Yesterday, a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals panel heard arguments regarding Texas’ SB 4 law, a team at the Houston Chronicle reported with live updates.
The court has not issued a ruling, but the chief judge "appeared skeptical that it does not run afoul of longstanding precedent leaving immigration enforcement solely to the federal government," Benjamin Wermund reports.
Separately on CNN,
as quoted by the Chronicle, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said, "We need immigration reform. We need a safer border. But [SB 4] does neither. It simply makes headlines."
Meanwhile, more Texas law enforcement leaders have been weighing in. They include:
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Sheriff Tom Schmerber of Maverick County, where Eagle Pass is located (Aarón Torres and Kelli Smith, The Dallas Morning News).
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Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar (Josh Peck, Texas Public Radio).
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"We make our decision on law enforcement based on public safety [and] immigration laws are nowhere near top of our public safety priority right now," said Jason Spencer, chief of staff of the Harris County Sheriff's Office (John Wayne Ferguson, Nicole Hensley and Matt deGrood, Houston Chronicle).
In a recent Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force blog post, Chief Ruben Quesada talked about how state laws like SB 4 can undermine trust law enforcement officers have built in their communities. Quesada served in Mesa, Arizona, when the state’s SB 1070 was in effect.
Welcome to Thursday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Ally Villarreal and Clara Villatoro. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
FAITH, TOO — Led by the local Catholic Diocese, the "Do Not Be Afraid: March & Vigil for Human Dignity" is scheduled for this evening in El Paso, Texas. "We are called by our faith to respond," Sandra Ramirez of Estrella del Paso told KTSM. "We will not walk away from those in need," San Antonio pastor Dianne Garcia concludes in her San Antonio Express-News op-ed. And the Houston Chronicle editorial board calls Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against Annunciation House in El Paso "an attack on
religious freedom."
A YEAR LATER — The El Paso march also will commemorate the March 2023 fire in a Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, detention facility that killed 40 migrants. In a collaborative investigation, reporters including Cindy Ramirez of El Paso Matters reveal new details about what happened that night — and how years of failed immigration policies contributed. The fire "showed the consequences that could come from immigration politics on both sides of the border," said Adam Isacson of the Washington Office on Latin America.
WELCOME — More evangelicals, especially women, are advocating for immigration measures that respect the God-given dignity of every person, reports Charlene Pele of CBN News. "We want to see people work together for the flourishing of people no matter what party you're siding with on any given year," said Bri Stensrud, director of Women of Welcome.
‘AMERICAN SPIRIT’ — Ohioans want immigration solutions, Christina Staats, a Forum mobilizer based in Ohio, writes in an Ohio Capital Journal op-ed. She encourages her elected officials to approach immigration with the same spirit and faith as local communities in which many residents are welcoming immigrants. "Take a note from your constituents. Don’t sow division and fear," Staats writes. "Ohioans are showing the American spirit at its best by gathering together and solving problems, welcoming well, and being creative."
THE ECONOMY — Immigration has been "a big plus for U.S. economic growth," Paul Krugman writes in a New York Times column in which he also debunks claims about job losses. Speaking of the latter, read our policy colleague Laurence Benenson’s (and others’) myth-busting in Christine Sellers’ Check Your Fact piece.
