Civil Rights Conference: The Constitution Protects All Texans

By Dotty Griffith Public Education Director The fight for immigrants’ rights is one of this century’s great civil rights challenges. The Supreme Court has consistently ruled that the authority to regulate immigration rests exclusively with the federal government and has prohibited state and local enforcement of federal immigration law without federal authorization. Moreover, local enforcement of immigration law often leads to racial profiling and drives a wedge between police and the communities they serve, making everyone less safe. The United States should not be a country that arrests people without cause and detains them without access to counsel or family. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happens to thousands of immigrants caught up in raids, transferred into detention centers, and pressured into signing removal orders without being able to consult attorneys or family. Locking up people for years without hearings is illegal. The constitutional guarantee of due process applies to all people in this country, not just to U.S. citizens. Join the ACLU of Texas and numerous other civil rights organizations at a community conference in Houston titled Civil Rights in the 21st Century: Uniting Communities for Justice.  This conference will provide an overview of issues relating to immigrants’ right and, more importantly, will unite our community.  Our goal is to use this conference as an opportunity to form a broad and diverse coalition of organizations and concerned community members dedicated to ensuring Constitutional protections for all Texans.  Join us! To learn more about the conference and to find out how to register please visit www.civilrightscoalition.net.