Texas Legislators Need to Focus on Health Care, Mental Health Crisis, and COVID-19 Relief Not Surveillance

The most pressing issue on the minds of Texas voters has shifted from disease pandemics to border security. We need to encourage the Texas state legislature to focus more resources and money on health care, mental health crisis relief, and COVID-19 instead of surveillance.

Texas law enforcement agencies should not be contracted with ICE. Instead of allowing ICE agents to enforce Governor Abbott’s hateful agenda, the Texas legislature should focus on policies that benefit Texans. The governor and state legislators should not fund programs that undermine civil liberties. The state representatives should spend tax dollars on education, affordable housing, food assistance, and sustainable job creation.

Natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey still affect Texas, where tens of thousands of people were displaced from their homes. Texas needs resources to rebuild. Rather than pouring tax dollars into surveillance programs that hurt undocumented residents, families, and Texans, our Texas legislators need to focus on helping communities that are struggling. We must improve the health care systems in Texas, especially since COVID-19 cases are out of control. Over and over again, ICE has proven that public safety is not its top priority. Deportations are based on race or location, not on criminal activity, which violates fundamental human rights.

We need to tell Texas state legislators — who are elected officials, not federal leaders — to stop ICE. We can use this petition to tell Texas legislators that they need to focus on health care, and we also want them to do more to address the mental health crisis. Through racial profiling, ICE enters our communities in violation of civil rights, and this is unconstitutional. Last but not least, we need COVID-19 relief for undocumented residents.