As part of what Texas immigrant rights organizers are calling a “summer of resistance,” leaders from El Paso County and the cities of Dallas and Austin are preparing “to move forward with resolutions or litigation” against the racist “show me your papers” bill recently signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott that, if successfully implemented later this year, would sanction racial profiling of nearly half the state’s population by turning local law enforcement into federal immigration agents:
The announcement comes after the League of United Latin American Citizens, Maverick County and the city of El Cenizo filed suit to stop the bill.
The city of Austin and Travis County are defendants in a lawsuit Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed as a preemptive measure. His lawsuit specifically asks a U.S. District Court to rule that the law is constitutional and does not violate the 4th or 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution and is not pre-empted by federal law.
On Tuesday, Austin and Travis County welcomed an ally on that fight.
“I have to preserve the work of these brave leaders in Austin,” said Phillip Kingston, a member of the Dallas City Council. “We will be discussing intervening in the case, coming to the aid of Austin because we have a large city attorney’s office we have lots of legal resources.”
Later, El Paso County Commissioner David Stout said the Commissioner’s Court there voted 4-to-1 to move forward with a federal lawsuit in the Western District of Texas.
While talks are still in the early stages, groups including the National Council of La Raza, the Latino Victory Project, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, and others “have begun mapping out” other potential responses to the “show me your papers” legislation, including an economic boycott similar to efforts seen in North Carolina and Arizona.
“The fight is now in the courtroom and San Antonio stands shoulder to shoulder with Texas cities in that fight,” San Antonio City Council member Rey Saldaña said.