|
Only have a minute? Listen instead
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
SAN JUAN — The El Paso-based Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR) visited the Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday to help spread information about new immigration laws and to call for an end to Operation Lone Star.
BNHR was joined by members of La Unión del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), ARISE Adelante, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Border Workers United — known collectively as Frontera Texas Organizing Project — to educate community members about Texas Senate Bill 4 (SB4) during a forum at the Hidalgo County Precinct 2 Advancement Center in San Juan.
“The purpose of this meeting is to educate members about what SB4 is about because there is a lack of knowledge about it,” BNHR Founder and Executive Director Fernando Garcia said. “More importantly, what are their rights? How can we resist something that we consider illegal and unconstitutional?”
SB4, which went into effect on Feb. 6, increases the minimum sentence from 2 to 10 years for people convicted of smuggling immigrants into the United States. A separate SB4, which is anticipated to go into effect on March 4, would make illegally crossing the border from Mexico a state crime.
“SB4 clearly, for us in our eyes, is going to not only damage communities, it’s going to separate families,” Garcia added. “Also it is something that is above the law and above the constitution. We are reenforcing today that the constitution is the main law of the land, and the people should learn how to defend themselves.”
He also fears the law would be problematic for citizens caring for loved ones.
“If I’m taking my abuelita, my grandma, to the clinic, and I’m driving her to the emergency services because she’s sick, if I’m stopped by the DPS or a local police officer, under SB4 my abuelita will be asked her immigration status,” Garcia said. “If she doesn’t have that, then she would be detained and she would be arrested and deported. Then myself, a U.S. citizen, would be charged with criminal smuggling.
“This is destroying that basic unit. This is criminalizing me as a citizen and it’s criminalizing my abuelita because of her lack of immigration status.”
Garcia said that he and the other organizations in attendance Wednesday are trying to educate community members about their rights should they find themselves in such a situation.
He says not to answer law enforcement questions about immigration and to exercise “the right to remain silent.”
Also, don’t sign anything, he said.
“Talk to a lawyer, go before a judge and have a hearing,” Garcia added. “That’s the basic constitutional right that we are teaching people — how to resist the potential implementation of SB4.”
Garcia’s visit to the Valley is part of a campaign that has taken him and BNHR to Presidio, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, and Laredo to meet with community organizers to help spread information about the new laws, as well as to mobilize and fight against them.
The campaign will continue Thursday in Brownsville, before heading to Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, and culminating in Austin on March 9 for a massive protest.
“Right now it’s really important to provide information to the community members because there’s a lot of misinformation circulating around on social media,” LUPE’s Director of Community Organizing Joaquín García said. “A lot of people are in fear of what could happen to them once these laws go into effect. We’re making sure that they have reliable information from experts like TCRP (Texas Civil Rights Project).”
He said that he hopes that individuals who may be affected by the new laws take advantage of local resources and stay informed.
“I know there is a lot of fear in the communities right now, but it’s important for them to know that organizations like LUPE, ARISE, Border Workers and ACLU that are located here in the Rio Grande Valley will continue working with them to make sure that they have reliable information and to provide assistance when needed,” he said. “They are not alone. All they need to do is come to us and we’ll be able to provide some information to them.”
