News & Commentary

After Jane Doe, a 17-year-old immigrant from Central America, found out she was pregnant last month, she decided to have an abortion. But the Office of Refugee Resettlement — the federal government agency charged with caring for unaccompanied immigrant minors once they enter the country — is prohibiting her from getting one.

The fight to kill SB4, Texas’ unconstitutional anti-immigrant law, is not over yet.

With SB4 blocked and DACA rescinded, Texas’s immigrant communities face a future of fear and uncertainty.

President Trump’s border wall proposal is on the ropes, but that has not discouraged border sheriffs from pitching their own misguided scheme. According to a media report, sheriffs along the U.S.-Mexico border are quietly planning to acquire iris-recognition technology with help from a private surveillance company. Pitched in part as a tool to “secure our border,” the use of iris-recognition technology could disproportionately affect those already targeted by the Trump Administration’s policies. This is not only a “biometric wall” – the deployment of iris-scanning equipment would also feed a nationwide database that raises privacy and security concerns.

The days and weeks after Hurricane Harvey are going to be hard for many families in Texas. We put together a list of resources to help assist community members in need.

Hurricane Harvey has already resulted in at least 10 deaths and dozens of injuries. Unfortunately, immediate relief is not in sight for Texas residents. As individuals, families, and entire communities prepare to assess the catastrophic damage this storm has wrought on lives, homes, and livelihoods, it is critically important that the federal government’s immigration agenda does not put more people at risk.

This post originally appeared on the ACLU National website.

Texas's "show me your papers" law Senate Bill 4 (SB4) is scheduled to take effect September 1st. If enacted, SB4 will put a target on the backs of communities of color, allowing officers to stop people based on how they look, how they speak or what accent they have. Thousands of Texas families, law enforcement and community leaders have spoken out against this hateful bill. 

This post originally appeared on the San Antonio Current's website.