Moorhead: A Call to End ICE Violence on behalf of Texas Faith Communities

As Texans of faith and conscience, we affirm the belief—widely shared and deeply held across the world and throughout history—that all people, regardless of country of origin, are members of the family of God, and that we are called to welcome the stranger.

While recognizing the need to maintain our national borders, we oppose policies that dehumanize, criminalize, or endanger our immigrant neighbors. We hold that public policy must protect human life and human dignity, especially the lives of the most vulnerable among us.

We call for restoration of trust and an end to enforcement that terrorizes communities. We call on our leaders to reject enforcement practices that treat entire neighborhoods as targets and that make our immigrant

neighbors afraid to drive to work, report a crime, or seek help. We renew our long-standing call for just, humane, and comprehensive immigration reform that keeps families together and honors the dignity of every person.

We acknowledge that immigration policy and policy enforcement are under the purview of the federal government. We also assert that state officials can impact federal policy in two ways: first, by intervening with

federal officials on behalf of their communities, and second, by shaping incrementally how federal policies are carried out in their state. We believe change is needed at the federal level, and that Texas officials can help.

We call on federal authorities to make the following reforms to ICE enforcement operations:

1. Clear, enforced limits on the use of lethal force, and an end to vehicle-based enforcement tactics that predictably escalate to deadly outcomes;
2. An immediate review and restriction of the use of unmarked vehicles and plainclothes agents in routine enforcement stops, which sow confusion and fear and make peaceful compliance nearly impossible;
3. A binding requirement that federal immigration agents wear activated body cameras and visible identification during all enforcement operations;
4. Prompt and humane notification of families when a loved one is injured, detained, or killed, so that no family again learns of a death through social media;
5. Independent oversight of ICE operations and real accountability when agents violate policy or the law.

We thank the Governor and Houston leaders for initiating investigations into the ICE killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. Their response should set the standard for the response to any ICE-involved death that occurs on Texas soil.

We call on state officials to take the following additional actions:

1. Immediate, independent, and transparent investigations of all ICE-involved deaths in Texas. State and federal officials should work together to ensure the public has the information needed to maintain trust in our law enforcement institutions.
2. Impose a moratorium on 287(g) task force agreements and all information-sharing programs outside of 287(g) agreements until federal officials have undertaken the reforms named above. State and local leaders should not collaborate with federal officials if the federal officials are not respectful of our communities.
3. License and regulate all residential facilities in Texas, including facilities that house children, according to the age-specific standards applied to state facilities, including enforcement of state health and safety requirements and public reporting of violations by facility. Texas should not enable the federal government to house or transport any person in ways that fail to meet the health and safety standards of our state.

Editor’s Note: The above guest column was penned by Bee Moorhead, executive director of Texas Impact. The column appears in The Rio Grande Guardian International News Service with the permission of the author.