Yesterday, Texas Together campaign launched in response to discriminatory law
Austin, TX – Texas’ racially discriminatory SB4 law will cost the state billions of dollars in revenue according to an analysis released yesterday by Texas Together, a campaign created by community and business leaders in opposition to the law.
From the Texas Together campaign:
The coalition urged Texans to stand together against discriminatory laws and legislation by calling on national groups to support the campaign to repeal SB 4. Specifically, businesses are being asked to show their support by placing their business logos on the Texas Together website, sending letters to legislative leaders calling for repeal of SB 4, and placing We Support Texas Together window decals at their places of business to show opposition to SB 4. The Texas groups also are asking local, regional, and state governments to pass resolutions condemning the Texas racial profiling law.
Texas Together combines the collective economic and political power of businesses and our communities to win the repeal of SB 4. Business groups that participated in Tuesday’s news conferences included the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Houston First, Rio Grande Valley Chamber of Commerce San Antonio Hispanic Chamber, San Antonio LGBT Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Bilateral African American Chamber, and the United Chamber of Commerce Corpus Christi.
Yesterday’s announcement was covered widely across the state:
Texas Tribune: Report: Texas could lose billions if new immigration enforcement law stands:
Representatives from Texas’ business, local government and higher education sectors argued Tuesday that the state’s new immigration-enforcement law, which is slated to take effect Sept. 1, could do billions of dollars in damage to the Texas economy.
Using data from the 2015 American Community Survey and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance — a group made up of 40 state-based immigrant and civil rights groups — estimated during a Tuesday press conference that the state stands to lose roughly $223 million in state and local taxes and more than $5 billion in gross domestic product under Senate Bill 4.
Houston Public Media: SB4 Detractors use the Money Factor to Ask for Its Repeal:
After a press conference held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, Laura Murillo, president and CEO of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, told Houston Public Media: “this is real money. We saw the negative economic consequences in Arizona. These are real issues that have an impact, whether you are pro-immigrant or not.”
El Paso Times:
Fernando Garcia, the director of the Border Network for Human Rights — a partner with the alliance — called on El Paso business owners to embrace the campaign by placing “We Support Texas Together” stickers and signs at their businesses, sending letters of opposition to SB 4 to their local and state representatives, and to file amicus briefs in favor of El Paso County’s lawsuit against Texas challenging the enactment of the law.
Garcia said the campaign also calls for people and organizations that have scheduled conferences or events in Texas to cancel them and to think twice before bringing events to a state that has embraced what organizers say is a racist law.
Campaign Calls on Businesses to Help Repeal SB4:
Corpus Christi Caller Times: Coalition Calls on CC United Chapter to Oppose SB4:
Ginny Gunderson Cross, the United Chamber’s vice president of policy and operations, on Monday declined to comment on the coalition’s efforts. The United Chamber was closed during the news conference Tuesday because of its annual Salute to the Military luncheon.
Under SB4, local authorities are forbidden from adopting policies that prevent law enforcement officers from asking about the immigration status of a person while that person is detained. Pulling someone over for a busted taillight is considered a detainment. Law enforcement officers are not required to ask about the immigration status of anyone in their custody, but the law makes it legal for them to do so. The law also applies to college campuses.
Coalition member Claudia Rueda said during the news conference the law “will erode (Corpus Christi’s) vibrant business climate, tear apart families and fray the very fabric of our community.”
