It’s shameful that Texas leadership chooses to prioritize politics over people by fear-mongering. Human history is the history of migration, whether it was climate-related as in the earliest stages of humanity, or the waves of migration that built America as we know it. Almost all of us in this country are here because our parents or grandparents or beyond came in search of safe harbor from war, persecution, and hunger. Our existing avenues of immigration are inadequate, and we have known this for a generation.
But hard-line anti-immigration politicians refused to allow Congress to do its job, and as a result the ONLY policy for more than two decades has been to grow the “border security” complex. Since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2003, the federal government has spent an estimated $333 billion* on the agencies that carry out immigration enforcement. ICE spending has nearly tripled, from $3.3 billion in 2003 to $8.3 billion in 2021. Since 2003, the budget of CBP, which includes both the Border Patrol and operations at ports of entry, has also nearly tripled, rising from $5.9 billion in FY 2003 to $17.7 billion in FY 2021. Border Patrol personnel almost doubled in that time, and ICE more than tripled.*
“Open borders” is a lie, and it kills. Both the “open borders” lie told by politicians like Gov. Abbott and Lt. Gov. Patrick and similar lies told by cartels mislead migrants into the dangerous journey. According to a groundbreaking series by the El Paso Times, 149 people died in the El Paso Sector in the 12 months ending Sept. 30.** According to the U.N., the U.S.-Mexico border is the world’s deadliest land migration route.***
This is no “open border.” It’s outrageous that our political leaders would lie to the public, with tragic results. What we need are not state immigration laws and forces, or more “border security.” We need comprehensive immigration reform such as the bipartisan Dignity Act, not political campaigns that push real solutions further out of reach.
Senate Bill 4 infringes on federal primacy over immigration, and imposes huge costs on local taxpayers.**** El Paso County taxpayers could be forced to build a new jail at a cost of up to $250 million and pay $42 million a year to run it, based on the state’s estimate of 8,000 additional arrests per year.
Hopefully, that will never happen, because I for one will be pushing El Paso County to sue the state since the law is likely unconstitutional. Which is something the state leadership gathered to sign SB 4 knows, but doesn’t care about, because it’s only your money they’re spending for this nonsense.
*https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/the_co st_of_immigration_enforcement_and_border_security.pdf
** https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/immigration/2023/11/30/us-mexico- border-sees-surge-migrant-deaths-el-paso-juarez/70726958007/ *** https://www.reuters.com/world/us-mexico-border-is-worlds-deadliest-land- migration-route-iom-finds-2023-09-12/ ****https://www.ktsm.com/news/epcsd-concerned-about-potential-financial- burden-on-the-community-as-a-result-of-sb-4/
Editor's Note: The above guest column was penned by El Paso County Commissioner David Stout. Stout was elected in 2015 to represent Precinct 2, which stretches from a portion of West El Paso to Central, East-Central, and Northeast El Paso. Precinct 2 includes Downtown, the Chamizal, Ascarate Park, parts of Fort Bliss and the El Paso Airport, and the hospital district, He serves on behalf of El Paso County on the boards of the Conference of Urban Counties and the Texas Association of Counties. Stout penned the column in response to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signing Senate Bill 4 and other immigration bills. Stout led El Paso County opposition to this legislation, including through testimony at the Texas Capitol during the Regular and Special Sessions. The above column appears in The Rio Grande Guardian International News Service with the permission of the author. Stout can be reached by email via: lnegron@epcounty.com.
