In a resurfaced 2023 interview, Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico laughed while recounting how his church stirred controversy by housing a family of undocumented immigrants facing deportation by ICE. Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian and Democratic state representative, is running against Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for a Senate seat both parties consider critical to their national ambitions. Talarico capped the remarks with a laugh, declaring, “this idea that Christianity is just another word for causing trouble.” “I think it’s dangerous to all of us, but particularly to those who are marginalized and oppressed in our state.” Madison Cercy, a spokeswoman for Paxton’s campaign, accused Talarico of practicing a version of Christianity incompatible with most Texans’ values, saying “James Talarico hates Christianity, and he’s said it.”