Civil Rights, Immigrant Advocates Seek To Learn If Ongoing Austin ICE Sweeps Are Retaliatory

AUSTIN, TX — Civil rights and immigrant advocates recently filed a Freedom of Information Act request for emails and other records with government agencies to determine if the recent crackdown on immigrants in Austin was driven by political retaliation rather than enforcement policies.

The request was filed jointly last week by the Texas Civil Rights Project, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund and Workers Defense Project. The organizations seek to determine if officials at the federal Immigration Customs and Enforcement agency and/or the White House corresponded with state officials ahead of the immigration raids that began two weeks ago in Austin.

The aim is to discern whether the ongoing sweeps for undocumented immigrants were retaliatory in the wake of a disagreement in immigration policy enforcement approach between Gov. Greg Abbott and Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez. The filing is likely informed by past actions by Abbott, who stripped $1.5 million in grants from the county — even those agencies reliant on the annual funds that have nothing to do with law enforcement — after Hernandez adopted a more nuanced approach to immigration enforcement that targets high-level offenders rather than the mass deportations Abbott prefers.

Then there's the closeness between Abbott and Donald Trump — who has taken steps to deport undocumented immigrants and tried in vain to ban Muslims from traveling to the U.S. — for whom the governor extended support in the months leading up to the presidential campaign in November. Trump once donated$35,000 to Abbott's gubernatorial campaign after the state dropped a lawsuit against Trump University for fraud.

The unprecedented level of enforcement by ICE in Austin came days after Abbott's unilateral move to strip the funds in a punitive measure in response to Hernandez's preferred law enforcement approach. It also came in the early part of a Trump administration that shares Abbott's calls for across-the-board deportations.

Abbott has shown a penchant for retaliation in the past, and — in addition to rescinding the county grant monies — also has voiced his efforts to craft legislation that would remove duly elected officials as Hernandez from office for not following his directives to the letter, and is championing a pending bill that would assess fines and even potential jail time for elected officials who disobey.

Adding to Abbott's ire is the Dallas County Commissioners adoption of a “Welcoming Communities” resolution calling for an end to non essential collaborations with ICE. Several federal courts have found some ICE detainer practices to be unconstitutional in other parts of the country, officials said.

While ICE and other officials have insisted the bolstered ICE efforts are part of a routine “enforcement surge,” the ongoing wave of apprehensions in Texas is unlike anything advocates have seen in many years, officials noted.

“We are ready and prepared with the legal tools necessary to defend our immigrant communities," Efrén C. Olivares, Racial & Economic Justice Director with the Texas Civil Rights Project, said. "This means we must reveal the facts that led to the wave of apprehensions in Texas. If the immigration raids were politically motivated, these actions raise serious legal and constitutional concerns that must be addressed.

"Community members must know that due process protects everyone, regardless of their immigration status," she continued. "Being undocumented does not mean you can be thrown out of the country without due process or thrown in jail for no reason. We will stand with our immigrant communities to make sure their rights are upheld.”

To read the FOIA request click here.

>>> Photo courtesy of Workers Defense Project