Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Worry is spreading that the Trump administration is increasingly arming ICE with military-grade weaponry: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/10/23/2349922/-WTF-does-ICE-need-guided-missile-components-for

Texas businesses across a wide range of sectors are being negatively impacted by Trump's immigration crackdown: https://english.elpais.com/economy-and-business/2025-10-23/the-texas-paradox-businesses-need-more-migrants-while-trump-wants-to-expel-them.html

Among the states, Texas would be most severely impacted by the expiration of ACA tax credits that congressional Democrats are holding out to defend: https://www.axios.com/local/san-antonio/2025/10/23/aca-tax-credits-texas-government-shutdown-health

Food banks across the US and Texas are reeling from the unexpected mid-year slashing of food distribution by the Trump administration - 94 million pounds of expected food deliveries did not show up: https://projects.propublica.org/trump-food-cuts/

UT Austin, alongside Vanderbilt, is one of only two universities among the nine approached by the Trump administration to sign a conservative ideological "compact" who have not yet rejected it: https://www.fox7austin.com/news/new-ut-austin-president-sworn-amid-trumps-higher-education-compact.amp

...UT's chapter of the American Association of University Professors has called on their administration not to capitulate to Trump: https://www.expressnews.com/news/education/article/university-texas-austin-trump-funding-deal-compact-21110442.php

...Amnesty International calls the "compact" a "surrender (of) their right to freedom of thought, expression and discourse": https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/academic-freedom-cannot-exist-under-political-coercion-president-trumps-compact-threatens-higher-education/

We're excited to see YOU at one (or both!) of our 2025 Holiday Parties this December in Austin and Dallas! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/progress-texas-holiday-parties-2025

Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guide⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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