Latest news with #SB36
Associated Press
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Bill to create a Texas Homeland Security Division passes state Senate
The Texas Senate on Thursday approved a proposal that would create a homeland security division within the state's Department of Public Safety to focus on immigration enforcement, organized crime and protecting the state's infrastructure from security risks. If passed into law, Senate Bill 36 would make Texas' immigration enforcement efforts a permanent part of the state's criminal justice system. SB 36, which passed in the Senate on a 26-4 vote, will now go before the state House of Representatives. For the past four years, Texas legislators have plowed more than $11 billion into Operation Lone Star, Gov. Greg Abbott's ongoing border crackdown that deployed state police and Texas National Guard along the state's nearly 1,300 miles of border with Mexico. OLS, launched shortly after Joe Biden's presidency began, also paid to build sections of border wall, deploy miles of razor wire along the Rio Grande and open facilities to house National Guard troops and process apprehended migrants. After peaking at the end of 2023, migrant apprehensions at the border began to drop last year after Biden created programs that allowed people to enter the U.S. legally and have reached historically small numbers since President Trump took office and shut down asylum claims by migrants. But even more enforcement is needed, said state Sen. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, the bill's sponsor. He added that the state needs its own homeland security office because it would 'safeguard our border, our residents and our economic engines. 'It strikes the right balance between providing for our security and respecting the roles of our local and federal partners,' Parker said. Some Democrats questioned why the state needs its own Homeland Security Division if the federal Department of Homeland Security is already responsible for protecting the country's infrastructure and curtailing illegal immigration. 'Are everyday Texans the target of these folks, or who is the target of this new Homeland Security Division?' asked Sen. José Menendez, D-San Antonio. Parker said the intent is not to create more policing of Texas residents but to centralize the Department of Public Safety's functions into one division that could help streamline intelligence. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick designated SB 36 among his top priorities for the legislative session. 'By creating a Homeland Security Division within DPS, we can centralize vital homeland security operations within DPS, resulting in a better prepared and protected Texas,' Patrick said in a statement after the bill was passed. According to a fiscal report on the bill, SB 36 would allow the state to hire 23 full time employees for the new division, which could cost $7 million by August 2027. ___ This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill to create a Texas Homeland Security Division passes state Senate
The Texas Senate on Thursday approved a proposal that would create a homeland security division within the state's Department of Public Safety to focus on immigration enforcement, organized crime and protecting the state's infrastructure from security risks. If passed into law, Senate Bill 36 would make Texas' immigration enforcement efforts a permanent part of the state's criminal justice system. SB 36, which passed in the Senate on a 26-4 vote, will now go before the state House of Representatives. For the past four years, Texas legislators have plowed more than $11 billion into Operation Lone Star, Gov. Greg Abbott's ongoing border crackdown that deployed state police and Texas National Guard along the state's nearly 1,300 miles of border with Mexico. OLS, launched shortly after Joe Biden's presidency began, also paid to build sections of border wall, deploy miles of razor wire along the Rio Grande and open facilities to house National Guard troops and process apprehended migrants. After peaking at the end of 2023, migrant apprehensions at the border began to drop last year after Biden created programs that allowed people to enter the U.S. legally and have reached historically small numbers since President Trump took office and shut down asylum claims by migrants. But even more enforcement is needed, said state Sen. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, the bill's sponsor. He added that the state needs its own homeland security office because it would 'safeguard our border, our residents and our economic engines. 'It strikes the right balance between providing for our security and respecting the roles of our local and federal partners,' Parker said. Some Democrats questioned why the state needs its own Homeland Security Division if the federal Department of Homeland Security is already responsible for protecting the country's infrastructure and curtailing illegal immigration. 'Are everyday Texans the target of these folks, or who is the target of this new Homeland Security Division?' asked Sen. José Menendez, D-San Antonio. Parker said the intent is not to create more policing of Texas residents but to centralize the Department of Public Safety's functions into one division that could help streamline intelligence. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick designated SB 36 among his top priorities for the legislative session. 'By creating a Homeland Security Division within DPS, we can centralize vital homeland security operations within DPS, resulting in a better prepared and protected Texas,' Patrick said in a statement after the bill was passed. According to a fiscal report on the bill, SB 36 would allow the state to hire 23 full time employees for the new division, which could cost $7 million by August 2027. Tickets are on sale now for the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas' breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Get tickets before May 1 and save big! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Groups ask NM governor to protect immigrants and sexual assault survivors' personal data
Members of local immigrant advocacy organizations Somos Acción and EL CENTRO Poder y Acción led approximately 1,300 people in a march to the New Mexico Legislature on Feb. 3, 2025. Both groups testified in favor of Senate Bill 36 throughout the legislative session. (Photo by Austin Fisher / Source NM) Organizations devoted to helping immigrants; crime victims; and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in New Mexico are asking Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to enact a privacy law they say would restore trust in public data systems that handle sensitive personal information. Senate Bill 36 would prohibit, for instance, state Motor Vehicle Division employees from disclosing driver's license data to any entity that would use it to enforce federal civil immigration laws. That includes requiring private companies that buy MVD data to certify they won't use the data in service of deporting immigrants who aren't accused of crimes. When immigrant New Mexicans apply for their driver's licenses, they must disclose their photos, addresses and other identifying information, said SB36 co-sponsor Rep. Christina Parajón (D-Albuquerque) during debate in the House of Representatives on March 18. Doing so makes them part of 'one of the most useful data systems available currently to law enforcement, and we want to ensure that everyone continues to use this data system,' Parajón said. Leaders of 21 different domestic violence, sexual assault and crime victim service organizations in New Mexico signed a letter to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday urging her to sign SB36 into law. They wrote that the bill is 'critical to advancing public safety, protecting survivor privacy and maintaining trust in the systems survivors must rely on to find safety and healing.' The letter comes as the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and Department of Homeland Security agree to share tax information of immigrants who have final orders of removal to help immigration agents find and deport the immigrants. The bill also would also create a uniform policy for all state agencies and their employees that would limit the intentional disclosure of someone's sensitive information like sexual orientation or their status as a crime victim. The letter states that survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault often take great personal risk in seeking help, and a foundational part of helping them is ensuring that their personal, sensitive information remains confidential. Survivors depend on access to state-issued identification, driver's licenses and essential services to maintain their independence, the letter states. 'When systems share or use survivor data without their informed consent, it jeopardizes not only their safety but also the safety of our communities,' the letter states. 'Without clear protections for their personal data, these lifelines become sources of danger. SB36 ensures that state systems do not become another failed link in the safety net.' The groups published the letter in a news release on Tuesday morning, after the governor's office announced late Monday that she signed a list of five dozen bills from which SB36 was absent. A spokesperson for Lujan Grisham told Source NM on Tuesday the governor's office received the letter and staff was reviewing it. 'The Legislative Session represents a cornerstone of our democratic process, and we deeply value every New Mexican's voice and participation,' Deputy Director of Communications Jodi McGinnis Porter said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE According to the letter, SB36 would remove barriers that prevent survivors from reporting abuse, seeking restraining orders or engaging with the criminal legal system. New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence Executive Director Mary Ellen Garcia, who signed the letter, told Source NM in an interview on Tuesday that under the current law, someone can ask for the information directly from MVD, or find it in databases run by companies that have purchased the data from MVD. Garcia said acquiring state-issued identification cards improves safety for survivors, because they need ID to access a protection order from a court, for example. A survivor trying to protect themselves doesn't want their perpetrator to find their information just because they handed it to MVD in order to get an ID, she said. 'As New Mexicans, we want to ensure that the systems we use don't also have us thinking about how they are going to be used against us,' Garcia said. Another person who signed the letter, Enlace Comunitario Executive Director Sara Yvonne 'Bonnie' Escobar, said in a statement that by signing SB36 into law, Lujan Grisham 'would be taking an important step in ensuring that all New Mexicans—including vulnerable immigrant communities — are protected.' Escobar's organization serves Latine and immigrant domestic violence survivors. 'SB36 ensures that all New Mexicans can access essential services with confidence, knowing their sensitive data is protected,' Escobar said. Marcela Díaz, founding executive director of Somos un Pueblo Unido, told Source NM in a phone interview on Tuesday that SB36 would replace the existing 'patchwork' of privacy and confidentiality policies in New Mexico. For example, the cities of Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces already have local policies preventing their employees from sharing sensitive personal information, she said. 'There are so many different kinds of services that victims need to access to support their families and their communities,' Díaz said. 'They just want to know that their most vulnerable information will be protected, and this will give them peace of mind.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NM advocates call for statewide immigrant data protections amid fear of mass deportation
Rosalindo Dorado, at lectern, a leader at El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos reads a statement during a Feb. 20, 2025 rally for immigrant rights in the Barelas neighborhood of Albuquerque. Dorado and others called on the Legislature to enact bills protecting sensitive data and prohibiting local resources being used to enforce federal immigration laws. (Photo by Patrick Lohmann / Source NM) New Mexico immigrant advocacy groups are calling on lawmakers to pass a pair of data privacy and public safety bills this session, saying immigrants' distrust in government following federal deportation threats is tearing holes in communities across the state. Since President Donald Trump was inaugurated, immigrant families are increasingly afraid to send their kids to school, attend church, go to hospitals, report crimes or interact with state and local governments in any way, said speakers at a rally in Albuquerque's Barelas neighborhood Thursday morning. Communities suffer when immigrants are afraid to participate in civic life, they said. NM immigration, civil rights groups back enhanced digital privacy protections 'Family separation is not just about individual deportation,' said Rosalinda Dorado, a leader at El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos, who said her brother was deported in 2010. 'It is about breaking communities.' To restore trust, speakers, including Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, called on lawmakers to pass Senate Bills 36 and 250. SB36 would prohibit state Department of Motor Vehicles employees from disclosing driver data to any entity that would use it to enforce federal civil immigration laws. That includes requiring private companies that buy DMV data to certify they won't use the data in service of deporting immigrants who aren't accused of crimes. Senate Bill 250 would prohibit any state and local funding or personnel from being used to enforce or investigate federal immigration laws, including identifying, arresting or detaining a person suspected of being an undocumented immigrant. Both bills are efforts, speakers said, to rebuild trust across the state and improve public safety by getting more buy-in from immigrant communities. Several big New Mexico cities, including Albuquerque and Las Cruces, have adopted similar policies against sharing data with or helping federal agents with deportations. Keller said the city deliberately doesn't collect that data. Several speakers represented groups advocating for domestic violence victims, who they fear are trapped in cycles of abuse for fear of speaking out. The First Judicial District Attorney recently told Source New Mexico that one domestic violence victim recently ceased contact, likely due to fear of being deported. 'No domestic violence survivor should have to choose between their safety and their privacy when personal information isn't protected,' said Mary Ellen Garcia, executive director of the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence. 'Trust in our institutions breaks down. Abusers go unpunished and public safety is compromised.' Several attendees and speakers at the Albuquerque rally rushed to Santa Fe afterward to hear Senate Bill 36 get its hearing on the Senate Floor. The bill, sponsored by Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (D-Albuquerque), spurred more than an hour of debate. NM immigration, civil rights groups back enhanced digital privacy protections 'We need all New Mexicans, including immigrants, to continue to give their information to state agencies, including MVD, to ensure public safety across the state,' Sedillo-Lopez said. Sedillo-Lopez said the MVD sells data to New Mexico Interactive, a private company, that 'slices and dices' the data and sells it to databases like LexisNexis or for other purposes. Taxation and Revenue Communications Director Bobbie Marquez previously told Source New Mexico in a written statement that MVD releases data as necessary for state and local law enforcement, voter registration, vehicle recall notices, driver history checks and other 'critical government functions.' She also said the MVD would comply with the state law if amended. Republicans in the Senate said they were concerned the bill would impede local law enforcement or draw the ire of President Trump. In a state that relies so heavily on federal dollars, it's risky to do anything that might get in the way of his mass deportation goals, Republicans said. 'You think that the president, who ran on the fact that, 'If a state remains a sanctuary state, I'm going to pool their federal funding,' isn't going to? Seriously, you're going to take that risk?' said Sen. Craig Brandt (D-Rio Rancho) to Sedillo-Lopez. 'Well, you get to answer to your voters. Not me.' Sen. Bill Sharer (D-Farmington) tried to refer the bill to the Senate Finance Committee to consider the potential of losing all of the state's federal funding in retaliation for the bill, which the Senate voted down. Ultimately, Senate Bill 36 passed along party lines. Brandt said he would possibly vote in favor of a measure to prohibit the state from selling all resident data to third parties. Sedillo Lopez said she would introduce that bill next year. 'Maybe we could co-sponsor it, Sen. Brandt,' she said. Senate Bill 250 has not yet been heard in committee. It will go before the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.
