WHAT: An Austin people’s hearing on the local deportation crisis
WHO: The ICE Out of Austin campaign members
WHEN: Monday, January 25, 5:00 p.m.
WHERE: City of Austin City Hall Atrium, 301 W 2nd St.
(AUSTIN, Texas) — On Monday, January 25, the Public Safety Committee of the City of Austin will be holding a hearing on so-called “Sanctuary Cities,” where only invited testimony will be heard. The Public Safety Committee is headed by Council Member Don Zimmerman, who has expressed anti-immigrant views in the past.
Immigrant organizers in Austin are announcing their own hearing, at the same time in the Austin City Hall Atrium, to lift to the voices of the people who are directly impacted by immigration policies. The organizers, who make up the #ICEoutofAustin campaign, will gather at City Hall and be joined by allies and supporters to address the crisis of deportation in the city of Austin. “We have decided to have our own hearing because we believe that decisions and policies must come from the realities of the immigrant community and not from fear mongering and scare tactics that we have seen from Council Member Zimmerman.” said Alejandro Caceres, immigration organizer at Grassroots Leadership and coordinator of the #ICEoutofAustin campaign.
The #ICEoutofAustin campaign today released a letter to Mayor Steve Adler asking him to author a resolution in support of a city ordinance that would end the collaboration with the Austin Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “It’s time for our allies to show up in action, it is not enough to be our allies in words. We want Mayor Adler to show his support by taking steps to help separate ICE and APD,” said Carmen Zuvieta, lead organizer in the #ICEoutofAustin campaign.
The letter, which can be read in Spanish and English here, urges the Mayor’s office to take action on the issue and show that his support for the immigrant community goes beyond words.
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Grassroots Leadership is an Austin, Texas-based national organization that works to end prison profiteering and reduce reliance on criminalization and detention through direct action, organizing, research, and public education.
Alejandro Caceres, acaceres@grassrootsleadership.org, 512-499-8111
The #19TooMany Campaign
Travis County, Texas, has one of the highest deportation rates in the U.S. thanks to the local sheriff’s voluntary cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. An average of 19 immigrants a week are deported here. Stopping the deportation dragnet in Travis County would mean stopping the potential detention and deportation of thousands of Austin-area residents. Grassroots Leadership, in coalition with other groups in the Austin-area, is making that happen by engaging in direct action, community education, and dialogue with local elected officials.