CAPACITY CROWD HEARS IMMIGRATION PANEL

dgjimenez11
4 days ago
3 min read

By Pat Cheong, Membership Chair

On January 29^th, local advocates filled the new La Paloma room at the iconic Fort Worth Joe T. Garcia’s restaurant for a Hot Topics Luncheon featuring an expert panel on Immigrant Rights, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Tarrant County (LWVTC).

Concerned by events in Minneapolis and in the local community, LWVTC members and advocates from LULAC, the Justice Network of Tarrant County, AAUW branches and other organizations came together to unpack the issues and hear what they can do to make a difference.

Moderated by Mary Beth Garcia, LWVTC’s VP Voter Services and herself an immigration attorney in private practice, panelists Emily Heger (Clinical Associate Professor and Director, Immigrant Rights Clinic, Texas A&M University School of Law), Zainab Khan (Managing Attorney for the Immigration Detention Project, funded by Dallas Area Interfaith at the law clinic), and Jordan Pollock (Specialized Unit Chief, Dallas Public Defenders Office) provided an overview of immigrants rights in the U.S., explained how the immigration system is on a collision path with parental rights, how the criminal legal system harmfully impacts immigrants, and how local policing bridges the criminal and immigration systems. They closed with actions local advocates can take to effect change.

According to a WFAA report in November 2025, an estimated 1 million Texas children live with at least one parent who does not have permanent immigration status and 44,000 North Texas school children may be at risk of deportation. During Texas’ 89^th Legislative Session in 2025, the passing of SB8 required every county to pursue a 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Panelists shared how the U.S. Constitution protects all persons physically in the country (not only citizens) under the principles of due process, fairness, and freedom from arbitrary detention. They explained how the collision between immigrants’ rights and parental rights has intensified recently due to broader use of detention, fewer discretionary releases based on family ties, and expanded cooperation between immigration authorities and local law enforcement. Parents, once detained, lose their ability to exercise their legal rights, including being transferred far from their children and unable to attend medical or school meetings or court hearings.

Panelists pointed out in Texas many people enter the immigration system through everyday policing – often traffic stops (e.g., a broken taillight). For a citizen, a minor criminal issue might get resolved with a ticket; for a noncitizen, sometimes a quick guilty plea to avoid jail may result in lifelong immigration consequences, including deportation. Racial profiling impacts the community when immigrants become less likely to cooperate in reporting crime, serve as witnesses and seek help in emergencies. Although detention is a civil process (not intended to be punishment), it seems otherwise to those held in jail-like conditions sometimes for long periods of time without right to appointed counsel.

Discussion of “287(g)” agreements drew advocates’ attention. Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows local law enforcement to partner with ICE. A low-level arrest, even when charges are dropped and the person is never convicted, can trigger transfer to ICE custody, mandatory detention, and deportation proceedings. While the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office has an active agreement under the “Jail Enforcement Model”, Dallas County and the City of Dallas have declined participation, proceeding cautiously as the process unfolds.

Action to take:

Call state and US Representatives: cite principles of family togetherness, due process, economic reality, responsiveness to people fleeing persecution, and fair treatment

Call for a functional, fair legal immigration system that is efficient, timely, free from backlogs and accessible for families, workers, students, and humanitarian entrants; and create legal pathways that support family reunification, employment and labor needs, educational and student visas, and humanitarian protection.

Demand due process, i.e., the right to a fair hearing, access to counsel, the right to appeal, and humane treatment in enforcement and detention; demand enforcement systems that are accountable, transparent and proportional.

Urge creating a path to legal status for long-term residents, including by paying taxes, learning civics, meeting reasonable eligibility requirements; oppose deportation of long-term residents with no history of major or violent criminal activity and/or are embedded in U.S. families and communities.

Volunteer:

Immigration Detention Project – non-legal volunteers can interview, screen for bond eligibility, gather information that serves as evidence, liaise with family members

Donate: