Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

Gov. Rick Perry meets in his office with Rep. David Swinford.

AUSTIN - The veteran lawmaker steering Gov. Rick Perry’s $100 million border security legislation through the Texas House says his bill will require local law enforcement to report undocumented immigrants to federal authorities.

“We are not saying local law enforcement to ought to take over immigration. What we are saying is that everyone should be focused on enforcing laws. I cannot understand why law enforcement would not enforce laws,” said Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas.

The State Affairs Committee, which Swinford chairs, will take invited testimony only on immigration and border security issues at a joint hearing being held on Wednesday with the Border and International Affairs Committee.

A week later, Swinford will unveil HB 13 in his committee. As it currently stands, the bill would prevent a state or local governmental entity from adopting ordinances that violate state or federal law – such as turning a blind eye to so-called “safe havens” such as day labor sites. Those that do would lose funding.

Swinford said his committee would pass out a substitute for HB 13. However, he told the Guardian he saw nothing wrong with local law enforcement getting involved in immigration matters.

“The deal is: Ask and tell. Ask if they are undocumented and if they are, tell the immigration folks,” Swinford said. “This does not add much to their deal. They don’t have to take the person. But law enforcement ought to cooperate and say, here are some folks over here.”

El Paso County Sheriff Leo Samaniego has implemented such a policy in the past, including setting up road blocks and raiding hotels where undocumented immigrants are known to stay.

Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño, on the other hand, has said he does not have time to carry out the job of Border Patrol.

Swinford’s position on the role of local law enforcement in immigration matters appears to run counter to a new coalition comprising business associations and civil rights groups.

At a news conference at the Capitol Monday, leaders of Texas Residents United for a Stronger Texas (TRUST) announced a list of 15 principles they said the Legislature and Perry ought to adopt when it comes to border security and immigration.

One of the principles called for opposition to legislation that requires local law enforcement resources to go toward enforcing civil immigration laws. Another opposes legislation that directs state agencies or municipalities to enforce complex immigration laws.

“We are very concerned with the idea of local law enforcement enforcing immigration laws,” said Luis Figueroa, legislative staff attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. “We know from Farmers Branch, we know from other areas, that they aren’t qualified and don’t have the expertise to enforce federal immigration laws.”

MALDEF is one of the civil rights groups that has helped launch the TRUST coalition.

Two House Democrats attended the TRUST news conference - Reps. Veronica Gonzales, D-McAllen, and Jessica Farrar, D-Houston.

Gonzales, chair of an immigration task force set up the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, said she believed HB 13 to be a “work-in-progress.” She said she had spoken to Swinford numerous times about his bill. “I think his intent is not to make local authorities police officers and be out there regulating what is happening. He just wants to prevent patchwork legislation where cities are passing their own ordinances,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales said that while MALC wants Congress to determine comprehensive immigration reform, border security was another matter altogether. “No one, no one, ever supports human trafficking, drug smuggling,” Gonzales said. “We want to ensure that the monies are properly directed to take care of some of those problems and to start seeing more seizures when it comes to drugs, more seizures when it comes to immigrants that are being trafficked across the border.”

Farrar, the only Hispanic member on the State Affairs Committee, said she “loved” the term coined for undocumented immigrants by TRUST – economic migrants.

Farrar told the Guardian that the state does not have sufficient resources for crime, schools or public health and should not, therefore, take over federal responsibilities. “It is not in the state’s best interests to divert state resources to do the job of the federal government,” she said.

Texas Association of Business President and CEO Bill Hammond said his group was pleased to be founder members of TRUST.

“We renew our call for Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. We believe the Texas Legislature should take no action with regard to the issue of immigration unless and until Congress acts on this very important issue,” Hammond said.

“Sometimes it gets lost in the shuffle but immigrants are a very important part of the Texas economy. The comptroller, in a report last December, stated an impact of $17 billion.”

Hammond pointed out that companies that service the agricultural industry, which depends on immigrant labor, would be hurt if there were no workers.

George Allen, executive vice president of the Texas Apartment Association, said his group, which also helped launch TRUST, wanted a “sensible” and “practical’ approach to immigration.

“We must send a strong signal to cities like Farmers Branch, which is attempting to make property owners responsible for playing the role of immigration agents and levying heavy fines if they fail to do so,” Allen said.

AUSTIN - The veteran lawmaker steering Gov. Rick Perry’s $100 million border security legislation through the Texas House says his bill will require local law enforcement to report undocumented immigrants to federal authorities.

“We are not saying local law enforcement to ought to take over immigration. What we are saying is that everyone should be focused on enforcing laws. I cannot understand why law enforcement would not enforce laws,” said Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas.

The State Affairs Committee, which Swinford chairs, will take invited testimony only on immigration and border security issues at a joint hearing being held on Wednesday with the Border and International Affairs Committee.

A week later, Swinford will unveil HB 13 in his committee. As it currently stands, the bill would prevent a state or local governmental entity from adopting ordinances that violate state or federal law – such as turning a blind eye to so-called “safe havens” such as day labor sites. Those that do would lose funding.

Swinford said his committee would pass out a substitute for HB 13. However, he told the Guardian he saw nothing wrong with local law enforcement getting involved in immigration matters.

“The deal is: Ask and tell. Ask if they are undocumented and if they are, tell the immigration folks,” Swinford said. “This does not add much to their deal. They don’t have to take the person. But law enforcement ought to cooperate and say, here are some folks over here.”

El Paso County Sheriff Leo Samaniego has implemented such a policy in the past, including setting up road blocks and raiding hotels where undocumented immigrants are known to stay.

Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño, on the other hand, has said he does not have time to carry out the job of Border Patrol.

Swinford’s position on the role of local law enforcement in immigration matters appears to run counter to a new coalition comprising business associations and civil rights groups.

At a news conference at the Capitol Monday, leaders of Texas Residents United for a Stronger Texas (TRUST) announced a list of 15 principles they said the Legislature and Perry ought to adopt when it comes to border security and immigration.

One of the principles called for opposition to legislation that requires local law enforcement resources to go toward enforcing civil immigration laws. Another opposes legislation that directs state agencies or municipalities to enforce complex immigration laws.

“We are very concerned with the idea of local law enforcement enforcing immigration laws,” said Luis Figueroa, legislative staff attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. “We know from Farmers Branch, we know from other areas, that they aren’t qualified and don’t have the expertise to enforce federal immigration laws.”

MALDEF is one of the civil rights groups that has helped launch the TRUST coalition.

Two House Democrats attended the TRUST news conference - Reps. Veronica Gonzales, D-McAllen, and Jessica Farrar, D-Houston.

Gonzales, chair of an immigration task force set up the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, said she believed HB 13 to be a “work-in-progress.” She said she had spoken to Swinford numerous times about his bill. “I think his intent is not to make local authorities police officers and be out there regulating what is happening. He just wants to prevent patchwork legislation where cities are passing their own ordinances,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales said that while MALC wants Congress to determine comprehensive immigration reform, border security was another matter altogether. “No one, no one, ever supports human trafficking, drug smuggling,” Gonzales said. “We want to ensure that the monies are properly directed to take care of some of those problems and to start seeing more seizures when it comes to drugs, more seizures when it comes to immigrants that are being trafficked across the border.”

Farrar, the only Hispanic member on the State Affairs Committee, said she “loved” the term coined for undocumented immigrants by TRUST – economic migrants.

Farrar told the Guardian that the state does not have sufficient resources for crime, schools or public health and should not, therefore, take over federal responsibilities. “It is not in the state’s best interests to divert state resources to do the job of the federal government,” she said.

Texas Association of Business President and CEO Bill Hammond said his group was pleased to be founder members of TRUST.

“We renew our call for Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. We believe the Texas Legislature should take no action with regard to the issue of immigration unless and until Congress acts on this very important issue,” Hammond said.

“Sometimes it gets lost in the shuffle but immigrants are a very important part of the Texas economy. The comptroller, in a report last December, stated an impact of $17 billion.”

Hammond pointed out that companies that service the agricultural industry, which depends on immigrant labor, would be hurt if there were no workers.

George Allen, executive vice president of the Texas Apartment Association, said his group, which also helped launch TRUST, wanted a “sensible” and “practical’ approach to immigration.

“We must send a strong signal to cities like Farmers Branch, which is attempting to make property owners responsible for playing the role of immigration agents and levying heavy fines if they fail to do so,” Allen said.