League City vs. the USA, Part 4: The unaccompanied migrant children

I'm re-posting (below) and relinking (here - PDF) League City's proposed resolution (reportedly, to be voted on during tomorrow's Council meeting) which opposes any potential participation in the federal government's processing of the unaccompanied and undocumented children who are currently crossing our border en masse.  In conjunction with that re-post, I'm once again going to ask a specific question regarding League City's wider actions and intentions with respect to immigration matters.

This iconic photo has appeared on numerous international news accounts of what's happening with the tens of thousands of children who are arriving.

Photo ownership is attributed to Breibart Texas via some accounts, while it is unstated on others. This version was screengrabbed from The Daily Mail.   

If you read the news at all, you can't miss the coverage of this troubling issue - it's a story of international significance.  But what our domestic commercial news media has largely failed to make clear is that this isn't so much an American issue as it is a Texas issue.

For that kind of clarity, we need to turn to a venerated source in London England.  The Economist magazine published this concise summary and graph which tells the tale in a way that no other presentation has to date.

Screengrab courtesy of The Economist.  Mind that I'm a nonprofit micro-commentator, eh, chaps?   

There isn't an American (Texan or otherwise) alive today who would judge this situation to be in any way desirable for anyone involved nor from any legal or humanitarian perspective.  The whole thing makes the Katrina evacuation look like a walk in the park by comparison.

I agree that there are genuine questions that need to be answered with respect to issues of finance, logistics, safety, and public health.  But I'm not going to comment on whether I think League City's proposed anti-minor-children resolution is fair, compassionate, or reasonable on its face - scores of others will no doubt jump on that bandwagon.  Galveston County Daily News took the unusual step of leaving this story outside of their paywall and I'm assuming that was part of their motivation - to elevate its profile and intensify the resulting scrutiny (who says American journalism is dead?).

What I am going to re-ask is whether League City's overall position on undocumented immigrants is internally consistent, because I believe that's a pivotal question from a moral standpoint (and we voters need to be evaluating the moral substrates of our elected representatives).  Let me recap some recent history for context.

In what became known as the Journaleros lawsuit, LC distinguished itself by violating the Constitutional rights of assumed-illegal day laborers within its city limits, wasting hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on legal fees in the process.

As that situation was unfolding, LC was also in the process of contracting for the construction of its new $31 million Public Safety Building - the one they funded by effectively circumventing taxpayer endorsement, by the way (they intentionally never put it to a vote as was originally proposed).

In view of those curiously-juxtaposed purposes, my question at the time was this:

Where is the labor coming from to build the new Public Safety Building?

Screengrabbed from this post.  

Half of Texas construction workers are undocumented - that much is no secret.  Is it even possible to win a large low-bid municipal construction contract using strictly-legal labor in this state?  Given that LC is consistently preoccupied with restricting the activities of illegal aliens, what steps did it take to ensure that there would be absolutely no undocumented labor within any of the supply chains for its new Public Safety Building?

In other words, I was asking whether LCPD was violating the Constitutional rights of undocumented laborers with its right hand while simultaneously capitalizing on the fruits of their labor with its left hand, to the extent of watching that very same class of people build their own brand new police station. But I never got an answer to my question.  For some reason, the outrage-driven commercial news media apparently never saw fit to see how tightly those dots might be joined by investigating that one.  Not yet, anyway.  Either way, the answers would be newsworthy, so I don't understand this.

Does League City truly oppose illegal immigration on principle, or does it do so only when it conveniences them in some headline-generating fashion?  Are they capable or even willing to put our money where their mouths are on this issue?  Those are the questions that remain unanswered.  With this new undocumented migrant resolution re-thrusting LC's handling of immigration issues back into the spotlight, we have another chance at some deeper answers, if only someone working in a journalistic capacity would seek them.  

I'm asking the same thing in a slightly different way a year later (by "whole thing" I was referring to the Journaleros lawsuit).  Screengrabbed from this post.  

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Here is a text transcript of the resolution in case the JPG images below are too pixilated to read on some mobile devices:

RESOLUTION NO. 2014-_______

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF LEAGUE CITY, TEXAS TO PROTECT THE HEALTH, SAFETY, AND SECURITY OF OUR CITIZENS AND COMMUNITY; AND PROVIDING FOR OTHER MATTERS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT

WHEREAS, the citizens of League City, Texas recognize their duty as law-abiding citizens to act in accordance with the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution, and agree that their right to life, liberty, and property shall not be infringed; and

WHEREAS, the federal government has failed to protect the homeland in accordance with Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, Texas has the right and obligation to protect its citizens in accordance with Article 1, Section 1 of the Texas Constitution: Freedom and Sovereignty of State. Texas is a free and independent State, subject only to the Constitution of the United States, and the maintenance of our free institutions and the perpetuity of the Union depend upon the preservation of the right of local self government, unimpaired to all the States.

And is supported by Article 1, Section 29 of the Texas Constitution: Provisions of Bill of Rights Excepted from Powers of Government; To Forever Remain Inviolate. To guard against transgressions of the high powers herein designated, we declare that everything in this (Texas) "Bill of Rights" is excepted out of the general powers of government, and shall forever remain inviolate, and all laws contrary thereto, or to the following provisions, shall be void.

WHEREAS, the citizens of League City Texas are greatly concerned regarding the ongoing massive influx of illegal aliens seeking unauthorized entry to the United States; and

WHEREAS, it is estimated that more than 90,000 minors will arrive in the United States during
the 2014 fiscal year and an additional 145,000 illegal alien minors in 2015 fiscal year, with most expected to remain in Texas cities and communities; and

WHEREAS, the leaders of League City question the impact that the sudden influx of school-age illegal minors will have on our Independent School Districts’ (ISD) educational funding, school resources, campus security, and health safety for our children; and

WHEREAS, health advisories report that many illegal aliens suffering from diseases endemic in their countries of origin are being released into our communities; and WHEREAS, the federal government is actively seeking more locations within Texas towns and counties to accommodate the unprecedented overflow of illegal aliens and unaccompanied minors; and

WHEREAS, the increasing volume of illegal aliens is already bankrupting some cities and counties in the State of Texas by overwhelming the local medical, educational, law enforcement, and judicial systems; and

WHEREAS, members of dangerous transnational criminal organizations and radical Islamic terror groups continue to exploit the situation to infiltrate the United States for the purpose of establishing criminal activity, terror cells, and training operations within our homeland; and

WHEREAS, without a secure border Texas cities and communities cannot protect the health and safety of their citizens;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LEAGUE CITY, TEXAS, as follows:

Section 1. That all agencies of the City of League City are instructed to refuse requests or directives by federal agencies to permit or establish any facility for the purposes of processing, housing, or detaining any illegal aliens, designated as “refugee” or otherwise.

Section 2. That in order to control the potential threat of communicable diseases reported to be prevalent among illegal aliens, all appropriate agencies of the City of League City are instructed to prudently exercise the City’s police power in any manner necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of League City.

Section 3. We hereby appeal to our state legislators and elected officials for action and accountability to urgently address the continuing influx of illegal aliens across our border.

Through State executive and legislative actions demand that the Federal government provide additional resources for new and/or existing Border Patrol checkpoints, and employ a contiguous physical barrier where strategically prudent.

Demand the Texas State Legislature to enhance state smuggling and human trafficking laws, and provide civil liability protections for Texan land owners against criminal trespassers.

Demand the Texas State Legislature abolishes any and all state-controlled or sponsored magnets that exacerbate the problem of rampant illegal immigration, such as (but not limited to): in-state tuition subsidies, welfare benefits, and free non-emergency health care for illegal aliens.

Require the State to perform a cost/benefit analysis of the illegal alien presence and report that cost to Texas taxpayers and state agencies.

Pass legislation to prohibit “sanctuary cities” which restrict law enforcement from determining the immigration status of detainees after the commission of a crime within our communities.

Section 4. That civic responsibility demands that community and state leaders begin crisis planning immediately to address the unprecedented wave of foreign minor school age children that could be enrolled in Texas schools this summer; and

Section 5. That the City of League City, State of Texas, calls on other communities and jurisdictions to join with us in this action by passing similar Resolutions.

Section 6. That copies of this Resolution be immediately transmitted to the Governor of the State of Texas; the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Texas’ legislature; each individual legislator that represents our City in the State of Texas; the Commissioner’s Court of Galveston County; and the Sheriff of Galveston County.

PASSED AND APPROVED on the _______ day of July, 2014.

_________________________________
TIMOTHY PAULISSEN,
Mayor

ATTEST:
_______________________________
DIANA STAPP,
City Secretary