Trump Will Cut Federal $ From Local Police Who Don't Take Part In Mass Deportations

Here are Houston Democracy Project Blog Notes & Observations for October 30th. Election Day is in 6 days on November 5th. Early Voting is ongoing and ends November 1st.

*The Trump campaign says it will withhold federal funds from police departments that don't cooperate with plans for mass deportations. 

From NBC News:

"As Donald Trump promises the largest mass deportation of undocumented immigrants in U.S. history if re-elected, his team is....considering withholding federal police grants from local law enforcement agencies that decline to take part in the deportations, three sources close to the Trump campaign told NBC News. .....So-called sanctuary cities, like Chicago, and states, like California, currently decline to alert ICE when they encounter or arrest undocumented immigrants.....Trump has vowed that if he returns to office, he will immediately begin rounding up undocumented immigrants across the country, starting with those who have criminal records or final orders of deportation...Before the Supreme Court ruled, Joe Biden won the 2020 election, took office and restarted the grant program for sanctuary cities. Trump campaign officials say they are confident that they can quickly get legal challenges to the Supreme Court and that the high court’s conservative supermajority will back them."

Two weeks ago I spoke at Houston City Council about how mass deportations are on the way and how Republicans on Council should make clear if they support the extremism of Trump's candidacy. It's important that Council knows what is going on so that later on they can't say they were not told. I told them. You can as well by speaking at Council or contacting you council member.   

It's also important to remember that police unions often support Trump and extremists. They know as well as anyone else what the Trump people are saying about so many subjects. There is no reason to be confident we would be in control of our local police with Abbott and Paxton running Texas & a Trump Justice Department in Washington.       

Houston City Council should be talking about what would be on the way if Trump returns to the White House & should be planning for the impact of mass deportations that would tear many Houston families apart. We as Houstonians must insist they have these conversations.   

*Six of the 16 Houston City Councilmembers were absent without explanation from public comment session yesterday. They were Willie Davis, Julian Ramirez, Twila Carter, Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, Abbie Kamin and Tiffany Thomas. For Kamin and Evans-Shabazz that is two of the last three weeks missed. For Councilmember Thomas that is three weeks straight.

There are plenty of acceptable reasons for to miss a Council session. But when they take the roll call at the beginning of the public comment session, no reason at all is given for absences. Speaking in-person to Council is a real effort. You have to figure out what you will say, get downtown, find a parking space and pay for that parking, wait your turn to speak and then get home. Brief remarks to Council take multiple hours of time. Houstonians should understand why they are not being heard by all Councilmembers when they make such an effort. This is especially so when so many rank & file volunteers are currently making phone calls and knocking doors to stop authoritarians from taking over  many other citizens of   Houston/Harris County are serving as election officials at the polls.    

Public comment is each Tuesday at 2 PM. The agenda business of Council is conducted each Wednesday at 9 AM. Here are details on how to sign up and about Houston City Council meetings. 

We must create a climate of accountability at Houston City Council. This climate will have to come from us. There is nobody else to do this work. With democracy on the line in Texas and that nation, we must make certain we are well and effectively represented at the levels of government closest to home.  

* I'll be on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show tomorrow, 10/31. I'm on the show with Egberto each Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later on Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

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