Hundreds of protesters hit the streets in Houston and El Paso as tensions flared over a new Texas law that could slap cuffs on suspected illegal border crossers. Senate Bill 4, gearing up to take effect on March 5, is turning Texas into a battleground over immigration enforcement, traditionally a federal prerogative.
Those gathered, a stone's throw from the bustling Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, voiced their outrage at what they see as an unjust clampdown. As reported by the Houston Chronicle, protesters brandished signs against SB4, a law Gov. Greg Abbott says is essential to "stop the tidal wave of illegal entry into Texas." Critics, however, slam the policy for potentially ushering in more discrimination and dropping a federal responsibility on local law enforcement's doorstep.
In El Paso, demonstrators are not sitting this one out either, with over 100 folks taking a stand against what they fear is a civil rights infringement waiting to happen. Fox San Antonio captured the spirit of the protests, underscoring the fear that SB4 would not only make it a state crime to enter Texas illegally but could also open the door to biased policing.
One participant, Fernando Garcia, an El Paso resident and director of the Border Network for Human Rights, blasted SB4, saying "This agenda has taken the anti-immigrant agenda, the anti-people's agenda, to a new full level with SB4," in an interview given to the Houston Chronicle. Maria Trujillo, from the Workers Defense Projects, highlighted the enduring trauma deportations can inflict on families, citing the friend who lost her job and whose children still live in the shadow of their father's removal.
