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State Democrats grapple with immigration policies, creating internal strife
A trending video catches a poignant moment at the State Capitol, revealing the deep-seated divisions among state Democrats sparked by laws aimed at policing immigration.
HOUSTON - Outrage, genuine, and raw on the floor of the Texas House.
It came from Houston Democrat Armando Walle after Republicans in the majority voted to cut off public debate on controversial measures making transport of the undocumented a state crime and authorizing all Texas peace officers to arrest those believed to be living here illegally.
"I can't drive with my brother, my cousin. Okay, I can't take them anywhere, bro. I can't go to a bota? I can't go to a baptism because my community is being attacked. Y'all don't understand that the sh-t that y'all do hurts our community. It hurts us personally, bro. It hurts us....you are my friend man. I love you, but this f----in hurts," said Walle to Representative Cody Harris, the Republican sponsor of House Bill 4.
SUGGESTED: Texas Senate passed SB 11, attempting to make illegal immigration state crime
The exchange was caught on camera and quickly went viral.
Backers of the slate of legislation claim it will deter human smuggling and slow the tide of illegal immigration across the Rio Grande, but opponents including LULAC Houston President Sergio Lira see the measures as tools for discriminatory racial profiling and widespread abuse.
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"You may have some legal U.S., citizens on this side of the border getting arrested. This law is just insane. Again, more anti-immigrant laws," said Lira.
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Back in Houston, speaking one-on-one with FOX 26, Representative Walle said silencing voices of dissent on the House floor added insult to the injury of new measures he views as hurtful and discriminatory to the state's 11 million Latino residents.
"When these same bills impact directly our friends, our family members, our constituents, our supporters, that's where I couldn't just sit at my desk and just wait this out. What we don't want to have is abuelitas, abuelitos, tios, and tias get wrapped up in a situation where they could get deported based on the color of their skin," said Walle.