Activists and student organizations are calling for officials to limit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in Travis County after ICE activity led to two deaths in Houston and Maine earlier this month. This pushback comes as some groups cite an observed increase in immigration operations in Central Texas.
During a July 14 meeting of the Travis County Commissioners Court, County Judge Andy Brown held a moment of silence for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, the 52-year-old Houston resident who was fatally shot by ICE agents earlier this month. The moment was also in remembrance of others killed in encounters with immigration enforcement.
In the aftermath of the killings, agents are now required to wear body cameras when stopping vehicles, according to reporting by The Guardian.
In his subsequent remarks, Brown stated that the county has not authorized ICE to use any public property as a staging ground for operations. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to requests for comment or provide info on the number of ICE operations in Travis County in the last four months.
“I stand with all of you and everybody here today in your frustration with the lack of action of our government during this time,” Brown said.
The commissioners court’s ability to limit ICE activity is restrained by Texas Senate Bill 4, which prohibits cities and other local governments from using legislation to impede federal and state immigration law.
Caitlin Corkill spoke during the meeting’s public comment period on behalf of two immigrant advocacy organizations. She asked the court to ban ICE from county property and invest in legal defense and rapid-response services.
Corkill, a board member of Indivisible Austin and volunteer with Austin Sanctuary Network, asked for transparency on how the county budget funds local law enforcement cooperation with ICE since the implementation of Texas Senate Bill 8, which requires Travis County to enter a federal agreement. The agreement, which went into effect in January, requires designated local law enforcement officials to carry out federal immigration enforcement.
“The county jail is the largest line item on the budget as it stands,” Corkill said after the meeting. “Now we’re doing federal immigration work on behalf of the state, and so there will be additional dollars being allocated to it, and so we want to understand what that looks like.”
Adit Raha, president of University Democrats, said recent ICE activity has impacted members who are the children of immigrants, including himself. He said immigration crackdowns have led him to make sure he has his driver’s license or passport card on him. He said other students have taken similar precautions.
“It was infuriating,” Raha said of the recent killings by ICE agents. “But it wasn’t shocking, and that’s, I guess, the scary part is that this has become the norm.”
The Austin Police Department directed the Texan to a revised policy on ICE warrants, which states APD officers cannot arrest or detain anyone using only an ICE administrative warrant. An officer can choose to contact ICE to verify the warrant, but is instructed to avoid prolonging the detention if they choose to do so.
The Workers Defense Project, a Texas organization that advocates for immigrant and worker aid, said it has seen a rise in immigration enforcement activity in Texas communities. The project’s communications director, Christine Bolaños, said the threat of ICE has created a different feeling of anxiety and confusion amongst its members.
“(It’s) the fear, right? The fear of that risk,” Bolaños said. “We have members who are afraid to leave their home. It is so extreme that some of them are skipping doctor appointments. Sometimes they’re not reporting to work.”