by the National Political Committee, Texas DSA chapters, and the National Anti-Racism Working Group - Immigrants' Rights Committee.
On May 7, 2017,
the Texas Senate passed SB4, a bill that allows local law enforcement to check
the immigration status of people in most instances, such as routine traffic
stops. This "show me your papers" law will result in racial profiling
throughout Texas communities. These illegal arrests will increase tensions
between law enforcement and the communities they seek to protect and serve. SB4
will allow law enforcement to detain Texas residents lacking legal status until
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrives to take them to privatized
detention centers for processing.
All Texans will be
endangered when fear of law enforcement and their continuous collaboration with
ICE outweighs the need for help from those same government agencies when the
victim of a crime.
The American Civil
Liberties Union has recently issued a travel advisory for those planning to
visit Texas after September 1, 2017 when the law comes into effect, showing the
severe restrictions on civil liberties that this bill brings to not only Texas
residents, but to those visiting as well.
This law forces
local law enforcement to comply with SB4 by threatening those departments and
officers who don’t with heavy fines and/or termination. Governor Abbott and the
Texas legislature have continued to disregard pleas from local law enforcement
and community advocates who maintain that this legislation undermines the
safety of all Texas residents, regardless of status, and the fact that people
of Latin American descent make up 40% of the population in the state, including
citizens as well as residents, DACA holders, and undocumented individuals They
have instead chosen to enact this racist bill into law.
SB4 relies on a
oft repeated trope in U.S. politics in which reactionary leaders overplay the “dangers”
that immigrants represent to our communities, and then assuage that fear among
their base by passing legislation which virtually assures their reelection. It
is political theatre ahead of the 2018 state elections - and future federal
ones. The lives of those whom the Governor endangers by signing this bill into
law are not, and should not be pawns.
The Democratic
Socialists of America condemn this law for creating organized state terror. DSA
is committed to anti-racist organizing aimed at building a diverse,
multi-racial movement to demand just immigration reform. We support full and
equal rights for all, and sanctuary means sanctuary for undocumented
immigrants, victims of domestic violence, transgender people, and other
vulnerable communities.
DSA is committed
to building local power to stop racist policing, arrests, and deportations of
our communities and Texas DSA stands with immigrant Texans to fight SB4, in the
courts, the streets, and the legislature whatever way we can, however long it
may take. Republican attacks on immigrants, refugees, black lives, indigenous
communities, and LGBTQIA+ have only unified us and strengthened our resolve to
protect Texas' diversity.
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