Austin City Council Approves $200K Added Grant Money For Legal Aid To Refugees, Immigrants [UPDATED]

AUSTIN, TX — The Austin City Council approved $200,000 in emergency funding for immigration legal services at their Thursday meeting as protesters decrying bolstered enforcement by Immigration Customs and Enforcement agents chanted outside City Hall in protest.

The added grant expands a contract for legal aid services to the Catholic Charities of Central Texas organization that provides free legal services to immigrants. According to charity officials, the group serves some 140 people monthly.

Approval for the bolstered funds came by virtue of a 9-1 vote, with Ellen Troxclair the lone dissenting vote. The conservative councilwoman proposed instead a $50,000 infusion with a call for matching grants from among the community. But the majority voting for the measure pointed at the brisk pace of detentions of undocumented immigrants being readied for deportation since ICE began its federally mandated crackdown on migrants last week.

The ideological divide between Troxclair and her fellow council members on the dais became readily apparent during discussion on the emergency funds, and things got testy. Council member Greg Casar pulled out the "alternative facts" trope in rebutting Troxclair's argument for a lesser level of funding he said wasn't commensurate to the ongoing immigration crackdown throughout Austin.

"There is fear, legitimate fear," Casar said, taking umbrage at Troxclair's inference the issue of mass deportations isn't as severe as has been painted. "Whereas what you have implied and what other leaders have implied is deliberately misleading to score political points on the vulnerable.”

From Feb. 15:

AUSTIN, TX — Austin City Council members on Thursday are scheduled to vote on approving emergency funding for immigrant legal services in the wake of bolstered enforcement by Immigration Customs and Enforcement agents locally that have netted more than 50 undocumented immigrants in the region.

The funds are earmarked for legal services for refugees and immigrants in the Austin community, according to an aide to District 4 council member Greg Casar via email. The 18th item of Thursday's regular council meeting approves an extension of an existing contract with Catholic Charities of Central Texas to provide family immigration legal services, asylum assistance, deportation defense and more.

“The federal government attacked Austin’s immigrant families last week," Casar said, referencing fortified ICE enforcement of immigration policy that has resulted in detainees being separated from family members. "Now, it’s up to the city to step up and take care of the families that our federal leaders are targeting for political gain.”

Casar has consistently been the most visible member of city council to decry recent ICE action, emerging as a fixture at marches, protests and vigils condemning the federal agency's recent bolstered tactics. He has a powerful ally in his opposition to ICE in the form of Austin Mayor Steve Adler, who also regularly attends pro-immigrant rallies to show his support to the immigrant class. On Tuesday, Adler penned an open letter to residents decrying recent ICE crackdowns on undocumented immigrants.

“Austin will not back down on our principles of justice, public safety, and constitutional rights," Casar said. "We want everyone who comes to the U.S. to be protected to the fullest extent of the law.”

Ahead of the council meeting, Casar will lead a morning press conference with amplified details on the emergency funding for legal aid. He's scheduled to be joined by officials of Catholic Charities of Central Texas, American Gateways, JOLT, Texas Civil Rights Project and Workers Defense Project. The press conference is scheduled to take place at City Hall.

>>> Photo above courtesy of Workers Defense Project, photos of Casar, Adler via City of Austin website