Parental Rights Expand
What to know: Texas Governor Greg Abbott brought parental rights to the forefront of his speech at the 2026 RNC Midterm Convention.
The TPPF take: Texas has advanced parental rights through statute and a state constitutional amendment recognizing a parent’s right and duty to nurture and protect their children.
“Texas has led the nation in recognizing that parents, not the government, are best equipped to raise their children, but a right on paper is only as strong as the state’s willingness to defend it,” says TPPF’s Andrew Brown. “Right now, a parent whose rights are violated has to hire a lawyer and fight a multi-year legal battle just to exercise authority the Texas Constitution already guarantees them. An Office of Parental Rights would give families a direct line to enforcement, instead of leaving them to fend for themselves.”
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Terrorist Relations
What to Know: An Afghan woman dubbed an “alien terrorist” was deported from Texas for affiliation with two convicted terrorists.
The TPPF take: The threats facing the United States are no longer confined to distant battlefields overseas.
“Texas must continue developing permanent internal defense capabilities that can respond to modern asymmetric threats,” says TPPF’s Selene Rodriguez. “These measures would help establish a comprehensive framework to protect Texas from subversion, lawlessness, foreign adversaries, terrorist organizations, and transnational criminal networks while safeguarding the state’s people, infrastructure, and economic stability.”
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Screworm
What to know: A horse in southern Texas has been infected with the New World screwworm
The TPPF take: The United States must not decouple trade policy from national security.
“Mexico’s abetting of NWS’s spread should be seen as the security threat it is,” says TPPF’s Ammon Blair. “However, Mexico’s leaders continue to invoke sovereignty while practicing selective cooperation. AMLO’s ‘abrazos, no balazos’ doctrine provided political cover for limiting action against cartel power, while AMLO and President Biden together presided over the mass movement of illegal aliens through cartel-controlled corridors toward the United States.”