On the cusp of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration and amid fears are over his promises of mass deportation, Grand Prairie’s police chief is trying to quell fears in his community.
Speaking at an immigration forum at the Uptown Theater this week, Chief Daniel Scesney said his officers will not go knocking door to door or check immigration papers.
“What we’re not going to do is round people up and take them to jail because their papers – we won’t even ask them. That is how things will take place in Grand Prairie,” he said. “My officers would not be using their time efficiently if they were driving around trying to find people who might have been born in another place.”
He said in order for his law enforcement agency to enforce immigration law, they would have to participate in the federal 287(g) program, under which state and local agencies enter into an agreement with ICE to act as immigration enforcement agents.
“We are not a 287(g) organization, and as long as I’m chief of police, we will not be a 287(g) organization,” Scesney said. His comments were met with applause and cheers from the audience.
However, Scesney said he would use any available tool to target violent criminals, including transnational gangs such as Tren de Aragua.
“We will arrest you for not turning on a turn signal and use every tool available to deport them out of this country,” he said.
The forum was a collaboration with the consulate offices of El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico, the immigration advocacy group Proyecto Inmigrante, elected officials and representatives from community groups such as the League of United Latin American Citizens.
Scesney said he was concerned more people were not at the event.
“Frankly, I think it’s because of fear,” he said.
Scesney said that fear could also mean people without legal status won’t report crimes. Consul General of El Salvador Milton Peraza said Grand Prairie is taking a good step to building trust in the community.
“You are saying ‘you can trust us, you can come to us, we're going to help you out,'” Peraza said.
About 47% of Grand Prairie residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, and nearly a quarter were born outside the U.S., according to the most recent Census data.
Myrna Mendez, founder of Comadres Unidas de Dallas y Mas, one of the groups that partnered for the event, said she came out of the forum with a sense of relief.
“It was very important to listen to what was said and to return that sense of security to the community,” Mendez said in Spanish. “It’s important that crime is not normalized and that people are not afraid to report things to the police.”
Although Mendez said she would have wanted more people to attend, she said her organization and other advocacy groups plan to have community meetings like these throughout North Texas.
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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