Texas’ Sweeping Immigration Law: What to Know and Where It Stands

J. David Goodman and Edgar Sandoval at The New York Times explain the ongoing legal battle in Texas over Senate Bill 4, which authorizes state and local police officers to arrest migrants who cross into Texas illegally. On Tuesday,  the U.S. Supreme Court allowed for the implementation of the law, only for it to be put on hold by a federal appeals court hours later. Critics worry the law could result in the detention of people hundreds of miles from the border. PRRI researchfinds that less than four in ten Americans who are close friends with or know someone of a different race say that immigrants threaten traditional American customs and values (39%), compared with a slim majority of those who don’t know anyone of a different race or ethnicity (51%).

Expanded ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law Advances to Alabama House

Sarah Fortinsky at The Hill reportsthat Alabama state lawmakers have advanced legislation that would prohibit classroom discussions or instruction related to gender identity or sexual orientation in public schools through 12th grade, expanding the existing law that applies through 5th grade. The bill would also ban the displaying of the pride flag in classrooms and any LGBTQ signs on the school property. Meanwhile, a settlement was reached last week in a lawsuit against Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law effectively nullifying the harshest aspects of the law. PRRI finds Gen Z adults (41%) and millennials (42%) are notably less likely than Gen Xers (53%), baby boomers (54%) and members of the Silent Generation (59%) to say that public schools are giving students harmful information about gender and sexual orientation.

In a Boost for EVs, EPA Finalizes Strict New Limits on Tailpipe Emissions

NPR’s Camila Domonoske and Michael Copley report that after a nearly year of debate, the EPA has finalized strict new rules on vehicle emissions that will push the auto industry to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles. The Biden Administration considers these regulations, which will prevent more than seven billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions, to be a cornerstone of their efforts to fight climate change. PRRI finds that just over four in ten Americans (44%) support a program that would eventually phase out gas-powered cars and replace them with electric cars, including 17% of Republicans, 45% of independents, and 67% of Democrats.

In Speech to White Evangelical Broadcasters, Trump Lays Out His White Christian Nationalist Vision

In a new #WhiteTooLong Substack post, PRRI President and Founder Robert P. Jones, Ph.D., analyzes former President Donald Trump’s speech to the annual meeting of National Religious Broadcasters. Jones scrutinizes the vision of white Christian nationalism described in Trump’s 75-minute speech. Jones also summarizes the promises Trump made to the audience, including, among others, launching “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history;” repealing the 1964 Johnson Amendment, which prohibits churches from endorsing political candidates; and signing a new executive order to “cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content onto our children.”