In some ways, Texas has provided a crystal ball for the rest of the country when it comes to immigration policy.<\/p>\n
Before the Trump administration poured billions<\/a> into immigration enforcement and built partnerships between local police and state and federal immigration agents, Texas was already doing it.<\/p>\n So, for those opposed to the deportation surge, Texas is worth paying attention to.<\/p>\n That was one of the takeaways from a panel Saturday at the KUT Festival<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHere in Texas, we have kind of a four- to five-year head start when it comes to the rest of the country,\u201d said Kristin Etter, the director of policy and legal services at the Texas Immigration Law Council. \u201cWe have operated a program called Operation Lone Star <\/a>that has used state resources. So we have a model here in Texas for this police\/ICE collaboration.”<\/p>\n Another takeaway from the panel: In a state where much of the voting public and all state political leaders support aggressive immigration enforcement, opposition becomes local.<\/p>\n In liberal Austin, local leaders have tried to craft policies that would limit police partnering with ICE, but the governor took notice and the Austin Police Department had to soften one policy <\/a>under threat of funding cuts.<\/p>\n City Council Member Zo Qadri said Austin still has tools at its disposal \u201cto make sure that folks are protected and are safe.\u201d<\/p>\n