80th Legislature: More Anti-Immigrant Bills Plus One Anti-Discrimination Bill (The Freedom From Workplace and Housing Discrimination Act

There are no less than three Cinco de Mayo resolutions that have been filed before the Lege in the last few days. I find that particularly interesting in that they came out about the same time as more in a long line (stream, river, ocean?) of anti-immigrant legislation that would most impact…you guessed it! Latinos.
HB 904 by Zedler. This would prohibit local governments from operating day labor centers.

HB 905 by Zedler.  This legislation would require a sheriff’s department to determine a person’s nationality/immigration status if they are jailed for any felony or an “intoxication offense,” and report to Homeland Security if the person is here illegally for whatever reason. While “public intoxication” (a class c misdemeanor) isn’t covered under the intoxication offenses cited in the legislation, “assembling or operating an amusement ride while intoxicated” is. (Yes, that really is a law, even though every carnie worker you have probably ever seen looked as drunk as a skunk).

HB 907 also by Zedler.  This legislation allows the state to enter in an agreement with federal authorities so certain Texas peace officers can be trained to enforce federal immigration and customs laws. I think there may be some constitutional issues here, such as separation of state and federal government duties, but it will be an interesting one to watch as it is, on its face, less “in your face” that some anti-immigrant legislation we’ve seen this session.

SJR 13 by Averitt. Would propose a constitutional amendment that mandates that, for those over 65 or disabled with homestead exemptions,the amount of public school (elementary and secondary only, not college district) property taxes may not increase while that person owns the
property.

HB 900 by Villarreal. In sharp contrast to much of the legislation we’ve seen filed this session is Villarreal’s HB 900, (The “Freedom From Workplace and Housing Discrimination Act”) which would prohibit certain discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. By and large, this legislation is a sweeping anti-discrimination act that encompasses employment, labor unions, public accomodations (hotels, motels), housing, and provides penalties for those who descriminate because of one’s sexual orientation. “Sexual orientation” as defined by the Act would be:

(A)  having a preference for heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality;
(B)  having a history of such a preference; or
(C)  being identified or perceived as having such a preference.

Very sweeping, indeed.

And, finally, HR 154 by Alonzo. I wanted to include this one because it is interesting. It commemorates the 39th Anniversary of the Crystal City Student Walkouts.

If you have never heard of one of the most successful Chicano protests in Texas history, then check this out from the Handbook of Texas:

In 1967 the Mexican American Youth Organization was founded by three Chicanos, including José Ángel Gutiérrez at Crystal City High School. In 1969, after a conflict about the ethnicity of cheerleaders, the school compromised to establish a cheerleading squad of three Caucasian and three Mexican-American girls. But in June the school board invalidated the compromise. The following November 100 Mexican-American students and their parents took a long list of grievances to the school board. In December 1969, when the board denied the charges of discrimination and refused to act on them, 200 Mexican-American students went out on strike, with their parents’ support. The boycott soon extended to both the middle and elementary schools. The United States Department of Justice sent a team to intervene in the crisis, probably in response to the visit by three striking students to its Washington headquarters. The federal officials negotiated a settlement that obliged the board to meet most of the students’ demands, including bilingual, bicultural education, better testing programs, and more cultural celebrations. The following January the Raza Unida Party, which was founded almost immediately after the successful student boycott, received enough votes to win seats on the school board and the city council.

Very worthy of recognition.

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