AUSTIN SELLS SANCTUARY, BUT NOT FOR LONG
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Like so many others, Alan Salinas dreamed of having a better life than the one his family was living in Monterrey, Mexico.
After saying goodbye to his family’s one-bedroom abode, he headed for the border and found his new home in Austin four years ago.
Amid juggling his successful real estate career, studying for his business degree and sending money to the family he left back home, he also has to deal with the uncertainties surrounding his status as an undocumented immigrant.
What once felt like the American dream could quickly turn into a nightmare for residents like Salinas who live every day anxiously awaiting the dreaded knocks of immigration officers upon the doors of their neighborhoods.
Since the election of President Trump, who pledged to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, there has been an increasingly large number of high-profile deportation raids throughout the country. In an effort to bring his plan to fruition, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials are now targeting sanctuary cities with the raids.
This federal law enforcement agency, which is responsible for identifying, investigating and dismantling weaknesses in national security, has suggested that sanctuary cities are undermining national security and making American citizens more vulnerable.
Austin is one of these so-called “sanctuary cities.” This term applies to cities that allow residence for undocumented immigrants, often in conjunction with limited or no cooperation from law enforcement officials when it comes to enforcing standard immigration procedures. Over 100 U.S. jurisdictions currently identify themselves as sanctuary cities, including areas of New York, Chicago and San Francisco.
Aside from allowing people to live within the city limits without documentation, sanctuary cities often refuse to detain suspected suspected undocumented immigrants past the end of their jail sentences. This practice is commonly used by ICE to deport people before they can enter back into society following time in prison.
Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez publicly declared her disdain for this ICE detainer policy in January.
She showed support for Austin’s status as a sanctuary city by posting a brief online video about her thoughts on the matter, stating she would not cooperate with federal immigration authorities’ requests to seek out inmates for possible deportation. Following its publication, Austin was catapulted into the center of discussions by politicians regarding the fate of these kinds of cities.
Since then, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been cracking down on and showing his dedication to the implementation of immigration procedures suggested by the federal government.
In response to Hernandez’s video, he publicly criticized her beliefs by calling her sanctuary city policy “reckless” and “dangerous”. Taking it one step further, he proposed legislation that would jail sheriffs who push sanctuary city policies and aid undocumented immigrants in evading immigration authorities.
After threatening to refuse the city their criminal justice grants, Gov. Abbott followed through on Feb. 1 and withheld $1.5 million in grant money. He stated his reasoning for canceling the grants in a statement to FOX News’ Tucker Carlson, directly calling out people working in law enforcement.
“If you want to be in law enforcement, you have to obey the law,” Abbott said. “We are going to require that [Hernandez], as well as all counties and critics in the state of Texas, must follow the law.”
Withholding government funding is not the only negative consequence of Sheriff Hernandez’s stance.
A mid-February deportation raid, one of the most high-profile in the city thus far, was in direct retaliation to her limited cooperation with immigration order executives. U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Austin confirmed the raid to be an intentional response to Hernandez’s lack of cooperation during meetings with ICE.
“We had a briefing … that we could expect a big operation, agents coming in from out of town, that it was going to be a specific operation, and at least it was related to us in that meeting that it was the result of the sheriff’s new policy that this was going to happen,” he said during open court on March 20.
The Travis County ICE raid resulted in the arrest of 51 people, 28 of which had no criminal background.
While ICE raids and the issue of whether Austin is to remain a sanctuary city are most concerning to undocumented immigrants living in the city, other residents who are here with visas or green cards also experience worry.
Hannah Rogers is one of these temporary visa holders. She is an international graduate student studying mathematics at the University of Texas. Rogers moved from London to Austin three years ago with hopes of living in Austin permanently upon graduation.
Because of recent legislative changes and talks of deportation, her dream of being an American citizen is becoming less realistic as each day passes. With her visa expiring in May, Rogers isn't sure she will be able to achieve her goal. She believes the ICE raids were intentional and that officials were targeting Austin based on its status as a sanctuary city.
“I just wish officials in the States would give us a chance,” Rogers said. “Everyone wants their chance at living the so-called ‘American Dream’ and I am no exception.”
While Gov. Abbott seems less than eager to preserve the safety that undocumented immigrants experience in Austin, Mayor Steve Adler is adamant that the city will maintain its record of being a safe and diverse place to live.
“You should know that Austin is one of the safest cities in the country,” Adler said at his 2017 State of the City Address. “We know that diversity makes us stronger.”
Diversity is a cornerstone of the rich culture that can be found in Austin and things like local organizations, support groups and art continue to shed a light on an otherwise bleak situation that affects the lives of so many people in Austin.
At South by Southwest, visitors flocked to take pictures in front of the wall murals outside of the Mexic-Arte Museum, an establishment that promotes cultural enrichment regarding Mexican, Latino, and Latin American culture through the means of traditional and contemporary art. Empowering murals like the ones found at the Mexic-Arte can be found throughout the city and are just one way the city shows its solidarity with the Mexican American population.
The odds may seem to be stacked against undocumented immigrants living in Austin, but residents have yet to lose hope about maintaining the status of a sanctuary city. For Salinas, this is just another roadblock on the way to his becoming a free citizen.
“Just like all foreigners, my contribution to this country is economical, social and cultural,” Salinas said. “I’m providing those around me with a more centered and objective perspective on a variety of issues based on my diverse and cosmopolitan upbringing.”
Salinas aims to educate others about his situation and the uncertainties faced by so many other residents in the city of Austin.
RETURNING HOME
"I REALLY WANT TO STAY"
THE WRITING ON THE WALL(S)
