News & Commentary

One of the rumors at the beginning of the year about how the 2019 Texas Legislative Session would unfold was that the legislature would largely avoid the big social issues that it has pursued in years past. While that turned out to be true in some cases, there was one area in which the Texas Legislature seemed unwilling to relent: the attack on abortion and reproductive healthcare.

Immigration and immigrants’ rights are hot button topics for civil rights supporters in Texas, but during the 86th Texas Legislature, our elected officials reviewed a lot of policy yet did very little on the issues. 

Participating in the program undermines community trust
and safety.When sheriff's deputies engage in immigration enforcement, fewer people
report crimes for fear of being deported, thus jeopardizing community safety and trust. In fact, a study
of how increased police involvement with immigration enforcement found
70 percent
of undocumented immigrants are less likely to contact authorities about a crime they have witnessed or endured
for fear of being asked about their immigration status or worse, being taken into custody. By ending 287(g)
programs, undocumented immigrants and their loved ones that reside in the community will feel safer from
incrimination and will not have to be silent victims. 

Prioritizing immigration enforcement neglects fighting violent crime.

Community safety also becomes less of a priority when law enforcement uses their time and resources to
participate in immigration enforcement rather than combating violent, more urgent crime in their community.
Counties already struggle with funding local law enforcement operations; branching out to act as a deportation
arm will stretch already limited resources such as jail space. 

287(g) agreements drain county finances.
Participating in the 287(g) program costs counties a significant sum of money.
According to the American Immigration Council’s analysis on 287(g),
state and local governments sustain most of the program’s costs.

If you follow the news, it’s hard not to feel that the right to abortion rests on increasingly shaky ground.