1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

As an Austin constituent, I urge you to end Texas's participation in pretextual immigration stops and require independent investigations of federal agents who injure anyone on Texas soil. On September 20, an ICE officer shot 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez in North Austin while he was making a DoorDash delivery (CBS News, September 2026). Homeland Security Investigations is reviewing the shooting within its own department rather than the FBI, and no body camera footage has been released. Texans deserve better than an agency grading its own work. This didn't start there. In July 2025, a DPS trooper stopped a van in East Austin over a license plate mounted wrong. Fifteen minutes later, five construction workers were in ICE custody, and DPS agents on scene wore masks in violation of their own department's written policy (KUT, March 2026). That's the traffic code used as a pretext. Texas now accounts for roughly one in four ICE arrests nationwide, and about two of every three people detained here have no criminal record (Texas Tribune, September 2026). We're spending state money to chase roofers and line cooks. Consider the math. Undocumented Texans paid $4.87 billion in state and local taxes in 2022, including $1.8 billion in property taxes that fund our schools (ITEP, 2024). Immigrants are 40% of Texas construction workers (American Immigration Council). The Dallas Fed found 20% of Texas businesses say immigration policy has hurt their ability to recruit and keep workers, and 40% of affected firms reported employees missing shifts out of fear (Dallas Fed, October 2025). Weak job growth follows. Four specific requests: 1. Disband the DPS-DHS strike team and end DPS referrals that arise from routine traffic stops. 2. Enforce the DPS mask policy with discipline rather than counseling, and require visible name and badge identification. 3. Require the Texas Rangers or the local district attorney to independently investigate any shooting or serious injury caused by a federal agent in Texas, with prompt release of body camera footage. 4. Amend SB 8 so sheriffs decide whether to sign 287(g) agreements instead of being compelled to. People who've worked here for decades, raised citizen children, and paid taxes shouldn't be the target of our law enforcement budget.