The Austin Environmental Justice Team (ATXEJ) on Monday called on City Council to support immigrants and oppose the border wall by amending the city’s federal legislative agenda to address immigration and border policy issues. Council members Greg Casar, Leslie Pool, Delia Garza, Pio Renteria and Mayor Steve Adler are sponsoring the resolution, giving it a pretty good chance of passing. Also on Monday, the Austin Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors joined other chambers of commerce around the country in announcing its support for “legalizing the beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program through the DREAM Act or similar legislation,” increasing the net number of legal immigration slots to the United States, and increasing the number of immigration slots for highly skilled graduates from U.S. universities. And they want it all done by March 1, which coincides with President Donald Trump’s announced time frame for Congress to extend DACA.
Jo Clifton is the Politics Editor for the Austin Monitor. More by Jo Clifton