Rep. Goodwin’s Call for Legislature to Investigate Texas Involvement in ICE Overreach
Rep. Vikki Goodwin Calls on State Legislature to Launch Emergency Review of Texas’ Cooperation With ICE
Austin, Texas - State Representative Vikki Goodwin is calling on the Texas Legislature to establish an emergency, bipartisan committee to examine the state’s mandated cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the safety, legality, and cost of that cooperation.
Goodwin raised several immediate concerns:
1) Widespread reports of ICE and Border Patrol agent activities such as home invasions, warrantless searches and detentions of US citizens, including the questionable deportation of a constituent in Rep. Goodwin's district, and the shooting deaths of citizens in other states;
2) Troubling detention practices, including the treatment of children and the wrongful death of detainees, one of which was ruled a homicide;
3) Mandatory 287(g) agreements that require local law enforcement to work alongside a federal agency raising serious questions about training, accountability, and conduct;
4) The potential of ballooning State dollars spent on Texas National Guard personnel assisting federal immigration operations.
“Texas requires our law enforcement agencies to cooperate with ICE. But that agreement assumes ICE operates within the law,” Goodwin said. “When concerns arise about deaths, detentions, and lack of transparency, state leaders have a responsibility to step back and evaluate whether this partnership is in the best interest of Texans.”
Goodwin is calling on Speaker Dustin Burrows and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick to form a bipartisan, joint House/Senate emergency committee to review key questions like those noted above.
“This is not about partisanship,” Goodwin said. “It’s about public safety, legality, and accountability. Texans deserve to know whether our state is supporting practices that violate our values, as well as our laws, or jeopardize our law enforcement officers, and put the public in harm's way. I urge the Speaker and Lt. Governor to act immediately”