EDINBURG — Hidalgo County commissioners passed a proclamation Monday morning opposing the Trump Administration’s zero tolerance policy that separates undocumented children from their parents.
EDINBURG — Hidalgo County commissioners passed a proclamation Monday morning opposing the Trump Administration’s zero tolerance policy that separates undocumented children from their parents.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Joseph Palacios, who placed the item on the agenda, said he does not encourage illegal immigration, but instead called for a better solution to the complex issue.
Palacios was joined by several community nonprofits whose members also denounced the practice, including La Union del Pueblo Entero, A.R.I.S.E and the Equal Voice Network, among others.
Hidalgo County District Attorney Ricardo Rodriguez said U.S. laws must be followed, but also sympathized with the plight of the immigrants, many of which are facing oppression and violence.
The proclamation comes at a time when dozens of families seeking asylum are lining up at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers are preventing them from filing for protection.
Hidalgo County has previously weighed in on issues that touch on immigration. Earlier this year, commissioners joined a multi-state lawsuit against the federal government for its inclusion of a citizenship question to the upcoming U.S. Census.
In 2016, about a month after President Donald Trump took office, the county sent a letter to the administration that appeared to indicate support for the construction of a barrier that could serve as a flood control mechanism, such as the levees that were built throughout the region about a decade ago.
Last year, however, county leaders sent a clarification to the first letter that reiterated their opposition to the construction of a border wall.
