Dallas City Council Adopts “Welcoming” Resolution

On October 24, the Dallas City Council voted unanimously to become a “welcoming city” during its regular meeting, which could potentially violate Texas’ anti-sanctuary law, Senate Bill (SB) 4.

The text of Resolution 18-1043 states that “the City of Dallas affirms its status as a welcoming community towards [aliens],” including illegal ones, and resolves “to create a more inclusive and socially integrating city for [aliens] and their families”.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings (D) lauded the vote, saying that the “resolution demonstrates [Dallas’] commitment to [aliens and will help] integrate them into the social fabric of [the] city”.

The resolution also formally adopts recommendations made by the Office of Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs (“WCIA”) through its Welcoming Plan, which is a compilation of goals and strategies designed to re-fashion city policies towards aliens.

Among other things, the Welcoming Plan encourages the city to:

• Provide civil rights training to first responders and adjust police department policies to foster trust between aliens and law enforcement
• Create a municipal identification program to improve access to city services
• Expand access to housing opportunities for aliens and their families
• Increase alien participation in civic and community activities

While Dallas’ new declaration may appear innocuous on paper, the city is in fact becoming a sanctuary city. “Welcoming city” policies, by design, are intended to signal to illegal aliens that local officials will not interfere with their unlawful occupation of the city or report them to federal immigration authorities. They also provide generous benefits to illegal aliens that further incentivizes mass migration and illegal immigration. In effect, “welcoming” policies are sanctuary policies.

What’s more, Dallas will join 92 other localities who’ve adopted similar measures in the past, including Houston, which became a “welcoming city” in 2017.

There is a high likelihood that the state of Texas will intervene by filing an injunction to restrain the city from proceeding with its “Welcoming Plan.” There is precedent for this – Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hall (R) joined a lawsuit against the city of Gary after it passed a “welcoming city” ordinance last May. Like the Dallas resolution, the Gary ordinance sought to implement unlawful policies towards illegal aliens that purposely circumvented state and federal law.