Members of the Border Network for Human Rights — as well as local community leaders and elected officials — are calling for the repeal of Senate Bill 4, Texas’ new immigration law set to take effect March 5.
The “We Will Resist” campaign has been traveling around the state in what’s been described as “Journeys of Resistance.” Wednesday morning, the group stopped in Dallas. With downtown Dallas as the backdrop, the group held signs that had SB4 crossed out and chanted “No SB4.”
The campaign also calls for the end of Operation Lone Star, the controversial border enforcement program, Gov. Greg Abbott announced in 2021.
Samantha Singleton, policy director at the Border Network in El Paso, said she wants the public to better understand the new law.
“Immigration should only be enforced by federal, so we want to educate community members throughout Texas because this is a bill that will affect all Texas, not just Texans on the border,” Singleton said. “And let them know what could and probably will happen to them if law enforcement were to stop them and ask immigration questions.”
Under the new law, local and state law enforcement could arrest anyone suspected of entering Texas illegally.
Singleton is also critical of Operation Lone Star, which she says has militarized the border.
Genoveva Castellanos, who's with the Texas Organizing Project, said she and others are tired of the governor targeting immigrants.
“I think it’s time for us not to give up, and to send a message to Abbott that we’re not a public charge,” Castellanos said in her native Spanish.
Selena Hernandez, who's with the Workers Defense Project, said she works with many immigrants, including some who’ve told her they’re scared and who no longer want to live in Texas.
“One of my clients has sold everything, [including] her car, to go live in another state,” Hernandez said. “She said, ‘I’m not going to stay somewhere where they may come looking for me."
State Representative Victoria Neave Criado said she has numerous concerns about the new state law, starting with how federal law should supersede state jurisdiction in this case.
“Senate Bill 4 should be unconstitutional,” she said. “This far-reaching legislation signifies a condemnation of due process and equal protection for all Texans within our borders and raises alarms about racial profiling in Latino communities in Texas, hindering asylum seeking rights for migrants.”
The caravan started in El Paso on February 15 and traveled along the border to Houston. It heads to San Antonio and San Marcos next.
Got a tip? Email Stella M. Chávez at schavez@kera.org. You can follow Stella on Twitter @stellamchavez.
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