Big Brother Sets Eyes on Immigrants

A crowd of Texas immigrant and civil rights organizations rallied together on the steps of the capitol to protest anti-immigrant and anti-Latino legislation last Monday. Rally participants were demanding a halt to the construction of the Karnes County Civil Detention Facility.

The controversial $32 million, 600 bed detention facility, located roughly 60 miles Southeast of San Antonio, is scheduled to be completed at the end of the year, and is designed to house low-risk detainees facing deportation. The facility is being built and will be run by GEO Group, which has come under fire in the past for inadequate medical care, deaths in custody, and unsanitary conditions in their facilities.

The protest comes amongst concerns about the waves of anti-immigration legislation crashing including Senate Bill 9 which would dissolve sanctuary cities – meaning anyone who is stopped by police can be hassled about their immigration status. Protestors also pushed for an end to Secure Communities – a mega-network of arrest data pooled from local, state and federal agencies for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to draw from, basically extending its reach. It was initially intended to target high-level offenders but, according to Texans United for Families, Travis County's participation in this program has led to more than 2,700 Travis County residents being turned over to ICE, mostly for low-level offenses, and to nearly 1,900 deportations from Travis County since 2008.

In recent weeks, Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts have either pulled out of or refused participation in the Secure Communities program. According to Esther Reyes, spokeswoman for the Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition, "With the passage of SB nine in the Texas Senate, now more than ever Texans need to raise our voices against unjust, ineffective, and costly programs like Secure Communities that blatantly target Latinos and other people of color."