SAN JUAN, Texas - Businesses and organizations that have been impacted by ICE raids, such as construction companies, should put more pressure on local elected officials to speak out.
This is the view of community group La Unión del Pueblo Entero.
“I think the time for different industries or local entrepreneurs or business owners to speak out and start pushing elected officials to do more is now,” said Dani Marrero Hi, deputy director of LUPE.
“We may not always be agreeing on everything, and certainly on the topic of immigration. But we can agree that right now we need to protect immigrant families, especially so people can show up to work, to be able to pay their bills. We need to be pushing our elected officials to do more, and we shouldn't take their answers of well, this is a federal issue so there's nothing I can do about it.”
LUPE is not happy that some elected officials are shrugging their shoulders and saying, we do not like what ICE is doing, but what can we do, it is a federal issue.
“The same way we get creative when we have issues on trade, when we have issues on drawing maps, when we have issues on zoning, we should expect our elected officials to figure out a solution so that people in their communities feel more at ease just to step out of their homes and go to HEB or go to work or go drop off the kids to school,” Marrero Hi said.
“Right now, I think we're letting our local officials off the hook a little too easily by saying, well, it's a federal issue.”
It was put to Marrero Hi that some counties and cities in the Rio Grande Valley have already cut deals with the federal government, so that when their police officers stop a person for a traffic violation, their immigration status is being passed on to DHS.
Marrero Hi responded: “Yes, unfortunately, because of the law, 287(g), that passed, our counties have to sign on to a version of the contract that increases their collaboration with ICE. And that is true. But we’ve been working with the counties in the Valley to make sure they sign on to the least harmful contract.
“We understand that right now, cities and counties are under enormous pressure from the state and federal government. They (the federal government) are threatening to withhold funds for so many different reasons. But we feel that as a public official, it is your responsibility, especially when times get hard for your constituents, to stand up and defend them and not just cross your arms and allow the state and federal government to say, well, this is the new rule book.”
Marrero Hi acknowledged that speaking out against the federal government “does come with risk.” But, she said, it has to be done.
“They were elected into offices because their cities or counties trusted them, that precisely for these moments, they were going to figure it out. We hope that they really take that into consideration, because to just say that it's a federal issue and not provide any creative local solutions. It's just not going to cut it for the next three years.”
Marrero Hi said three years because that is how much longer President Trump is in office.
Asked if LUPE has been encouraging Valley cities to pass resolutions against the ICW raids, Marrero Hi said:
“We've been talking to the county officials to tell them about 287(g), making sure that they sign on to the least harmful contract. And with the city officials, we are always reaching out to them, especially the commissioners, so that they can understand what are their different options. Our door is always open.”
Marrero Hi said it is not LUPE that wants local elected officials to do more.
“It's not just LUPE, it's the builders, it's the farmers, it's the teachers, it's the school districts. La Joya (ISD) shutting down schools… I know that has a lot to do with funding, but I can't imagine that it also doesn't have to do with children not showing up to school anymore.”
Marrero Hi was asked what the mood of the community is right now.
She responded: “I would say it's complicated. On one hand, there's a lot of fear, there's a lot of uncertainty. But I think there's also a lot of grit and resilience and creativity in the ways that people are coming up with creative ways to make sure that their families are getting their groceries without having to leave their homes or getting to get to doctor's office or dropping the kids off in school. People are still going to the park. People are still going to have fun, people are still going to work. And so while there is that fear, I think something we've always admired about our community is, we don't let it stop us from what we know we deserve, which is to be able to be with our families, to be able to earn a living, to pay our bills and go to the doctor and go to the grocery store to get our food.”
It was put to Marrero Hi that ICE raids in the Valley is an alien concept, given that it basically an immigrant community.
She agreed, responding: “We reject hunting people down from their homes on their way to put gas in the car. Why are we terrorizing people like that? Or workers who are on the roof and stuff, building a new home. Or they’re putting the cement down for a new driveway. And ICS is there asking them for their work permit or their papers. That's something that we don't agree with. And so we're a community of immigrants, and even though we might not agree on everything, I think we can agree that this type of enforcement is not appropriate, and we don't accept it in the Valley.”
Marrero Hi said LUPE never believed ICE would only focus on known criminals within the immigrant community. “There was no way for them to do the aggressive kind of detention and deportation numbers (they want) without having to break a lot of due process and violate a lot of people's rights, which is exactly what we're seeing.”
Marrero Hi said LUPE themselves are suffering because some of their members and supporters are afraid to go to group meetings.
“We used to only have our monthly membership meetings here in San Juan. What we did is that we said, let's host a monthly membership meeting in every office, Alton, Rio, Grande City, and San Benito. So that people have to drive a little bit less to come to our events.”
Marrero Hi said having a hybrid meeting, where members can attend a meeting either in-person or via Zoom, has worked.
“Some of the biggest turnouts we’ve had (are meetings where attendance via Zoom) was an option. At some point, we had close to 60 people from all four counties of the Valley show up, a combination of in-person and through Zoom.”
Editor's Note: Here are the views of Dani Marrero Hi in Spanish:
