deterring immigrants from participating in routine parts of their lives. Here in Austin, one clinic has seen its demand drop dramatically over recent weeks.
Plus, South By Southwest wraps up tomorrow, but there’s still time to get in on the activities. Today, we’ll tell you about a documentary that follows the search for an almost mythical Texas musician.
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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 [00:00:08] Many Republican-led states like Texas require police officers to cooperate with federal immigration agents. That’s left liberal cities like Austin debating how to respond when they don’t want to spend resources on immigration enforcement. We’ve got more about that. And ICE operations are deterring immigrants from participating in routine parts of their lives. Here in Austin, one clinic has seen its demand drop dramatically over recent weeks. We’ve more about both of those stories coming up on today’s show.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:38] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:43] Plus, South by Southwest wraps up tomorrow, but there’s still time to get in on the activities. Today we’re gonna tell you about a documentary that follows the search for an almost mythical Texas musician. Come hear that story and more up next on Austin Signal. Howdy out there, thank you for tuning in to Austin Signal. I’m your host, Jerry Kehannel. It is Tuesday, March 17th, sunny and 60 something today here in Austin, Texas. We’re glad to be part of your day. Let’s jump into today’s show. In many Republican led states, police officers are required to cooperate with federal immigration agents. And that leaves liberal cities like Austin debating how to respond when they don’t wanna spend resources on immigration enforcement. KUT’s Mo’s Boo Show has the story.
Mose Buchele [00:01:41] City council members opened up a recent public forum here with a line they repeat often. In Austin, undocumented immigrants should be able to call the police without fear of being deported. Here’s Chito Vela, Austin Mayor Pro Tem.
Mando Rayo [00:01:56] We are committed and making sure that we are keeping our immigrant community as safe as we possibly can.
Mose Buchele [00:02:05] But in Texas, there are few options when it comes to stopping police from reporting people to ICE. In one recent case, a mother and her young daughter were deported after the mom called local police to report a disturbance. Stopping that kind of thing was what this meeting with Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis was about.
Mando Rayo [00:02:23] With that said, let me go ahead and turn it over to Chief David.
Chief David [00:02:29] Thank you for being here, this is amazing to see this show out.
Mose Buchele [00:02:32] In Texas, state police are empowered to arrest suspected unauthorized immigrants. Many counties partner with ICE to get grants and funding. Those agreements will become mandatory for all counties by the end of the year. And Davis said Texas cities cannot prevent local officers from calling ICE if they see fit.
Chief David [00:02:51] There is a rule of law that I have to follow as the chief of police here in the state of Texas. But what we can do, what we CAN do is…
Mose Buchele [00:02:59] It was a tense evening. On one side, local officials explaining that breaking state law could lead to cuts to funding or them getting removed from office. On the other side, many in the audience calling for resistance no matter the cost. Robert Salter is a criminal defense lawyer who was one of the most vocal that night.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:18] There is nothing that prevents this police chief, these city council members.
Mose Buchele [00:03:23] From refusing to cooperate with the state. Heated public debates like this have also erupted in San Antonio, Dallas and Houston. Democratic cities in Tennessee, Georgia and Florida are also seeing locals push back against red state laws that mandate ICE police partnerships. Kristen Eder is director of the Texas Immigration Law Council. She says far more people are detained in states that have these policies. It’s not.
Kristen Eder [00:03:48] Visible. It doesn’t present the same way as it does in Minneapolis or Chicago or Los Angeles. And so most people, again, would have no idea that this is happening every day all around us in a very quiet way. Quiet, that is.
Mose Buchele [00:04:06] Until people start shouting. At that public meeting in Austin, police chief Lisa Davis announced plans to change city policy. Officers can still contact ICE, but the new rules will give police higher-ups a say in whether they can hold people until ICE arrives to arrest them.
Chief David [00:04:25] And I can tell you the priority is not waiting for ICE to respond on a civil detainer.
Mose Buchele [00:04:30] Officials think it’s a way to thread the needle between local priorities and state law, but after the event, immigrant advocate Carmen Zubieta said it won’t help people who fear deportation feel any better about calling the police for help.
Carmen Zubieta [00:04:45] To gain their trust, you have to give it, you must give it up.
Mose Buchele [00:04:51] To gain confidence, you have to earn it. And nothing they’re doing is giving us confidence,” she said.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:04] Well, the fear of seeking help in the immigrant community also extends to health benefits provided by non-profits. Workers at a local clinic, Casa Marianela, told Austin Current reporter Sam Stark a line that once snaked past its entrance has dwindled down to maybe one or two people a day. For more about this, we’ve got Sam here in the studio. Thanks for joining us.
Sam Stark [00:05:23] Yeah, I thanks so much.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:24] So can you tell us a little bit for our listeners who may not be familiar, what is gassa marianella?
Sam Stark [00:05:29] Yeah, so Casa Manila is an organization that provides shelters and supportive services for refugees, political asylum seekers, and immigrants. And so around the country, we had seen reports that immigrants have, in some cases, been skipping getting medical care out of fear of immigration enforcement being present. So while we’ve not seen reports of large scale federal immigration enforcement in raids in Austin, activists and officials have said that ICE activity has, in recent months, increased. Um, and so I spoke with Casa Marinella, uh, and they said that in the past year, since these activities have ramped up, much fewer people have come to get help getting enrolled in the medical assistance program or MAP, uh that provides basic healthcare coverage for low income residents living in Travis County. She said she’s worried that people are just going uninsured. Um, I also spoke with Community Care. That’s a clinic that serves people who are uninsure or underinsured The deputy CEO told me that while they do not track immigration status, they have heard from providers that some of their clients are afraid and limiting visits. Still, she said despite that, that the community care clinics are seeing a steady demand.
Jerry Quijano [00:06:40] Do we know what kind of numbers they were seeing prior to these recent ICE operations?
Sam Stark [00:06:45] They didn’t provide any numbers. They did say that demand has been pretty steady, and they said that they have telehealth, which they’ve expanded in recent years after the COVID pandemic, which has been helpful in situations like these.
Jerry Quijano [00:06:59] Okay and in your reporting for the current you do report that this is obviously happening here in central Texas but it’s not just limited to here in Central Texas. This is kind of happening all across the country correct.
Sam Stark [00:07:11] Yeah, yeah, that’s right. And I also spoke to some people that weren’t in the medical space. So, as Mo’s mentioned in his reporting, there was an incident in January when the Austin Police Department contacted ICE when responding to a domestic disturbance in southwest Austin that led to the arrest and deportation of a mother and her five-year-old daughter. So the Safe Alliance, which serve survivors of abuse, domestic violence, and sexual assault. Worries that this incident will have a chilling effect, the CEO told me members of the community might say that the mother and the child were deported right after reporting domestic violence. If this happened when they were trying to get help, why should I call the police?
Jerry Quijano [00:07:52] You mentioned Casa Marianela and Community Care that’s here in Austin, and since people are not going and using these resources, what do we know about what they are doing instead?
Sam Stark [00:08:02] So the worker who I spoke to at Casa Marianella said that she thinks that some are just not going to see the doctor when they have like a cold come up or something. They’re just, you know, turning to home remedies or traditional remedies.
Jerry Quijano [00:08:18] It’s important to note though that many immigrants have this fear and clinics like these haven’t yet been Targeted by ice operations. Is that correct?
Sam Stark [00:08:28] Yeah, that’s right. When I spoke to community care, she said that they haven’t been subject to these targets yet. She said that, they do watch the news and they would be silly to not consider that as something that might happen in the future.
Jerry Quijano [00:08:42] Now, there is a sense of mistrust right now among the immigrant community, and you’ve reported that in some cases instead of calling 911, they are reaching out to community organizations like the Safe Alliance. What’s going on there?
Sam Stark [00:08:53] Yeah, that’s right. So the Safe Alliance CEO said that because people are worried about contacting the police, especially with that example of the mother and daughter being deported, that they’re going to other services that might be more trusted than the police at this time. I also talked to this Immigration Legal Services nonprofit, American Gateways. They said that they’ve been seeing a massive surge demand for. Um you know service requests but also just requests for accurate information uh they told me permanent residents are canceling travel plans some immigrants are hesitating to apply for citizenship and others are missing court hearings uh she said that just all this immigration enforcement has caused a lot of confusion throughout the community
Jerry Quijano [00:09:38] So obviously, people in the immigrant community are scared to kind of go out of their comfort zones. From all the organizations that you spoke with, is there a sense that people are considering ways to reach out to some of these communities, maybe to go into them, or other ways to maybe effectively contact these communities?
Sam Stark [00:09:55] Yeah, I mean, especially in the case of American Gateways, they said that the demand is outpacing what they can provide, but they still are committed to helping as many of these community members as possible.
Jerry Quijano [00:10:08] Is there anything that you’re going to continue reporting on for this story?
Sam Stark [00:10:11] Um, yeah, I’m definitely interested to see if long term if this has impacted any anybody with specific medical conditions that they just haven’t been able to go and get care for.
Jerry Quijano [00:10:23] Okay, we have been speaking with Sam Stark, a reporter at Austin Current. They are KUT’s collaborator on the Austin Signal and a partner with KUT newsroom in covering the city. We’re gonna have a link to Sam’s story in today’s podcast, Show Notes, and you can always find more at kut.org slash signal. Sam, thanks for being on the show. Thanks so much, Jerry. And thank you out there for spending part of your Tuesday with Austin Signal. We are 100% community supported public radio and a South by Southwest is still going on for about a day and a half longer. We got an update from KUT’s Jimmy Maas and a conversation about a mythical Texas musician that’s coming up after the break. This is Austin Signal
Jimmy Maas [00:11:31] Hi, this is Jimmy Maas, program director with KUT News, and you’re listening to The Austin Signal. The line of appearances by the rich and fabulous continued yesterday at South By Southwest. Los Lobos, 50 years in the business, closed out the public radio day stage show. A day after a documentary about them premiered at South by. Alexander Shipp, who you may know as Storm in the recent X-Men movie reboots, as well as Betty from Riverdale, Lily Reinhart. They were on hand for the premiere of their film, Forbidden Fruits. The iHeart Podcast Awards were held last night in the house that ACL built. Saturday Night Live alum Eggo Wodham hosted the show with presenters that ranged from Will Ferrell to Jenny Garth to… Gotta jump in real quick, Jimmy. Did I win anything? Well, this is a little awkward. We were not entered in any category. Not really that kind of podcast award show. Oh. Giggly Girls was the podcast of the year. And just like the Golden Globes, public radio shows were once again shut out of all categories. However, Terry Gross, host of NPR’s Fresh Air, received the 2026 Audible Audio Pioneer Award, essentially a lifetime achievement award for her podcast efforts. Elsewhere, there were tons of panels on the future of AI, music, and even the future of influencer branding. At a panel on World Cup marketing, an executive at American Airlines said her flight was canceled Monday morning and that she had to get to Austin another way. You’d think an airline exec would be exempt from airport delays, but as John Cornyn reminded us yesterday, it’s spring break. It’s South By. I’m Jimmy Maas and you’re listening to the Austin City.
Jerry Quijano [00:13:18] There are some musicians we know on a first-name basis, like Willie, Waylon, Selena, Beyoncé. But as David Brown from the Texas Standard puts it, there are some just as big who we know by last name as well. Like the name from Holtz.
Music [00:13:35] Six o’clock silence of a new day, beginning is heard in a small Texas town.
David Brown [00:13:44] Now if you just got goosebumps, I know who you are. You probably grew up in Texas, or you’re a Texas musician yourself. You may have shed a tear listening to him sing his Texas Trilogy, took a gasp of breath when he was done, and you probably wondered how anyone could capture so much of Texas in songs that could speak in a voice that was at the same time so astonishingly universal. You probably have a copy of a Fromix album. From here to there, his collaboration with Dan McCrimmon in your record collection, a prized possession. Yeah, I see you out there. Stephen Fromholst may have left us in 2014, but in Texas, Fromholts lives on. His latest incarnation, a documentary making its world premiere at South by Southwest. It’s called The Man with the Big Hat, about a musical pioneer that no musical label has ever adequately captured. It’s the first film by Austin-based director, Austin Sayre, who joins us now. Austin, welcome to the Texas Standard. Thanks for having me. Some directors avoid the camera, but you start this film by telling us how you first encountered Stephen Fromholz. Why did you feel that was so important in terms of getting folks into the documentary?
Austin Sayre [00:15:00] You know, I didn’t want to be in front of the camera, but I felt it was necessary, especially with the olive branch that Lyle kind of gives me.
David Brown [00:15:11] Lyle Lovett actually reached out to you about being in this film?
Austin Sayre [00:15:15] He did, he did. I had started the project and was making several posts online, and Lyle reached out to me saying, you know, if it’s, I love to, you know, repay what Frumholz meant to me, if there’s any room for me left in the film, I’d love to be a part of the project, you know, If you see a place for me. And I was just, I was taking a gas, you know, I’m like, Lyle, reached out to me and he’s asking to be in this film about Frumholtz. Yes, of course, we will make room for Lyle. And I’m the man with the big hat his body in
David Brown [00:16:07] Yeah, I think it says a lot though that he would reach out to you and say hey you got room for me because I want to know I want do this could could we talk a little bit about what it was about Steve from Holtz and his music that Left such an indelible mark. Did you find him? Did you discover him through his music?
Austin Sayre [00:16:28] I did. I found Stephen’s Fromix album in an antique mall, you know, and it was the record cover that drew me in. It was all the things that I love, just the way that it was designed is just this lone mountain looking man, you, know, looking off into the distance, you know, I was drawn immediately to it. I had no idea what kind of album it was. Maybe it was a folk album, but that was my initial introduction to Stephen. If it weren’t Willy covering I’d have to be crazy and then Lyle. Covering bears like I don’t know if this movie would have been made
Music [00:17:03] But I’d have to be crazy, plumb out of my mind To fall out of love with you
David Brown [00:17:15] And yet, we say this, and he was appearing on Austin City limits without having had a hit of his own, for example. And I’m wondering how it could be that someone who has had so much of an impact on music, how it can be that so few people beyond Texas really understand or know about him, because he was hard to fit into a category, wasn’t he? I mean, he sort of seemed to be almost a transitional figure, musically speaking. Between folk and what the outlaw country movement, I guess, huh?
Austin Sayre [00:17:48] Yeah, I don’t know, you know, because like he was the only artist in ACL’s history to perform on three of the first four seasons. Yeah. I don’t t know why he didn’t catch on. You know, I didn’t know how he seemed to fall through the cracks. You know his first two records on Capitol, like they’re not the best representation of Steven’s music because he is an artist that should be experienced in person. So I don’t think his records really translated like fully represented Performing abilities, so I don’t I don’t I really don’t know why he didn’t catch on
David Brown [00:18:24] Well, in a way his music didn’t fit into a radio scene that was about two and a half three minute long hit records He told stories in a sort of a long form fashion. Don’t you think?
Austin Sayre [00:18:38] Yeah, yeah, the Texas trilogy is 13 minutes long, you know, so then the man with the big hat is nearly seven minutes. So Stephen didn’t write for radio. You know, Stephen wrote what he knew, what he experienced and if it fit under three minutes, great. But if not, then, you know, oh well.
David Brown [00:18:56] Yeah. What was your mission with this film? Because you knew going in that he wasn’t famous for radio hits. He wasn’t a kind of public figure. He’s not a household name, I suppose, unless you live in Texas and you love Texas music. What were you hoping to do with this?
Austin Sayre [00:19:13] The way he impacted me was so profound. You know, I had never met Steve, I never saw him perform. He passed away as soon as I figured out who he was. And just the way that, the way I felt when I watched the archival videos of him and the way he carried himself on stage and just out on the river and the that he impacted people’s lives and continues to do that. If this feeling can come across the way that he makes me feel and the way that he changed my life without ever knowing this guy. I know it’s going to resonate in some way with everybody who sees it, because this is much more than a movie about music. This is the way that he lived his life. It was just so positive and so full of life and joy. I have to get this out there. It will translate. That was my goal was just to get more inside of Stephen’s head and share what brought me so much joy.
David Brown [00:20:07] What was he chasing?
Austin Sayre [00:20:09] Just his freedom to do whatever he wanted. He came close to having big record deals and being a more household name. But I think he just wanted to stay close to home. His family meant more to him. He loved Texas and he loved Austin more than anything. So he wanted to repay that. He just, he really just wanted it to be a good dad.
David Brown [00:20:32] You mentioned that he loved Austin, how meaningful is it to premiere this documentary at SXSW?
Austin Sayre [00:20:39] It’s pretty surreal, you know, like I had never made a movie. I had no intentions of making a movie and it just kind of, it just kind of happened. It’s a perfect homecoming for Stephen and for the movie. I hope people walk away seeing this film, you know, moved the way that, that I have been. The way that he lived his life is just so inspiring. And is the main reason why I made this film. And you know when I asked his, his daughters during their interview, you know, what do you want people to take away, walk away feeling and knowing from this film? And his daughters both were just like, that he loved his two daughters more than anything in the world. And so that was always kind of like the number one thing that I wanted to come across in this film. Not the music, not the could have been, should have beens, but just the way that he is so well loved by his daughters and his Austin and Texas community.
David Brown [00:21:37] Austin Serr is the director of the documentary, The Man with the Big Hat, about Texas musician Stephen Fromholtz. The film premiered at this year’s South by Southwest and we’re going to share more at TexasStandard.org. Austin, thanks again for speaking with us.
Austin Sayre [00:21:51] Thank you so much for having me. You’ve been great.
Music [00:21:57] Come no better than those who just don’t Come no-better-than-a-bear
Jerry Quijano [00:22:05] And we’ve got plenty more South by Southwest coverage at KUT.org, KUTX.org and on all of our social media channels and we’ve had lots of South by stories recently here on Austin Signal. You can catch up on all those by going to KUT dot org slash Signal. That is it for today’s show. Thank you for making us part of your Tuesday afternoon. Enjoy the weather before it gets Little hotter and have a great day. Rayna Sevilla is our technical director, Kristin Cabrera is our managing producer, and Jimmy Maas is our show runner. I’m your host, Jerry Quijano. We will talk to you tomorrow. This is Austin Signal.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
