ICYMI: NRF Calls on Federal Court to Block Texas’s Extreme Congressional Gerrymander

For Immediate Release
October 1, 2025
Contact
Madia Coleman
comms@redistrictingfoundation.org

Washington, D.C. – Today, at 11:00 AM ET/9:00 AM MT, a ten-day preliminary injunction hearing will begin in El Paso, Texas, before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in LULAC v. Abbott, a lawsuit challenging HB 4, Texas’s new congressional map. Ahead of the hearing, the National Redistricting Foundation (NRF) hosted a press call featuring the organization’s Executive Director, Marina Jenkins, to preview legal arguments NRF-supported plaintiffs will deliver during the preliminary injunction hearing. The NRF is directing litigation and providing financial support on behalf of the Gonzales plaintiff group. The Gonzales plaintiffs are expected to take the stand and present their arguments on October 3. To view opening remarks from the press call, click here. 

By filing a preliminary injunction request, the NRF-supported plaintiffs are asking the court to temporarily block the implementation of HB 4 and to order Texas to use the prior congressional map for the 2026 elections, pending the outcome of the litigation. 

Excerpts from remarks as delivered by Marina Jenkins, Executive Director of the NRF:

“Immediate intervention from the court is necessary, because irreparable harm will be done to the rights of Black and Latino Texans if they are forced to vote on a map that is likely an unconstitutional gerrymander.”

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“The Lone Star State’s new gerrymander is not only morally indefensible, but it is also unconstitutional. It targets communities of color in order to minimize their ability to make their voices heard. This new gerrymander must be stopped in its tracks and ultimately struck down, so that Texans can have a congressional map that truly reflects their will.”

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“This week’s hearing marks the start of the next chapter in the fight against the mid-decade gerrymanders that are being drawn across the country at the direction of the President of the United States. It is up to our judicial system to send a strong signal that violating the rights of the American people will not be tolerated, and our laws must be enforced.”

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