The Evening Brief: June 15, 2012

Culled:

• Cruz and Dewhurst agree: Obama immigration shift is ‘blatantly’ and ‘cravenly’ political (Houston Chronicle): "When it comes to immigration policy, Ted Cruz and David Dewhurst have exchanged some heated words recently. But when it came to President Obama’s announcement today of a new policy to allow some students brought illegally into the U.S. to avoid deportation, the Texas Republican Senate runoff rivals were in agreement. And they were steamed. 'President Obama has repeatedly defied the Constitution and flouted the rule of law,' said Cruz, the state’s former Solicitor General. 'His latest decision to refuse to enforce our immigration laws is cravenly political, lawless, and wrong.'"

• Former state Rep. Domingo Garcia said he urged President Obama to order Dream Act (The Dallas Morning News): "Did you know that former state Rep. Domingo Garcia was instrumental in President Barack Obama’s decision Friday to use executive powers to stop the deportation of illegal immigrants who came to American as children? Garcia, D-Dallas, took such credit just hours after President Obama made his announcement."

New in The Texas Tribune:

• DHS to Grant Relief for Some Young Illegal Immigrants: The Obama administration announced Friday that, effective immediately, it will begin issuing work permits and grant relief from deportation to certain illegal immigrants brought to the country before they were 16 years old and are currently younger than 30. … 'Let’s be clear: This is not amnesty, this is not immunity,' the president said. 'This is not a path to citizenship, and it’s not a permanent fix. This is a temporary stop-gap measure that lets us focus our resources wisely while giving a degree of relief and hope to talented, driven and patriotic young people.'"

• Cruz, Dewhurst Both Claim "Fighter" Mantle in Hill Country: "Speaking to Republicans in the Hill Country, both Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz on Friday repeatedly described themselves as the true 'fighter' in the Republican runoff for U.S. Senate."

• Jasper Police Chief Firing Exposes Rift in City Politics: "The short-lived tenure of Jasper's first black police chief — and the public feuding it has provoked — threatens to wrench open still healing wounds from the town's troubled past."

• Hot Over Funding Plan, Private Hospitals Seek Meeting with Perry: "The presidents of Texas’ five biggest private hospital systems have asked Gov. Rick Perry for a sit-down meeting, saying negotiations with the state's health agency over how they’re reimbursed for uncompensated care have deteriorated."