What is SB 9? Senate Bill 9 would require all local Texas law enforcement to enforce immigration law by participating in Secure Communities. On April 28, SB 9 passed in the Senate. Both Valley Senators, Sen. Hinojosa and Sen. Lucio did not take a stand for immigrant and working families and voted in favor of the bill.

What's wrong with SB 9 and Secure Communities?

SB 9 would force all local police departments to participate in Secure Communities, a federal program that checks the fingerprints of all who are arrested to check their citizenship status and those who are undocumented are placed into deportation proceedings.

The problem is that the vast majority (79 percent) of the people deported due to S-Comm are non-criminals or were picked up for lower level offenses, such as traffic offenses or petty juvenile mischief. According to ICE’s own data, since the program was initiated, more than a quarter (28 percent) of the people transferred to ICE custody through S-Comm have no criminal record whatsoever. But these are the people who are frequently targeted and deported due to a faulty program.

We are deeply disappointed that Senator Hinojosa & Senator Lucio voted to pass SB-9 in the Senate because we fear that passage of this bill will cause even more suffering across the immigrant community. We need immigration reform, not another program that separates families over minor traffic violations or for no reason at all.

To stop the ever increasing attack on the immigrant community, we must stand together and resist bills like SB-9. Learn more about LUPE's work on behalf of immigrant families and stand with us to fight for an end to immigrant-bashing and racial profiling and contact johnmichael[at]lupenet[dot]org to find out how you can get involved in the fight for a safer Texas!