Dallas public hearing gives families a voice on immigration enforcement
North Texas immigration advocates recently held a public hearing for families to share their stories and engage in a dialogue about immigration enforcement in the metroplex. Organizers said the hearing is a way to document enforcement practices, detention conditions, and the impact on families.
Norlan Guzman Fuentes' wife is one of several North Texans who recently shared her testimony at the people's hearing on immigration enforcement in Dallas.
Family outraged after U.S. authorities failed to notify them of loved one's death in Dallas ICE shooting
It's been 11 months since Guzman Fuentes was killed outside the Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office while in custody and his wife is still searching for answers. She asked CBS News Texas to conceal her identity, citing safety concerns.
"I'm not good. I'm always thinking what happened, how it all went down," she said. "I don't know if he knew what was happening, if he died instantly… I have a thousand questions, and they haven't given me any answers."
Dallas public forum examines immigration enforcement
The public forum gives community leaders and advocates a chance to document the civil rights impacts of federal immigration enforcement. Similar hearings have already been held in several major cities across the country.
"There has been a connecting tissue in every city we've gone to and it's Texas," said Frankie Miranda, the president and CEO of the Hispanic Federation. "People being detained, being disappeared, being kidnapped, and passed through Texas or being detained in Texas."
Organizers are also calling on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to begin tracking data related to immigration enforcement.
"There's gotta be accountability," said Luis A. Miranda, Jr., with the Miranda Family Fund. "It may be that now, the federal government and some of the local governments like here in Texas are paying no attention, are looking the other way, but we know that if we document, there will be a moment where we could have accountability."
Rochelle M. Garza, the chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, explains they're not examining immigration enforcement because of differences between Republicans and Democrats.
"Republican commissioners are not showing up to our business meetings where we could take a vote," said Garza. "The four Democratic commissioners support an investigation, but we need a majority of the eight commissioners to agree to move forward."
Regarding the forum, an ICE spokesperson said, "The agency was not invited to participate in the hearing or respond to the allegations raised there ... Discussions like this are most constructive when they include verified data and context from federal authorities."
As for Guzman Fuentes' wife, she hopes her husband's death serves as a reminder of the impact immigration enforcement is having on families.
"We cannot allow this to go unpunished as if nothing ever happened," she said. "We have to keep fighting for our loved ones. The only thing I want is justice, and for this to stop."
