<\/p>\n
Brandon Wade<\/p>\n
Star-Telegram file photo<\/p>\n
Help, not jail<\/p>\n
Shawn Fraraccio has intellectual and developmental disabilities, and although he is 26 years old, his mental capacity is that of a 7-year-old. (March 15, 1A, \u201cMom fears for health of mentally challenged son in jail\u201d) He\u2019s been in the Tarrant County Jail for more than 15 months.<\/a> Imagine your first-grader in jail, much of it in solitary confinement.<\/p>\n My Health My Resources of Tarrant County should have referred him to a state-supported living center immediately. A judge issued a civil commitment order in May 2025. Yet Fraraccio remains in jail, where he is deteriorating physically and emotionally.<\/p>\n MHMR must act with urgency on Fraraccio\u2019s behalf. How many other people with similar disabilities are in the county jail? Fraraccio has been promised a bed in a state living center by mid-April, but bureaucratic mindsets stand in the way. Let\u2019s get Fraraccio the help he needs.<\/p>\n – Katherine Godby, Arlington, Justice Network of Tarrant County<\/p>\n Fund DHS<\/p>\n Washington\u2019s long-lasting dysfunction over Department of Homeland Security funding is not just political theater. It is hurting American workers.<\/p>\n In Texas, we see the consequences of immigration policy every day. Homeland Security is a $90 billion agency responsible for border enforcement, airport security and maritime protection. Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues operating, but funding instability is hitting TSA agents, Coast Guard members and support staff \u2014 Americans who rely on steady paychecks.<\/p>\n Democrats have allowed opposition to immigration enforcement to bleed into broader DHS funding, creating unnecessary instability. Republicans, meanwhile, are failing to deliver a solution despite making border security a central issue.<\/p>\n Both sides are falling short. Congress must pass a clean DHS funding bill, separate policy fights from basic funding responsibilities and guarantee uninterrupted pay for DHS personnel.<\/p>\n – Benjamin Hewitt, Euless<\/p>\n It\u2019s a quagmire<\/p>\n