Federal Court Denies Request To Release Immigrant Teen, Seeking Abortion

Our daily roundup of Texas headlines.

By Becky FogelOctober 12, 2017 5:52 pm

The Standard’s news roundup gives you a quick hit of interesting, sometimes irreverent, and breaking news stories from all over the state.

A federal court denied a request yesterday from attorneys advocating on behalf of a minor in Texas. The young woman is currently being prevented from getting an abortion.

From KUT News in Austin, Ashley Lopez reports this is because of a Trump administration policy that bars unaccompanied immigrant minors from accessing abortions.

The ACLU is representing the young woman in Brownsville. She’s in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is a federal agency. Attorneys added her to an ongoing lawsuit filed last year in the hopes a judge would take swift action. Brigitte Amiri with the ACLU says something needs to be done quickly because the minor’s pregnancy is progressing.

“Trump administration officials are literally holding her hostage and are preventing her from accessing an abortion,” Amiri said.

In a statement, Amiri called the ruling a “serious disappointment.” According to the judge, the court – which is in Northern California –  can’t grant this request because the minor is currently in Texas. The ruling did say, however, that even though government officials may not want to facilitate an abortion, they cannot block it. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement this week that quote “Texas must not become a sanctuary state for abortions.” He says courts have not established that people who are in the U.S. without documentation have a constitutional right to abortion.




The first trial of a biker involved in the deadly Twin Peaks shooting in Waco began yesterday.

From KWBU, Will Burney reports.

It’s been more than two years since the deadly brawl between motorcycle groups – the Cossacks and the Bandidos – in the parking lot of a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco. The shootout left nine dead, 18 wounded and almost 200 under arrest.

The first biker to stand trial is Jacob Carrizal, president of the Dallas chapter of the Bandidos motorcycle club. He’s being charged on three counts, including “engaging in organized criminal activity with the underlying offense of murder.”

Documents leaked to the Texas Standard last month indicate the Waco police knew the potential for violence was ‘very high’ and did little to intervene.




The Boy Scouts of America has made the historic decision to start letting girls and young women into Scout programs.

Bill Zeeble with KERA in Dallas reports the Irving Texas-based organization is changing a policy in place for more than 100 years.

Chief Executive Michael Surbaugh says scouting values like being loyal and trustworthy are important for young men and women. The changes are not immediate. Next year, girls can join Cub Scouts, but the dens will be single gender only. In 2019, young women can enter the program putting them on track to become Eagle Scouts.