Stop the anti-immigrant SB 4 law – No racist police state in Texas!
Politicians in Austin are trying to turn Texas into a racist police state with the new SB 4 anti-immigrant law. Our campaign demands that this blatantly unconstitutional measure be overturned, and replaced with a policy that respects the human rights of all migrants. The border must be demilitarized to end the brutal violence inflicted on migrants.
SB 4 has several outrageous provisions. By giving local law enforcement officials the authority to enforce federal immigration law, the right wing state government is laying the groundwork for a wave of repression not only at the border, but throughout all of Texas. Effectively, any police officer will be able to demand that someone who they have detained or arrested prove that they are a citizen or legal resident – one of the infamous “show me your papers” measures racist politicians periodically try to enact. This, of course, would be carried out on the basis of racial profiling – how else could an officer “suspect” someone of being undocumented? The bill also attacks municipalities that have policies in place to protect undocumented residents. And it denies the right to seek asylum by making the alternative to immediate deportation long prison sentences.
Once again, both the Republican and Democratic parties are playing political games with the lives of millions of immigrants and their families. The Republican-led Texas government is trying to push the narrative that there is an “invasion” taking place at the U.S.-Mexico border, and the Biden administration refuses to do anything about it, leaving it up to state officials to “get tough”.
Is Biden condemning these racist attacks and vowing to defend the rights of immigrants? No! His argument is that the federal government is more than capable of carrying out a harsh crackdown against migrants on its own, and that they simply don’t need the help of Texas cops to do it. He is demanding that Congress give him the power to unilaterally shut down the border, and spend massive sums of money to strengthen Border Patrol and ICE, including a massive expansion in their detention facilities.
SB 4 has been subject to a confusing legal back-and-forth that has left countless families feeling bewildered and fearful. A federal district court judge, an appeals court, and the Supreme Court itself have all issued conflict rulings at different moments over the past several months. It is outrageous that people’s basic right to be free from police state-style racial profiling is held hostage to the whims of unelected judges.
Our socialist campaign supports full rights for all immigrants and the unity of all workers. We should not allow millionaire politicians to pit workers against each other on the basis of where they were born. The people who are desperately trying to cross the border into the United States are fleeing unbearable circumstances of violence and poverty that were brought about by U.S. intervention in their home countries and the domination of U.S. corporations over their economies. Full legal status and equal rights for all immigrants is the best way to prevent a “race to the bottom” in terms of wages and working conditions. Politicians, cops and soldiers won’t help anyone – what will resolve the situation at the border is a policy that respects human rights and an end to U.S. intervention abroad.
