The unhappiest man in Washington today is Henry Bonilla, R-San Antonio.
His district became safer in 2004 when Tom DeLay took 100,000 Hispanic voters, largely in the city of Laredo, and gave them to the 28th district, then represented by Ciro Rodriguez. The 28th district linked Hispanic neighborhoods in San Antonio with half of the overwhelmingly Hispanic city of Laredo in the Rio Grande Valley.
As we all know, Henry Cuellar rode his incredible popularity in Laredo to unseat Ciro Rodriguez and replace him in the 28th district.
What happens now?
If the Courts choose to reinstate the old Congressional lines, all of Laredo will go back to the 23rd district, which will shed some Anglo areas in some non-consequential shifting in the San Antonio area affecting several other Congressional districts in other ways. Since Henry Cuellar's base is in Laredo, if he wants to stay in Congress, he runs against Bonilla and likely wins.
The 28th district will return to a disproportionately San Antonio-based district, which could be reclaimed by Ciro Rodriguez or by another ambitious Democratic Latino politician from the area.
I don't see where else the 23rd district gets 100,000 Latino voters. It's possible they could keep Laredo split and take them from other districts in San Antonio, but they can't take them from 28 without endangering that district's Voting Rights Act boundaries. They may be able to take them from TX-20, in downtown San Antonio, but that means that Bonilla is now vulnerable to a San Antonio-based Latino Democrat.
Tough call.