A petition is circulating in town asking the Cuero City Council to consider revoking or revising the 287 Agreement with U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) it approved Dec. 8.
The agreement calls for Cuero police officers to be trained in assisting ICE in locating individuals with “serious criminal histories,” according to the City of Cuero’s minutes of the meeting. The City of Cuero can seek reimbursement from the federal government for the time spent on the project.
Chief of Police Steven Ellis told the council that the agreement “formalizes cooperative work already occurring and applies only to targeted criminal enforcement,” according to the minutes. He added that the “officers will not engage in general immigration enforcement or profiling,” after which the council authorized him to sign the agreement.
The petition opposing the agreement is being organized by Patricia Trevino. She is a member of Concerned Citizens, which are groups of individuals who are actively involved in their communities well-being.
In the petition, Trevino complains that “while this federal program is legal, it carries significant risks for our community if it is not paired with strict limits, oversight, and protections for the public.” Trevino claims the contract “contains no language guaranteeing” that law enforcement action will be limited to only individuals with serious criminal histories.
Without those safeguards, legal Cuero residents could be subjected to “civil rights violations, wrongful detentions, and unnecessary harm,” Trevino adds.
In the petition Trevino cites the recent death of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis during protests of ICE activity Jan. 7. Good was part of the protest and in her car. As officers approached her and ordered her out of the car, she attempted to drive away. An officer shot her three times and claiming he was defending himself against being struck by the vehicle.
Trevino said she introduced the petition project to the council at the Jan. 12 meeting to express her concerns about the agreement with ICE.
”I have not received any direct response from council members,” Trevino said. “But they are full aware that the community is organizing around the issue.”
No reported problems have occurred in Cuero so far, Trevino said.
“I am not aware of anyone being directly threatened,” Trevino said. “What I am hearing, especially from members of our Hispanic community, is more frustration and anger than fear. Many feel that this agreement represents yet another erosion of our rights and protections people are worried about how this program could be used in practice, particularly the potential for racial profiling or unnecessary questioning of residents who have done nothing wrong.”
Trevino said the petition is a local effort and not modeled after any state or national template. She noted that she was not present at the Dec. 8 meeting when the agreement was approved by the council.
“It grew out of community conversations and concerns about how the 287G agreement was presented and approved, and the lack of clear safeguards limiting its use to only violent offenders, which is how it was presented to the Council by Chief Ellis.,” Trevino said. “I do intend to request to see the entire video so I can see for myself what was actually discussed. I believe the video posted online of the meeting has been edited.”
Hernandez said the videos of the December meetings, including all related recordings, were uploaded by the city’s advertising company, which is responsible for editing the content.
“The unedited versions will be posted soon,” Hernandez said. “We make all unedited meeting recordings available; however, due to a transition in City Secretaries, there was a brief delay while account access was updated.”
The petition is circulating on change.org, and 31 people have so far signed it, according to the website information.
City Secretary Jessica Hernandez acknowledged the petition was brought to the council’s attention at its Jan. 12 meeting, but said a copy of the petition has not yet been presented to the city.
Mayor Garza declined to comment on the petition, saying “it’s hard for me to comment until I know exactly what the concerns may be.”
Efforts to contact Chief Ellis were unsuccessful.
