RIO GRANDE CITY, RGV – County judges and mayors from Texas have sent a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton expressing disappointment with his effort to have President Trump rescind the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Among those to sign the letter are Hidalgo County Judge Ramon Garcia and Rio Grande City Mayor Joel Villarreal.
A copy of the letter can be found at the end of this news story.
On June 29, Attorney General Ken Paxton, along with a group of other attorneys general, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions threatening to press on with a pending lawsuit against the U.S. if DACA is not rescinded by September 5, 2017. With the September deadline looming, local government leaders are urging the attorney general not to move forward with the legal challenge.
“Rescinding DACA would impact the hundreds of thousands of young people nationwide who have come out of the shadows, passed background checks, and have made the most of their opportunity to live and work in America lawfully,” said Mayor Villarreal.
Judge Garcia agreed. “Removing the program would be a violation of their trust in us to help them be the most productive community members possible when we asked for them to apply for temporary deferral of deportation and work permits,” he said.
El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar said: “DACA-eligible recipients embody everything we should stand for, and that is hardworking, dedicated, passionate young people looking to live the American dream. Why would we target already vulnerable youth in our cities/counties across Texas and the U.S.? We hope that President Trump honors his promise to our DREAMers.”
The Texas county judges and mayors that signed the letter says DREAMers have made Texas communities stronger economically, culturally, and socially. Their letter says rescinding DACA would have a “damaging impact” on communities across the nation.
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, nearly 800,000 individuals who were brought to the U.S. as young undocumented immigrants have enrolled in DACA, with over 234,000 of those individuals residing in Texas.
In April, President Trump assured DACA recipients that they could “rest easy” because they were not targets for deportation. In June, however, the Trump Administration rescinded implementation of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program (DAPA), which was similar to DACA in that it provided deferred action status to certain parents living in the U.S. illegally. This instilled concern over the future of the DACA program.
The letter was signed by:
Hon. Veronica Escobar – County Judge, El Paso County
Hon. Nelson W. Wolff – County Judge, Bexar County
Hon. Sarah Eckhardt – County Judge, Travis County
Hon. Clay L. Jenkins – County Judge, Dallas County
Hon. Ramon Garcia – County Judge, Hidalgo County
Hon. Ron Nirenberg – Mayor, San Antonio
Hon. Steve Adler – Mayor, Austin
Hon. Manuel Leos, Sr. – Mayor, Village of Vinton
Hon. Joel Villarreal – Mayor, Rio Grande City
Hon. Ramsey English Cantu – Mayor, Eagle Pass
Hon. Maya Sanchez – Mayor, City of San Elizario
Here is a copy of the letter:
The Honorable Ken Paxton Attorney General of Texas
P.O. Box 12548
Austin, Texas 78711-2548
RE: June 29, 2017 Letter from Ken Paxton re Texas, et al., v. United States, et. al., Case No. 1:14-cv-00254 (S.D. Tex.)
Attorney General Paxton:
We write to express our profound disappointment with your letter dated June 29th addressed to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions asking President Trump to rescind the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Doing so would impact the hundreds of thousands of young people nationwide who have come out of the shadows, passed background checks, and have made the most of their opportunity to live and work in America lawfully. Removing the program would be a violation of their trust in us to help them be the most productive community members possible when we asked for them to apply for temporary deferral of deportation and work permits.
As local leaders, we know firsthand that DACA provides stability to the lives of its recipients and that immigrants have and continue to make our communities stronger economically, culturally, and socially. Young adults who have benefited from DACA serve in our military, are pursuing higher education and work as nurses and first responders; they are our neighbors, students, family members and community leaders. As of March 2017, over 234,000 Texans have benefited from the DACA program and continue to contribute to our communities and fuel our state’s economy.
A 2016 study by the National Immigration Law Center and Center for American Progress entitled “New Study of DACA Beneficiary Shows Positive Economic and Educational Outcomes” found that receiving DACA has increased recipients’ hourly wages by an average of 42 percent. Such an increase affords participants the ability to grow our economy by opening bank accounts, purchasing homes, cars and other goods/services. The study also found that 65 percent of respondents are currently in school. Of those, 70 percent are also working. The dignity afforded to our bright and motivated young people is providing them the opportunity to pursue the American dream.
Ending DACA, as the June 29th letter demands, would be devastating to youth who know no other country but the United States. The consequences would reverberate across the state and nation as our economy would suffer from the loss of taxes, employers would see a loss in qualified workers who they have trained and invested in, and schools and universities would see a drop in enrollment. Law enforcement agencies have gone on record indicating that the protections DACA provides enables our young people to feel confident in reporting crimes without the fear of deportation thus, making our communities safer.
We understand the need to address individuals who have entered our country and engaged in criminal activity. However, we do not agree with the effort to punish established community members who are working to advance themselves, our state and our country. We call on you to stand with these young people and stand for the best of what Texas and America represents. We urge that you not to pursue amending the pending lawsuit in the Southern District of Texas and/or pursue additional means by which to impact the important DACA program and its participants.
Sincerely,
Veronica Escobar
County Judge, El Paso, Texas
Nelson W. Wolff
County Judge, Bexar County, Texas
Sarah Eckhardt
County Judge, Travis County, Texas
Clay Lewis Jenkins
County Judge, Dallas County, Texas
Ramon Garcia
County Judge, Hidalgo County, Texas
Ron Nirenberg
Mayor, City of San Antonio, Texas
Steve Adler
Mayor, Austin, Texas
Manuel Leos
Mayor, Village of Vinton, Texas
Joel Villarreal
Mayor, Rio Grande City, Texas
Ramsey English Cantu
Mayor, Eagle Pass, Texas
Maya Sanchez
Mayor, City of San Elizario, Texas
Cc: The Honorable Greg Abbott, Governor of the State of Texas
Editor’s Note: The main image shows Rio Grande City Mayor Joel Villarreal speaking at an event in Roma, Texas, in May, 2017. (Photo: RGG/Steve Taylor)
