Texas has the second-highest number of Mexican immigrants in the United States.[1] Immigration has always been a big part of Texas. The majority of immigrants in Texas are from Mexico.[2] According to the American Immigration Council, one in six Texas residents is an immigrant and 15 percent of residents who are native-born U.S. citizens have at least one parent who is an immigrant.[3] In the year 2015 over a third of all immigrants in Texas were naturalized U.S. citizens.[3]
Immigration policy determines who may become a new citizen of the United States or enter the country temporarily, as a refugee, or permanent resident.[4] The federal government is responsible for setting and enforcing most immigration policy. States are there to support the policies made by the federal government, but they also can establish their own supplementary laws and policies. Some examples of these could be to determine which public services immigrants can access, establish employee screening requirements, or guide the interaction between related state agencies and their federal counterparts. According to Ballotpedia, some jurisdictions have adopted policies of not cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.[4] These jurisdictions have become known as sanctuary jurisdictions.
History of Immigration in Texas
editBackground
editThe topic of immigration has become increasingly polarized in the United States over the last 20 years, however, it has always been a major issue. Many of the current views of immigration are disconnected from the realities of the statistics of immigration in the United States.[1] The immigration population of the U.S. is growing more slowly now than it has in recent years. New arrivals in the United States are more likely to be from Asia and less likely to be from other world regions, and they are on average more educated than previous generations of migrants to the United States.[1] The Mexican immigrant population in the United States has declined by half a million people since the beginning of the decade.[1][5] And in 2018, the United States ceded its status as the world’s top country for resettling refugees, surpassed by Canada. [1]
Past Policies
editSanctuary Cities
editWhile an official definition does not exist, a sanctuary city is a jurisdiction within a state that tries to decrease or discourage cooperation with the national government in relation to their enforcement of immigration law.[6][7][8] Leaders over these jurisdictions choose to enact policies that decrease this cooperation in an attempt to create an environment where fear of deportation and family break-up can decrease. For example, local law enforcement officers will refuse to keep non-citizen inmates who are about to be released for the additional 48 hours requested by the federal immigration authorities.[9] The additional 48 hours gives authorities time to take them into federal custody.
The Senate Bill 4 Policy banned sanctuary cities in Texas.[10] However, before the policy passed, multiple jurisdictions and cities in Texas were considered to be sanctuary cities.
Present Policies
editAsylum Law
editA person seeking asylum has to fulfill two requirements. One, the person has to prove that they fear persecution from their native country, and two, that this persecution would come from one of the following reasons: race, religion, nationality, political views, or social groups. [11][12][13]
On January 25, 2018 President Trump passed the “Remain in Mexico'' Program, which would send asylum seekers in the United States back to Mexico while they wait for the asylum hearing.[14] 7 ports of entries have implemented this program, 4 of which are in Texas: El Paso-Ciudad Juárez, Brownsville-Matamoros, Laredo-Nuevo Laredo, and Eagle Pass-Piedras Negras.[15] The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit halted the program in Arizona and California claiming that the program is violating United States law.[16] However, the law is still in effect in the 4 ports in Texas.[17]
Tent Courts
editPresident Trump initiated tent courts in the border towns of Brownsville and Laredo in September 2019.[18] The tent courts were made in an attempt to process through the huge number of migrants awaiting their cases.[19] The tents provide a shorter commute for the people waiting in Mexico for their trials[16] and allow immigration judges in San Antonio to attend the hearing virtually.[20] People protested against the secrecy of the tents because Homeland security wouldn’t allow anyone from the news or public inside until December 2019, when Homeland Security opened the tents to the public. There were also complaints that people were not receiving due process in the tent courts.[21]
Senate Bill 4
editOn May 7, 2017 Governor Greg Abbott initiated a new law that affects both illegal immigrants and law enforcement officer.[22][23] The bill grants the law enforcement officers the ability to ask about the immigration status of someone when they have been arrested and detained. [24] The law also bans sanctuary cities in the state. [24][25] A law enforcement officer can be charged with a Class A misdemeanor for refusing to help the federal government with immigration enforcement. [22]
Ongoing Policies
editResettlement of Refugees
editOn January 10, 2020 Governor Greg Abbott declared that Texas would not accept any refugees that year, becoming the first state to do so.[26] This decision came after President Donal Trump gave local governments the ability to veto refugee resettlements in September 2019.[27] On January 15, 2020 a federal judge blocked the executive order, stating that the it is unlawful to give the states that power. [5] The blocking of this executive order means that Texas will continue to accept refugees, unless the Trump administration chooses to appeal the decision, which they have not chosen to do yet.[28]
See Also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e Bolter, Jeanne Batalova, Jessica Bolter Jeanne Batalova, Brittany Blizzard, and Jessica (2020-02-12). "Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States". migrationpolicy.org. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ White, Steve (2015). Origins of Immigrants to Texas. The University of Texas at San Antonio: Office of the State Demographer.
- ^ a b "Immigrants in Texas". American Immigration Council. 2015-01-01. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
- ^ a b "Immigration in Texas". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
- ^ a b S. Passel, Jefrrey, D'Vera Cohn and Ana Gonzalez-Barrera (April 23, 2012). "Migration Between the US and Mexico". Pew Research Center.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Ye Hee Lee, Michelle (September 7, 2016). "What exactly are 'sanctuary cities' in immigration policy?". The Washington Post.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Sanctuary city", Wikipedia, 2020-03-19, retrieved 2020-03-21
- ^ "Topic Page: Sanctuary Cities". CIS.org. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
- ^ Root, Morgan Smith and Jay (2016-01-15). "Jails Refused to Hold Thousands of Immigrants Sought by Feds". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
- ^ CNN, Catherine E. Shoichet. "Florida just banned sanctuary cities. At least 11 other states have, too". CNN. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
{{cite web}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^ "Asylum seeker", Wikipedia, 2020-02-27, retrieved 2020-03-20
- ^ LG, Librarian. "Guides: Immigration Law: Refugees & Asylum Seekers". guides.sll.texas.gov. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
- ^ "Asylum in the United States", Wikipedia, 2020-03-18, retrieved 2020-03-20
- ^ "Immigration policy of Donald Trump", Wikipedia, 2020-03-12, retrieved 2020-03-20
- ^ Aguilar, Julián (2019-10-29). "Trump's controversial "remain in Mexico" immigration policy expands along Texas' southern border". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
- ^ a b Jordan, Miriam (2020-03-04). "Appeals Court Allows 'Remain in Mexico' Policy to Continue Blocking Migrants at the Border". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
- ^ "'Remain In Mexico': Looking At The Policy's Impact On Asylum-Seekers At The Border". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
- ^ "Tent courts set to open on border for US asylum seekers". AP NEWS. 2019-09-11. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
- ^ Fernandez, Manny; Jordan, Miriam; Dickerson, Caitlin (2019-09-12). "The Trump Administration's Latest Experiment on the Border: Tent Courts". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
- ^ Post, Nick Miroff, The Washington (2019-09-18). "Along Texas border, Trump administration sets up tent courts for virtual asylum hearings". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Hackman, Michelle (2019-12-29). "U.S. Opens Immigration 'Tent Courts' to Public". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
- ^ a b "Texas Senate Bill 4", Wikipedia, 2019-12-02, retrieved 2020-03-21
- ^ Cowger, Muzaffar Chishti, Sarah Pierce Muzaffar Chishti, Sarah Pierce, and Sela (2017-05-24). "Texas Leads Resurgence in Restrictive State Actions on Immigration Enforcement". migrationpolicy.org. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Montgomery, Dave; Fernandez, Manny (2017-05-01). "Texas Immigration Bill Draws Protesters to the State Capitol". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
- ^ "Texas governor signs bill targeting sanctuary cities". Fox News. 2017-05-07. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
- ^ Kanno-Youngs, Zolan (2020-01-10). "Texas Governor Shuts State to Refugees, Using New Power Granted by Trump". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
- ^ "Executive Order on Enhancing State and Local Involvement in Refugee Resettlement". The White House. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
- ^ Narea, Nicole (2020-01-17). "A federal judge stopped Texas from ending its refugee program". Vox. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
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