Texas Race Puts ICE Enforcement and School Funds in Focus

James Talarico said Texas needs Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but argued that the agency should target violent criminals, gang members and cartels—not longtime residents with community ties. He spoke at a CNN town hall while campaigning against state Attorney General Ken Paxton for the U.S. Senate. In Plano, a separate dispute centers on a proposed Dallas Stars arena and a school district contribution of up to $250 million.

Immigration and the Senate Race

Talarico rejected claims that he wants to abolish ICE. Asked about earlier comments describing the agency as a “secret police force,” he said it serves a legitimate purpose, but recent enforcement actions had crossed a line. “We need Immigration and Customs Enforcement in this country,” he said. Officers, he argued, should focus on violent criminals, gang members and cartels, not longtime residents with deep community ties.

“We were told that ICE was going to go after violent criminals,” Talarico said. “They're going after Uber drivers. They're going after small-business owners. They're going after grandmothers and infants.” He cited Lorenzo Salgado, a Houston-area resident who, Talarico said, had lived in Texas for decades and raised three sons who attended college. “Lorenzo Salgado embodies the American dream,” he said. “Lorenzo Salgado was a child of God. Lorenzo, our fellow Texan, deserves justice.”

Audience members raised questions about abortion, biblical authority, gender-affirming care, national debt, Ukraine and immigration. Talarico, a former public-school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian student, said Texans shared common ground across political divisions. “I am tired of us being divided into teams: left versus right, blue versus red, urban versus rural,” he said. “The truth is, we're all on the same team.”

Paxton skipped the town hall. He announced a statewide bus tour starting Saturday and wrote on X: “Texans don't back down, and neither do I.” In another post, Paxton accused Talarico of having “tried to dismantle the oil and gas industry” and waging a “war on Texas energy.” Talarico ended the town hall with a warning: “We cannot afford Ken Paxton's corruption.”

A Marist poll released Wednesday put Talarico ahead of Paxton, 47 percent to 45 percent, among likely voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points. Among registered voters, his lead stood at 4 points, down from 6 points a month earlier. Fifty-two percent of independents said they backed Talarico. Yet 53 percent of likely voters expected Paxton to win.

School Funds and the Arena Proposal

Plano ISD says it will contribute up to $250 million toward a proposed Dallas Stars arena at the former Shops at Willow Bend site. The city has proposed putting in $700 million through a venue tax that voters will decide on in the upcoming election. Plano ISD approved its agreement in August, and the Plano City Council approved it on Oct. 12.

According to Plano ISD, the district’s contribution would come from a portion of future tax revenue generated by new development in a tax increment reinvestment zone, not existing classroom funds. The district expects to pay the money over an estimated 18 years. It says adjustments to the amount it owes the state under current law should offset the agreement.

Texas' school funding system, known as the “recapture program” or “Robin Hood,” requires property-wealthy districts such as Plano ISD to send part of their local property tax revenue to the state to help fund public education. Plano ISD projects it will receive about $438 million over the same period, or $188 million more than its projected contribution. Those figures are projections, not guarantees.

Some residents questioned whether school district resources should support an arena project. “I really am not too keen on the idea of moving money away from the schools,” said Bryan Beck, a lifelong Plano resident and graduate of Plano East Senior High School. Finance expert Sriram Villapura said the district’s potential benefit depends on whether the redevelopment delivers expected results. Plano ISD projects the redevelopment could grow its tax base by $7.3 billion, but that estimate depends on future property values, economic conditions and state law.