Attendees listen during a news conference in April at Dallas City Hall to condemn Gov. Greg Abbott’s threat to Dallas to claw back public safety funding he says the city may lose because of its rules around collaborating with federal immigration officials.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
Fear doesn’t help
Re: “Immigration rules revised after threat from Abbott — Changes come amid clash over local collaboration with federal authorities,” April 25 Metro & Business story.
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As a Dallas pastor, I am watching recent immigration policy discussions with deep concern because beneath debates about compliance, grants and jurisdiction is a more urgent question: what happens to human dignity when fear becomes part of daily life for our neighbors?
In the United Methodist baptismal covenant, we promise to resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves. That promise is not confined to worship. It is a public moral commitment.
Many immigrant families in Dallas now hear policy language through the lens of vulnerability: Will I be safe? Will asking for help place my family at risk? Will institutions see me first as a person, or first as a problem? The dignity of all people is at stake when trust begins to erode between communities and public systems.
Dallas is stronger because of immigrant neighbors whose labor, faith and resilience shape this city every day.
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Justice must be measured not only by what is legal, but by what protects human worth. If fear becomes the loudest message people hear, then all of us should be concerned.
The Rev. Ryan Wager, Dallas
Executive pastor, Oak Lawn United Methodist Church
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Students affected now
As a Dallas educator, I see the impact of state policy in my classroom every day.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s threat to withhold $32.1 million in public safety grants unless Dallas increases collaboration with federal immigration enforcement is not abstract. It is affecting our students now.
Nearly every week, I work with children who fear a parent will be detained or deported. Some are already grieving those losses. Others sit in class, anxious and distracted, wondering if their family will be there when they get home.
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This is trauma — and it follows them into school.
It shows up as difficulty focusing, behavioral struggles and a growing sense of “why bother?” when children feel they do not belong. We are asking students to meet academic standards while their sense of safety is undermined.
At the same time, public schools face funding strains from voucher programs that divert critical resources.
These pressures are compounding — making it harder to teach, harder to learn and harder to sustain strong schools.
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Abbott serves all Texans. Our policies should reflect that by supporting stability, not fear.
Jennifer Woodson, Dallas
Bowing to the president
No surprise that Gov. Greg Abbott is more concerned with showing President Donald Trump and Trump’s Texas base how MAGA he is than with proper, effective and ethical policing in our cities.
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Killing the golden goose
Someone who has Gov. Greg Abbott’s ear should make him aware that killing Texas cities could possibly kill the golden goose of the Texas miracle economy. Austin seems to be constantly at war with the large cities, the engines of our economy.
Daniel Siculan, Royse City
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He knows it’s a misfire
Re: “Gov. Abbott Misfires in Going After Police — There are legal, logistical obstacles to having Dallas cops act as immigration enforcers,” Aprill 22 editorial.
I have no doubt Gov. Greg Abbott realizes this is a misfire. He is, after all, a lawyer. His purpose? Pandering to the president.
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Double standard?
Conservatives who resisted city and county officials enforcing federal gun laws seem quite eager to see their involvement in immigration.
Ken Duble, Dallas/The Cedars
He agrees with Chip Roy
Re: “Chip Roy’s Latest Anticonservative Idea — MAMDANI Act is dangerous political posturing,” April 23 editorial.
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I totally agree with Chip Roy’s proposed legislation. It is the answer for preventing the collapse and ideological conquest of America’s constitutional republic.
As the imprisoned terrorist, Carlos the Jackal, proclaimed, “Only a coalition of Marxists and Islamists can destroy the United States.”
This coalition is the clear and present danger that not only threatens America’s freedom, but also that of free and secular societies throughout Western Civilization.
I believe Europe is being controlled in real time through the ideological encroachment of Islamization. Left unchecked, America’s peril is the same.
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Mike Ramirez, San Antonio
Not a flattering picture
Once upon time, we welcomed anyone who wanted to move to these United States. That was the fairest immigration policy. U.S. Rep. Chip Roy’s proposal is just another racially motivated rant to lock us in a box and throw away the key.
Whoever is living here is subject to our laws, even if they are poorly designed or executed. The expectation is “if we break the law, we must pay the consequences.” We have courts to ensure that we are given a chance to defend ourselves and ensure we are treated fairly. They usually work in our favor.
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Our current immigration policies are not fair. If you don’t arrive with the blessing of our ambassadors and through an approved portal, we make it difficult for you to stay and become a citizen.
And now, all immigrants are eligible for instant removal with no due process. We even have deportation camps.
It’s not a flattering picture, but the stain is on all of us. We are responsible for our laws.
We can, and should do better, and demand better from those we elect to represent us. The shame is on us when we don’t.
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The governor’s new mantra
My, how things change! It wasn’t so long ago when then Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott famously summarized his routine for handling federal overreach during the Obama administration by stating, “I go to the office. I sue the federal government. Then I go home.”
Now, Abbott’s mantra seems to be, “I go to the office. I investigate Texas cities for limiting cooperation with federal immigration officials. Then I go home.”
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It is no wonder that the country is in the state we are in with leaders such as the current crop we have in office.
Who is that masked man?
It was my assumption that Gov. Greg Abbott worked for the residents of Texas and not President Donald Trump. When the president demanded redistricting, Abbott complied to make a plan with no input from the voters.
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When the president complained about ICE compliance in the Dallas police department, the governor threatened to cut funding to the city and the police.
I believe the governor is disloyal to the office of governor when he puts Trump above the citizens of Texas. Now, it’s reported that the governor has his eyes on higher office
As an old movie line once ran, “Who is that masked man?” Come on, governor; you are a better person than that.
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