Law enforcement, business, political and religious leaders to speak on Anti-Hispanic agenda in Texas Legislature

Delegations of RITA community members from every corner of Texas will deliver thousands of letters from constituents asking lawmakers to show leadership, common-sense and compassion when considering anti-immigrant proposals. They want to remind lawmakers of the shame and cost Arizona lawmakers brought upon their state after passing SB1070

Press conference Monday June 13, 2011 1 pm, hallway outside of Texas Senate chamber (second floor)

Rio Grande Guardian | June 9, 2011 | By Steve Taylor | Police chiefs reaffirm opposition to sanctuary cities legislation

The Pew Hispanic Center | Demographic profile of Hispanics in Texas and Hays County in 2009 – According to the report, about 51,000 Hispanics reside in Hays County and 9.1 million in Texas.

Note: Like it or not, Texas is a border state with big border state immigration issues confronting us. What to do about it is not so clear cut as some want to believe. Illegal immigrants are everywhere in Texas and Hays County, working, living, attending church, spending money and interacting daily with legal residents and employers. No magic wand will make them disappear. Mexican residents have been crossing the Rio Grande to work, trade, invest, visit and do business since before Texas won its independence. And we must remember that we invited Mexican laborers in the first place. Modern day immigration traces its roots back to the Bracero Program implemented during WWII to recruit Mexican laborers as American men went to war. Old habits die hard.

Since the Great Depression, our government has swung from one extreme to the other, instituting mass deportations to open invitations for Mexican labor. These days, the Mexican drug cartels are the most fearsome complicating factor. All diplomatic niceties aside, the US should do to the cartel leaders and their soldiers what we did to bin Laden and are now doing to the Taliban leadership in Pakistan – exterminate them, one by one. By and large, reaction to illegal immigration has been a manifestation of the American/Texas public's paranoia (and domestic economic conditions) at any given time. Lately, Perry and his enablers have been working overtime to again whip Texans up into a frenzy. Their motives are transparently political and will accomplish nothing on the ground. Perry's gambit would overwhelm local law enforcement without adding a red cent of funding, forcing local taxpayers to pick up the tab. Raise your hand if you're ready to pony up.

Meanwhile you might want contact your local state rep and senator to ask for their position on these two bills in the Legislature: SB 9 (bill analysis) and HB 9.

Send your comments and questions to roundup.editor@gmail.com, to State Rep. Jason Isaac at jason.isaac@house.state.tx.us, to State Sen. Jeff Wentworth at jeff.wentworth@senate.state.tx.us, to Gov. Perry at http://governor.state.tx.us/contact/ or click on the "comments" at the bottom of the story

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AUSTIN, Texas. June 10, 2011 — In April of 2010, Gov. Rick Perry said that Arizona’s extremist anti-immigrant law wouldn’t be the right direction for Texas. But by the time the 82nd session was upon us just a few months later, Gov. Perry had reversed.

In a nod to the right-wing myth of “sanctuary cities,” he declared the elimination of these imaginary places an “emergency.”

During the regular session, after intense opposition from law enforcement executives, business owners, faith leaders, workers, families and human rights advocates, this so-called emergency item was rightfully voted down. And Texans celebrated.

But as it became obvious that a special session would be coming, Perry revived his threat in the media and earlier this week put not only “sanctuary cities,” but the failing federal S-Comm program, currently under investigation, and unprecedented driver’s license restrictions on the call.

It is now obvious to Texas voters that these measures are based on politics, not policy. And on Monday June 13, a diverse coalition of community leaders will express their disappointment with Governor Perry’s decision to push this anti-Hispanic, anti-immigrant agenda and will explain why proposals such as SB9 and HB9 are out of touch with Texas.

Law enforcement leaders from Dallas, El Paso, San Antonio, among others, will explain how these anti-immigrant proposals will decimate the capacity of local law enforcement to shape appropriate policies to make their communities safe and how they will impose an unfunded mandate that will only promote racial profiling.

Business leaders such as the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC) will speak to the chilling effect these proposals will have on our state economy.

Religious leaders, including evangelical and Methodist pastors and representatives of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops will remind us of the immorality of dividing human beings and pitting them against each other.

Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance (RITA) is a multi-sector statewide network dedicated to building support for comprehensive immigration reform.