Austin City Council votes to end Secure Communities


by Jennifer Curington
July 23, 2014

A resolution City Council passed June 26 encourages the Travis County sheriff’s office to not enforce a program that targets undocumented immigrants.

Members of the community came out in large numbers to show support for the resolution that calls for an end to the Secure Communities program in Austin initiated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

Austin resident Margarita Campos told council members how she had been detained two days prior for going 10 miles above the speed limit. She told them how fearful she was for her two daughters because their father is currently going through deportation proceedings.

“I didn’t know what was going to happen and didn’t know who to turn to for help. I felt like a little dog being attacked by a big dog,” she said. “I was completely frozen, and so I think that Secure Communities just instills more fear in our community.”

Nora De La Rosa, another community member, thanked the council for considering the resolution so future generations do not have to grow up in fear like she did.

Councilwoman Laura Morrison originally proposed the resolution and thanked those who came out to show support.

She said the immigration issue is “a social justice issue, a civil rights issue.

It’s an issue of impacting family and community health. It’s a public safety issue, and it’s a fiscal issue, too, because it’s taxpayer cost.”

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