87R6392 BHH-D     By: Reynolds H.C.R. No. 19       CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has   strayed far from its original mission, gaining a disturbing   reputation as a mass-deportation strike force incompatible with   democracy and human rights; and          WHEREAS, In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks against our   nation, ICE was established to promote national security by   preventing "acts of terrorism by targeting the people, money, and   materials that support terrorist and criminal activities"; the   agency grew wildly in subsequent years, losing its focus as its   budget ballooned with multimillion dollar contracts for private   companies backed by swarms of lobbyists; and          WHEREAS, Today, some 8,000 ICE agents are tasked with   locating, arresting, detaining, and removing undocumented   immigrants; only about 6,000 are involved in tracking the   terrorists and transnational crime syndicates that present a grave   peril to the nation and its people; these agents in ICE's Homeland   Security Investigations division combat money laundering, drug   trafficking, human smuggling, child exploitation, and cybercrimes;   in counter-proliferation operations, they target individuals   attempting to smuggle military and high-tech equipment out of the   country; HSI has also been involved in such complex, high-profile   cases as the takedown of the nefarious Silk Road website and the   arrest and capture of Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquín "El Chapo"   Guzmán Loera; and          WHEREAS, In June 2018, 19 special agents in charge of   regional HSI offices submitted a letter to the secretary of   Homeland Security requesting that their division be spun off from   ICE, stating that their work has been undermined by ICE's   controversial detention and deportation policies; they cited a   breakdown in partnerships with local law enforcement officials, who   question the independence of their agency in light of aggressive   measures against immigration; such actions include targeting   families at churches and schools, conducting massive raids,   arresting undocumented workers for minor offenses, and breaking up   families by sending longtime U.S. residents to countries they   hardly know; and          WHEREAS, While resources are directed away from agents   dedicated to national security, ICE exercises increased   surveillance of communities of color and immigrant communities;   moreover, its draconian detention policies have filled the coffers   of companies that run for-profit facilities with a long, troubling   history of lax oversight, unsafe conditions, and grotesque   mistreatment, as documented by the DHS Office of Inspector General;   in the 2019 fiscal year alone, ICE detained more than 510,000   immigrants, 81 percent of whom were held in such private   facilities, costing taxpayers millions of dollars; and          WHEREAS, Before the creation of ICE, immigration violations   were handled by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which   was part of the Department of Justice and worked closely with the   Department of Labor; the inclusion of these functions under ICE has   led to the deprioritization of transnational crime fighting while   framing immigration, historically an engine of economic   development and societal enrichment, as a national security threat;   ICE has become a bloated agency tainted by controversy and largely   unmoored from its original purpose, and the responsible path   forward is to transfer its critical national security functions and   develop a more humane and effective immigration system that   complies with constitutional protections, domestic law, and   binding international treaties; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to abolish U.S.   Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official   copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to   the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of   Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the   members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that   this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a   memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.