FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 14, 2023
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas House of Representatives tonight voted to pass SB 4, a bill that would allow law enforcement to remove undocumented people from the state and take them to a port of entry. The Texas Senate floor approved the bill last week. SB 4 now awaits Governor Abbott’s signature.
Community advocates have widely criticized the bill and its House companion – HB 4 – as they warn the legislation will promote racial profiling and cause family separation.
Rocío Fierro-Pérez (she/her/ella), interim political director for Texas Freedom Network had the following response:
“By passing this bill, Texas lawmakers are knowingly separating families, while subjecting Texans to racial profiling and discrimination. Our border and undocumented communities have been criminalized time and time again by our state’s leaders. Texas has thrived culturally and financially by working alongside immigrants in our community. Criminalizing our friends and neighbors only pushes us further away from our roots as Texans.
“Texas Freedom Network firmly opposes this oppressive and unjust bill, and we are committed to defending the dignity and rights of all Texans regardless of immigration status. Governor Abbott’s push for this legislation betrays the fundamental principle of empathy that should guide our state. We call upon all Texans to come together in solidarity with undocumented communities and oppose this draconian law that seeks to intimidate and isolate them.”
