Texas has become “ground zero” in Trump-era, state-level efforts to enact racist, anti-immigrant legislation, following Trump ally Greg Abbott signing “show me your papers” legislation, a bill that if successfully enacted later this year will turbo-boost racial profiling of anyone perceived to be an immigrant. This could become a constitutional disaster in a state where nearly half the population is Latino, leading one immigrant rights group to declare it “as the worst piece of anti-immigrant state legislation we’ve encountered.”
As part of a “summer of resistance” to the legislation, state activists are kicking off a Memorial Day convergence in Austin this weekend to not only strategize against the “show me your papers” legislation, but to also spark a national fight against anti-immigrant agendas like Senate Bill 4. According to one organizer who talked to Buzzfeed, this summer could be the start of a “new civil rights movement”:
“It’s terrible these things have to happen, but they’re a huge wake up call for people who’ve been standing around not engaged,” said Pita Juarez, communications director for One Arizona, which is sending 25 activists to Austin this weekend.
Immigration activists have had success building these sorts of coalitions in the past, albeit on a smaller scale, and are hoping to use those wins as a model for the new movement. For instance, in 2010 Arizona lawmakers passed SB 1070, a sweeping immigration measure that made being undocumented a state crime and required state law enforcement authorities to check the papers of anyone they suspected was undocumented.
The law touched off widespread protests in Arizona, and numerous small, local organizations were formed to fight the law. But it wasn’t until activists realized “everyone was fighting these little battles. Why don’t we fight them together?”
from Daily Kos http://ift.tt/2rZXFZ6
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