Hundreds At Texas Capitol Speak Out Against Anti-Immigrant Bill

AUSTIN, Texas ― Hundreds of people flooded the halls of the Texas Capitol on Thursday, pressing legislators to abandon a Republican-led effort to crack down on so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that shield some immigrants from detention. The battle over SB4 ― which both Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick view as a priority ― will play a major role in determining the future of deportation policy under the Trump administration. An executive order signed by Trump last week scrapped the discretion policies put in place by the Obama administration, making virtually every undocumented immigrant stopped by local police, for any reason, a priority for deportation. As more Democratic-led cities and counties rebel by enacting sanctuary policies to limit cooperation with ICE, deportation policy under Trump will likely fall far more heavily on red states that encourage police to hold undocumented immigrants in jail on the federal government’s behalf. Texas has the second-largest undocumented population of any U.S. state, after California. SB4 would cut off state grant funds to jurisdictions that limit cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, generally by declining to honor ICE’s requests to hold undocumented immigrants who wouldn’t be detained for any other reason. The bill was updated days before its first committee hearing Thursday to also punish campus police departments that try to adopt sanctuary policies at universities. Supporters view the proposed law as a safety measure intended to make sure the state uniformly complies with federal immigration enforcement. “This bill just says, do what’s already in place,” Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock), the bill’s author, said. “It’s not new law. We’re just saying don’t undermine it.” But hundreds of Texans showed up to offer public comments against the bill, describing it as a draconian crackdown on immigrants. A crowd in the galley watching from above repeatedly cheered when opponents recommended killing the bill, but Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), chairwoman of the State Affairs committee, pounded her gavel and threatened to throw them out. Outside, a group of dozens of undocumented students with the advocacy group United We Dream held a rally on the steps of the Capitol. “We don’t understand why they’re trying to do these attacks against us,” Nahiely Garcia said. “We love our country, and we’re here to stay, whether they like us or not.” Undocumented youths with United We Dream protest on the steps of the Texas Capitol against a bill to crack down on sanctuary cities. Religious leaders opposed it on humanitarian grounds. Immigration lawyers questioned Republican lawmakers’ understanding of immigration law and the liability local jurisdictions could face. Immigrants and Texas-born Americans with immigrant parents offered personal stories about how much they’d achieved here and how increased deportation would destroy their families. Michelle Mejia, 28, registered against the bill in the morning, hoping to testify before having to return to work, but testimony stretched into the evening. A U.S. citizen herself, she worried about how the bill could affect undocumented family members and her husband, who is in the process […]

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