Mayors from several local cities penned a letter strongly opposing Dallas County’s decision to sanction and encourage illegal immigration into local communities.
Although the Dallas County resolution was cleverly packaged as a “non-discriminatory” call for ethnic tolerance, such rosy language was used to bury the sanctioning of illegal immigration. The most controversial section called on “local enforcement agencies to end nonessential collaborations with immigration and customs enforcement.” The “Welcoming Communities” resolution passed by a 4-1 margin, with the sole Republican Commissioner Mike Cantrell voting in opposition.
The mayors referred to the county’s action as “purposely political” and a violation of the commissioner’s oath of office to “preserve, protect, and defend” both state law and the U.S. Constitution.
Their letter read, in part:
“The ‘Sanctuary City’ resolution, released 24 hours before the commissioner’s vote, was purposely political, not legally binding and passed without thought of long-term ramifications…[Passing it] put the Dallas County Commissioner’s political interests in serving illegal immigrants above the safety and well being of taxpayers, citizens and people who are here legally.”
The vast majority of those who spoke at the commissioner’s court meeting supported the controversial measure. The motivation for its hasty passage was clear—to satisfy Dallas’ Liberal-Democrat constituency. It is believed to be a reaction to both the Trump administration’s immigration moratorium and the Texas Senate’s passage of legislation aimed at defunding sanctuary cities.
The county’s non-binding measure also drew harsh criticism from State Sen. Don Huffines (R-Dallas), who continues to be a strong proponent for the rule of law.
“Today’s resolution by Dallas County is dangerous, irresponsible, and reprehensible. Dallas County should focus on keeping Texans safe from criminal aliens instead of playing politics and taking jabs at the laws that they swore an oath to uphold. The resolution is irrational, and it is an affront to millions of law-abiding legal immigrants.”
Notably absent from the aforementioned letter were the mayors of Coppell, Carrollton, Garland, Mesquite, and Richardson, all large suburbs inside Dallas County with a Republican voting majority.
The full text of the mayor’s letter is published below:
As elected leaders representing Dallas County cities, we are dismayed that the Dallas County Commissioner’s Court would pass a resolution “welcoming undocumented immigrants” into our communities without any input or opportunity for discussion. The “Sanctuary City” resolution, released 24 hours before the commissioner’s vote, was purposely political, not legally binding and passed without thought of long-term ramifications.
Every mayor and commissioner in Dallas County pledges to preserve, protect and defend the State laws of Texas and the Constitution of the United States. Calling for all local law enforcement to end “nonessential” collaboration with federal immigration and customs enforcement agencies needlessly risks the safety and wellbeing our citizens and undermines our oath of office.
Dallas County is made up of over two dozen cities. As Commissioner Mike Cantrell said, this resolution “paints a bull’s eye on Dallas County” and has the potential to reduce federal and state funding that the county needs. Citizens of our cities pay tens of millions of dollars in taxes in this county that support Parkland Memorial Hospital, numerous public school districts and other social services that are not meeting the needs of our current citizens.
Passing this resolution put the Dallas County Commissioner’s political interests in serving illegal immigrants above the safety and well being of taxpayers, citizens and people who are here legally. We are disappointed that they have apparently chosen to prevent any dialogue among the many cities that contribute hundreds of millions of tax dollars in our county. This resolution does not speak for us or many of the hundreds of thousands of citizens we represent.
Thank you for your consideration,
Mayor Todd Gottel, Rowlett, Texas
Mayor Todd Meier, Addison, Texas
Mayor Bob Phelps, Farmers Branch, Texas
Mayor Beth Van Duyne, Irving, Texas
