By David A. Diaz - Legislative Media
Former Houston Mayor Bill White was an early supporter of a controversial federal plan to give local police and county deputies the power to ask for proof of citizenship from ethnic and racial minorities says Farouk Shami a Houston businessman and philanthropist who is running for Texas governor.
Shami and White are both Democrats who are seeking the March 2 party primary nomination.
Shami said White showed little regard for countless Texans from all walks-of-life.
There are millions of Texans because of the color of their skin or their accents who could be challenged by police to prove they are Americans under this federal plan known as 287 (g) which was strongly endorsed last March by Mr. White said Shami. Yet as Mr. White travels throughout Texas which has dozens of ethnic minorities he never talks about how he supported this discriminatory idea which is known as racial profiling.
In general racial profiling is defined as a law enforcement-initiated action based on an individuals race ethnicity or national origin rather than on the individuals behavior or on information identifying the individual as having engaged in criminal activity (Art. 3.05 Texas Code of Criminal Procedure).
That state law authored by Sen. Royce West D-Dallas and Rep.
Senfronia Thompson D-Houston was passed by the Texas Legislature in 2001.
Texas became a majority-minority" state in 2004 meaning various ethnic minority populations now outnumber Whites. Other majority-minority" states include Hawaii New Mexico and California according to the Texas Comptrollers Office.
Our police and county deputies in Texas are so busy fighting violent criminals sexual predators drug dealers and other thugs yet Mr.
White wanted to burden them with the complicated duties of federal immigration enforcement said Shami.
As mayor last spring White wanted the federal government to quickly implement the program in Houston and surrounding areas said Shami who cited the Houston Chronicle which pointed out Whites flip-flop.
The rush for a 287 (g) agreement marks a departure from the mayors past position that local police should have limited involvement in immigration enforcement the Houston Chronicle reported last March.
The serious problems caused by 287(g) have been raised by dozens of nonpartisan organizations nationwide.
Whites stance was so shocking that he was denounced last July by Rosa Rosales national president of LULAC the League of United Latin American Citizens which is the largest Latino civil rights and advocacy group in the United States.
LULAC has always come out firmly against involving city police in immigration matters. This is the role of the federal government. The local police departments do not have the resources or training to enforce immigration law she emphasized.
Even the Houston police chief opposed the plan endorsed by White Shami pointed out.
VivirLatino a daily publication which covers Hispanic issues nationally reported last May that even police organizations had grave concerns with the plan supported by White.
The yearlong study of 287(g) by the nonpartisan Police Foundation was critical of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement program concluding it erodes law enforcements public safety mission diverts scarce resources increases exposure to liability to charges of racial profiling and heightens fear in communities VivirLatino noted.
Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt was also expressed his opposition.
Immigration enforcement by local police is counterproductive to community policing efforts. It undermines the trust and cooperation of immigrant communities could lead to charges of racial profiling and increases our response time to urgent calls for service" Hurtt said during a Capitol Hill press event in Washington VivirLatino reported.
According to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts:
• In 2006 48.3 percent of Texans were White; 35.7 percent were Hispanic; 11.4 percent were Black; and 4.6 percent fell into the other" category which includes persons of American Indian Asian and Hawaiian descent among others. This is in contrast to the U.S. as a whole which was 66.4 percent White 14.8 percent Hispanic 12.3 percent Black and 6.6 percent other".
• Hispanics are the fastest-growing population group in Texas; and
• The Hispanic population in Texas has grown by 10.9 percent since 2000 when Hispanics accounted for 32 percent of the Texas population.
