by In the redistricting fight spearheaded by President Trump, Texas Democrats are losing a significant number of minority seats.
Written by Jeffrey L. Boneyhttps://www.forwardtimes.com/ Forward Times
In Texas, minority congressional districts are being targeted, and your state may soon experience the same fate.
The gauntlet has been set by President Donald Trump, who stated on TV that he wants Texas Republicans to redistrict again. This would establish five new congressional seats that might favor Republicans and heavily target current minority congressional districts.
President Trump responded to a question about how many extra seats he wants Texas Republicans to create by telling reporters:
We could get five, in my opinion, and there might be some more states. We will receive an additional three, four, or five. The largest would be Texas. We pick up five seats with a fairly basic redraw.
Suddenly, the governor of Texas convened a special session, and redistricting was on the agenda.
Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, announced that he had received a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) stating that, according to their interpretation, a number of Texas congressional districts were illegal. Abbott also called for a special session, which began this past Monday, July 21.
Governor Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton received the letter from the DOJ on July 7. The subject line of the letter addressed what the DOJ called Unconstitutional Race-Based Congressional Districts (TX-09, TX-18, TX-29, and TX-33).
The start of the concerning letter read as follows:
The purpose of this letter is to formally inform the State of Texas that the Department of Justice has serious concerns about the validity of four of Texas’ congressional districts. We ask the State of Texas to address the racial concerns in Congressional Districts TX-09, TX-18, TX-29, and TX-33, which now constitute unconstitutional coalition districts, as described below.
After attempting to defend their stance through case law, the DOJ provided this startling analysis:
This Department believes that, based on Petteway’s logic and reasoning, a number of Texas congressional districts are unlawful racial gerrymanders. In particular, the data shows that TX-29, a district with a majority of Hispanic votes, is created while TX-09 and TX-18 produce two coalition seats by sorting Houston residents along rigid racial lines. Another racially-based coalition district is TX-33, which was created by a federal court ruling years ago. However, in the 2021 redistricting, the Texas Legislature drew TX-33 along the same lines. TX-33 is still a coalition district as a result.
Finally, the DOJ threatened the state of Texas with the following strongly worded demand:
Prior to the 2024 Petteway ruling, the State’s interest in creating these districts was to adhere to Fifth Circuit precedent; however, that interest has since vanished. Following Petteway, the Congressional Districts in question are merely relics of an illegal racial gerrymandering history that Texas needs to put an end to and rectify. By July 7, 2025, please reply to my letter and let me know if the State intends to amend its present redistricting plans to comply with the US Constitution. The Attorney General retains the power to take legal action against the State of Texas, including without limitation under the 14th Amendment, if the State does not correct the racial gerrymandering in TX-09, TX-18, TX-29, and TX-33.
This reminds me of 2003, when Tom DeLay (R-TX), a former member of the U.S. Congress, took advantage of Texas’ Republican-controlled majority by using his political influence. As part of his long-term strategy to increase Republican influence in Texas and other states, he advocated for another round of congressional redistricting.
Despite the resistance of Texas Democrats who broke quorum to try to halt it, it was successful, as Republicans have controlled the state of Texas since 2003.
Texas Democrats have once again found themselves in this predicament, as the recently proposed congressional redistricting item on Governor Abbott’s special session may present additional difficulties for Texas Democrats and minorities for many years to come.
Governor Abbott put redistricting on the schedule for this special session, and Texas State Senator Borris Miles (D-TX) gave Forward Times his thoughts on the matter.
Sen. Miles claimed that Trump and the Republicans were using this as a political tactic to take control of the House. Targeting majority-minority districts under the pretense of legality is unethical and immoral.
Sen. Miles said this will be particularly harmful in terms of the possible effects of redistricting on the Black community.
According to Sen. Miles, it will eliminate Black representation and the Black vote.
To make sure citizens are aware, equipped, and willing to take action on the proposed redistricting, State Representative Jolanda Jones (D-TX) has been hosting Emergency Redistricting Town Halls.
According to Rep. Jolanda Jones, this is a clear assault on Black political authority in Texas.
The brief timeline is intended to surprise us. However, we are reversing the course. We have the opportunity to prepare, show up, and launch an offensive in this town hall. Those who show up run the world. We must be present. I will do all in my power to prepare myself, to prepare you, and to defend our power as a member of the Texas Legislature who will be voting on these maps. I’ll use my vote to demonstrate my fight.
Participants at her Town Halls have received information about the current and previous Texas congressional maps, the proposed map and its effects on CD 18, the demographic and ethnic composition of CD 18, the definition and operation of a quorum break, grassroots and legal tactics to combat racial gerrymandering, how to organize locally to ensure equitable representation, and much more.
Rep. Jones claimed that Governor Abbott and Trump’s Department of Justice are using a politically manipulated redistricting plan to target districts with a majority of Black and Brown voters. Power, not justice, is at play here.
Only three formal public redistricting hearings have been set:
First hearing Thursday, July 24 in the Appropriations Committee Room at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas
11 a.m. on Saturday, July 26 The University of Houston Student Center South, located at 4455 University Drive, Houston, Texas 77204, will host the second hearing.
July 29, Tuesday, at 5:00 p.m. The University of Texas at Arlington, 701 S. Nedderman Drive, Arlington, TX 76019, is hosting the third hearing.
Rep. Jones stressed that people should mark their calendars and attend the public hearing. Before the state takes decisions that will impact our political power over the next ten years, we must all have the resources necessary to be knowledgeable and effective.
Freshman Congresswoman Lauren Ashley Simmons (D-TX), who was a teenager when the 2003 redistricting fight took place, finds herself facing the same potential battle in her first term in office.
Rep. Simmons tells Forward Times that while the special session announcement wasn’t entirely unexpected, her colleagues are generally feeling a mixture of exhaustion and annoyance.
We had months during the regular session to address many of these issues, yet here we are again, said Rep. Simmons. Being away from our families for this long is difficult, but our constituents deserve our full commitment. Even though we re facing an uphill battle, I m ready to fight for the people who sent me here. Given the tragedy in Kerr and Travis County, we should be focused on policies that will save lives, not political gamesmanship and power grabs.
Rep. Simmons tells Forward Times that she is planning to address redistricting by continuing to speak up for her community.
This is a blatant attempt to silence our voices, Black voices, said Rep. Simmons. But one thing about me, I m not backing down. I m here to make sure our people are seen, heard, and represented. I ve spent a lot of time during this interim listening to constituents and understanding what s at stake. I carry their concerns with me every time I step into the chamber or up to the mic.
Rep. Simmons is encouraging all Texas residents to keep reaching out to their state officials.
Your voice matters, and it needs to be heard whether that s through calls, emails, social media, showing up at public hearings and coming to the Capitol, Rep. Simmons emphasized. As the late Congressman John Lewis said, we need to make good trouble. When the stakes are this high, silence is not an option.
Rep. Simmons tells Forward Times that this is not something to take lightly, because this could be devastating for Black Texans for many years to come.
Redistricting would dismantle decades of Black political strength in Houston, Rep. Simmons vehemently stated. CD 9 and CD 18 aren t just lines on a map; they represent historic communities that have fought hard to be heard in a state that too often tries to silence them. This would be a direct hit to our ability to organize, advocate, and elect leaders who understand our needs.
As the Texas special session has begun, Texas Democrats have been discussing a possible breaking of quorum once again, despite Texas lawmakers implementing a new rule change in 2021 that states a legislator could be fined up to $500 per day if they break quorum.
Forward Times will keep you posted on developments as they happen.
