On the recordJanuary 30, 2024
As legislators, it is our job to make sure we are not moving forward with drafting legislation that is, on its face, flawed. If we want to legislate and address immigration, let's mean what we say and do so in an effective manner. {time} 1530 This bill does not live up to that standard. The inclusion of the term ``actively assisting'' is ripe for judicial scrutiny and will, undoubtedly, result in court challenges wasting taxpayer dollars and government resources. Nonetheless, fiscal issues caused by poor legislative drafting are the least of my concerns with this bill. This language is so deeply concerning because we already have been witnessing how aggressive policing tactics and unconstitutional racial profiling directed by rogue Governors like Governor Greg Abbott have led to severe harm to-- and has undermined--our legal system all in the name of actively assisting the U.S. Border Patrol. Take, for instance, this last Christmas where U.S. citizens--a husband, wife, their 13-year-old daughter, and their grandmother-- living in El Paso were wrongfully targeted by Texas officers in unmarked vehicles after they were coming back from visiting relatives just across the border in Mexico. The officers ran the family off the road, and at least four Texas Department of Public Safety officers wearing street clothes and tactical vests quickly surrounded their car and began pointing semiautomatic rifles at them.…
Source
govinfo.gov




