Patricia Ortiz/Houston Public Media
Some members of Houston’s Hispanic neighborhood are in assist of ramped-up immigration enforcement from the administration of President Donald Trump.
Javier Loya, a minority proprietor of the Houston Texans NFL franchise, mentioned he’s in favor of current efforts to arrest individuals within the U.S. who could also be within the nation with out authorized standing, as a result of such initiatives are supposed to goal criminality.
“By decreasing felony exercise, creating safer neighborhoods the place enterprise can thrive,” Loya mentioned. “It’s particularly essential in Houston the place our economic system is determined by every little thing from small family-owned companies to world industries. However on the identical time, it’s essential to verify these insurance policies don’t unintentionally disrupt industries that depend on immigrant labor.”
Some Houston-area elected officers have spoken out towards Trump’s immigration insurance policies and associated govt orders. On Sunday, when protests have been held in cities throughout Texas, hundreds of Houston-area residents turned out for a protest organized by two civil rights advocacy organizations — with many displaying the colours of the Mexican flag.
Per week earlier, dozens have been arrested throughout Texas as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) started focused operations throughout the state.
Loya, together with supporting these enforcement efforts, mentioned he’s additionally in assist of authorized pathways to residency within the U.S., including that he’s benefited from visa applications for his staff.
H-1B visas in significantly have been just lately debated amongst political conservatives like enterprise mogul Elon Musk, who has a job in Trump’s administration, and others within the tech business. In accordance with the American Immigration Council, H-1B visas are a short lived measure for employers to petition for “extremely educated international professionals to work in ‘specialty occupations’ that require no less than a bachelor’s diploma or the equal.”
Abraham Enriquez is the founder and president of Bienvenido Empresarios, a coalition of executives and enterprise leaders within the Hispanic neighborhood. Enriquez can also be a former member of the Republican Nationwide Hispanic Meeting. He mentioned he has heard of some individuals within the Hispanic neighborhood self-deporting.
“Robust members of our neighborhood who’ve been in line for years, anticipating one thing from our authorities, to which I hope we will work in direction of,” he mentioned. “They’re self-deporting themselves as a result of mainstream media is making them really feel like they’re subsequent. As if their house is gonna be raided.”
Each Enriquez and Loya, who’s an advisor for Bienvenido Empresarios, endorsed Trump at an occasion in Houston previous to the November 2024 election.
In accordance with the Higher Houston Partnership, 1 in 4 Houstonians have been born exterior of the U.S. as of 2021, when about 34% of all foreign-born residents within the Houston space got here from Mexico.
Since Trump was inaugurated for a second stint within the White Home on Jan. 20, no less than 4 immigration-related arrests have taken place within the Houston space, in line with social media posts from ICE. Causes for the arrests have ranged from alleged terrorism to aggravated assault or possession of a managed substance, in line with ICE. The New York Occasions reported that greater than 7,000 individuals throughout the nation have been arrested within the final two weeks of January.
