EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Grassroots organizations in Texas are worried a new state law will lead to discrimination against Hispanics.
On Wednesday, they announced a “Know-your-rights campaign” to report abuses once Gov. Greg Abbott signs SB4 into law. The bill approved this year by the Texas Legislature empowers peace officers in the state to inquire about immigration status and bans local governments from limiting assistance to federal immigration agencies.
Immigration advocates and Democratic lawmakers say Texas is usurping federal authority and likely will face lawsuits once Abbott signs the bill. They expect that to happen in the coming days.
Fernando Garcia, executive director of the El Paso-based Border Network for Human Rights, believes state discretionary powers on immigration will lead to racial profiling by police and the separation of families. He said many families in Latino communities that constitute 40% percent of Texas’ population often consist of American-born children and parents who are long-time residents of the U.S. but lack legal immigration status.
“What the governor is doing, what the police will be doing is illegal and unconstitutional. So, we are going to promote knowledge of the U.S. Constitution (through) know-your-rights training, presentations and actions including civil disobedience,” Garcia said.
One such action will be a “journey of resistance” caravan spanning the Texas-Mexico border: From Anthony near the New Mexico state line to Harlingen a few miles from the Gulf of Mexico. That will be followed by a tour of major Texas population centers concluding on March 9 with a protest in Austin, Garcia said.
BNHR and other groups spearheading the campaign plan to tell migrants they have the right to refuse to answer questions about their immigration status. The groups also plan to invite migrants to politick for the repeal of SB4 – they cannot vote, but they can influence Americans who can.
“We cannot stay silent to these xenophobic, racist policies this governor is promoting. These are things that affect our border communities,” said Tania Chavez, director of La Union del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), a South Texas civil rights group. “We welcome migrants because they make this country greater.”
Border Report reached out to Abbott’s office in Austin and to his campaign office for comment and is awaiting a response.
Abbott has deployed hundreds of additional Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and thousands of Texas Army National Guard troops to the border in response to the constant migrant surges of the past few years. That is happening under Operation Lone Star, which recently got a $5 billion boost from the Legislature for the next two years. Abbott has said he is trying to protect Texans amid President Biden’s “open border policies.”
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, said she supports BNHR’s efforts.
“What the state of Texas is doing and our governor and members of the (Republican-led) Legislature are doing is they want to have a state immigration system, and that is against our Constitution, against federal law,” Escobar said Wednesday in an online conference with reporters. “The motivation behind this law is to look for people who look like migrants. This will affect Hispanic communities and is against the law.”
She said Democratic lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have approached the Justice Department to look into Operation Lone Star for possible civil rights violations. She is also concerned about DPS chases of suspected smugglers that have ended with multiple crashes in El Paso.