Austin, Texas – Earlier this week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced a second special session of the Texas Legislature – set to begin at noon today – in an attempt to ram through cruel, unpopular anti-people legislation. These harmful Republican bills include the voter restriction legislation that prompted Texas Democrats to break quorum last month and anti-immigrant bills intended to advance attacks against our communities.
Juan J. Martinez Guevara, Texas Advocacy Associate of United We Dream, said:
“Greg Abbott will stop at nothing to continue inflicting violence on immigrants and families simply seeking safety in the U.S. In recent months, Abbott has launched statewide attacks to advance his white nationalist agenda and profile, target, and detain Black, brown and immigrant communities en masse. Today’s sham session is yet another cruel and blatant attempt from Abbott and his Republican allies to ram through legislation that aims to disenfranchise voters, communities of color, and immigrants, all the while trying to divert attention from their failed response to COVID-19 and the February freeze that resulted in the tragic deaths of 210 Texans.
Last month, Texas Democrats strongly rejected Abbott’s first attempts at a special session and they can and must continue to use their power to block Abbott’s shameful attacks against Texas’ voters, working-class, and communities of color. On the federal level, Democrats in Congress must finally pass legislation that protects voting rights, creates a pathway to citizenship for millions, and ends the inhumane detention of immigrants.”
