Editorial credit: Grossinger / Shutterstock.com

Washington, DC — Yesterday, Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) signed new “show me your papers” anti-immigrant legislation that empowers every officer of the law to question the citizenship of any Texas resident and detain them. The new measure continues the state’s crackdown on the civil rights and freedoms of residents, including citizens, and seems intent to challenge the supremacy of the federal government to determine national immigration and citizenship law as enshrined in the Constitution.

According to Douglas Rivlin, Senior Director of Communication for America’s Voice:

“The new Texas laws empower vigilantes, escalate dangers for citizens and residents and threaten to trample on the civil rights of every Texan or tourist, specifically non-white Texans who make up the majority of the state. Under Governor Abbott, Texas has become ground zero for some of the most cruel, callous and wasteful immigration policies we’ve seen. The new “show me your papers” legislation only ups the ante.

Meanwhile, it also continues the state’s recent pattern of seeking to control the lives and liberties of its residents and almost anyone who visits the state, from the civil rights violations to come via this new state law to the restrictive abortion efforts that are seeking to control the reproductive choices of Texas women. Texas already deployed barbed wire at its border with New Mexico, and local “travel ban” ordinances are being considered in several jurisdictions to control pregnant women seeking medical care outside the state.

Bottom line: every single Texan better be prepared to show proof of citizenship when they leave the house, especially if they have dark skin or speak with an accent. The state is opening the door to more chaos and cruelty while thumbing its nose at the Constitution and federal powers.”

As Mario Carrillo, Texas-based Campaigns Manager at America’s Voice, assessed following the Texas state legislature’s passage of the legislation:

“It’s hard to believe given their relentless anti-immigrant focus in recent years, but this new law means Texas Republicans have actually escalated their cruelty and ugliness on the issue and the targeting of immigrant and Latino communities throughout our state. We need solutions on immigration that Texas Republicans in Congress are helping to block and obstruct, not anti-immigrant scapegoating and new laws that will target and profile Texas families like mine.”

  citizenship, immigrants, texas