Representative. Thank you for the time.
Uh, what led to the exchange that you had on the house floor?
Well, look, there's a lot of heightened passions, uh, regarding
these three sets of bills. So it's not just one, it's, uh,
uh, HB six, it spends $1.5 billion for, uh,
a wall along the US Mexico border of which I think 11 miles
have been built and about another billion and a half have already been
appropriated that hasn't been spent.
Uh, that's one bill.
Uh, the other bill, uh, HB four
SB 61 would make it a,
um, it's a smuggling bill. Look, we're against human smuggling.
Uh, that, that, that's, let's just lay that out.
Uh, but what the bill does is it actually,
um,
ties the hands of, of judges in
issuing punishment. And so in the punishment phase,
uh, somebody that's convicted of this particular crime,
uh, would get a 10 year mandatory minimum.
There's very few crimes across the state where you issue
this type of punishment on that type of crime.
So that's one,
the other one is, um,
empowers law enforcement,
uh,
whether there's state law enforcement or local
law enforcement to determine on a stop
if somebody is, uh, is in the country illegally, uh,
or without papers or undocumented.
Right?
So you're given this all awesome power to local law enforcement to, to make that
deter
determination.
At the same time, they're not
trained in federal immigration policy.
Um
Second part of that bill
is,
if that
uh, officer determines that that person is, is here um, unlawfully,
then it gives that
officer the authority to then drive that person
uh down to the US Mex
Mexico border
and in essence, uh uh
deport that person,
right?
So look, uh, those are the three bills that were being debated last night.
Uh One of two of the bills uh had already been, uh, in essence, passed
the final bill on in uh pre empting federal immigration law had, uh,
had not been debated yet, right?
So the bill author
uh was about to lay out his bill
and I want to talk about process because I think
the process is important and the viewers need to understand
that
um,
vigorous debate on both sides of the aisle are good
for educating the public.
And in this case,
you had about 40 to 50 amendments that were,
uh,
that were printed
ready to go,
uh
to be debated on the speaker's desk.
There was a motion that was,
um,
that was brought to the floor that was presented to the floor seconded by 25.
Uh GOP of my colleagues
that would have ended the ability for anybody in the House
or the Democrat or Republican to offer an amendment
to
the bill that Representative Spiller was about to lay out
if it were not already on the speaker's desk.
I will tell you this,
that, that is a rare motion that's granted, that's a rare motion that,
that uh is approved and voted on.
It's only happened maybe four or five times in the last 20 or 30 years.
And so
the process by which
we as Democrats and Republicans
in a bipartisan manner
govern ourselves uh means a lot, right? So,
um
that motion was granted and approved. I took issue with that, right? Because
the effect of that motion being approved is that it
cuts off the ability of anybody on the house floor
to file an amendment to the bill. Now look
with the exception of the appro House General
Appropriations Act bill that reaches the floor.
Um
There is no calendar rule uh for any other bill, but for uh
the House Appropriations Bill.
And so
if you're a member,
I've had bills on the floor,
anybody,
anybody can debate that bill
and you have a front mic
and you have a back mic
and any member Democrat or Republican, if your bill reaches the floor.
Well, one of my colleagues can go to the back mic and ask me questions.
Anybody on the, anybody in my, of my colleagues Democrat or Republican
can go to Ledge Council,
go ask him, hey, you know what? I have an idea.
I wanna amend Representative Spiller or Representative Wally's Bill
and
I need you to draft an amendment.
Ok. So what, what
the motion
uh did was
cut off the ability for any member to be able to have that opportunity
to have a vigorous, full debate on the bill that may or may not had an amendment,
uh that
was not laid on the table, right? So
that's the process.
Um,
the only way, the only other procedure that you would cut off, uh uh that
ability for members to have a vigorous debate is to call the question.
And I know we're getting into very, into the weeds,
but I think it matters for the viewing
public because there are certain guidelines that,
that we govern ourselves by both Democrats and Republicans voted for the rules.
Uh We use the rules uh to our benefit, right?
Um And so,
um, that's just, those are the rules that we ourselves govern, are governed by
and for some
and for, for, um, the house to then decide
to cut off the ability of any member to file any more amendments.
Look, that's un American,
I think any reasonable
um watcher of the legislature or just the government in general knows that
you, there are always several sides to an issue,
right?
You have a vigorous debate
and look, we're Democrats in the Republican controlled legislature,
we know these bills are gonna pass,
but we have to have at least the ability to file amendments
and have a debate, a vigorous debate
that's process substance. It's three bills, these three bills
have become
these three bills. Um Look,
I will acknowledge that I live 300 miles from the border.
I live in Houston, Texas. Born and raised in Houston. I love Houston
um
and
Proud American, but I have family along the Mexico border.
Uh Texas Mexico border.
I have a, I have a dad, I have a brother, I have cousins.
I have a grandmother that lives along the Mexico border.
For me to say that there are not issues, there are.
But instead of working
Governor Abbott, working with Secretary Mallorca,
working with
President Biden in the White House to resolve some of these border issues.
He wants to antagonize folks and then he wants to utilize these three bills
to demonize a certain segment of our population
by getting them involved
in
in cri uh in alleged criminal activity, right? Human smuggling,
unlawful entry. Uh building a wall that at this point
it has not been effective in deterring
migration. Look, we're all complicit in in
this border crisis. Why?
Uh it's two fold. You have push factors
that are pushing
uh migrants to come to the United States at the US Mexico border.
Venezuela's regime is an authoritative regime.
Haiti has no government.
It's a corrupt government
run by gangs
Yeah. Yeah.
And,
and clearly, there, there are a lot of factors there.
Representative, you said a couple of things, I, I in that uh exchange
on the floor that, that really struck me.
Uh One was that, you know, you've been a good soldier for a long time.
But then secondly, um
you, you said that
to your colleagues that you don't know what it's like to live in my skin.
What did you mean by that?
Well, look, what, what, what I mean by that is
those the colleagues that I've worked with,
I've been in the legislature for 16 years.
Um I've, I've been,
I think I've earned the respect of my colleagues
uh for doing my homework for working hard, for being respectful on the floor,
uh for uh being able to work across the aisle.
Uh Those are the traits that I think I've uh I've brought to
the table over my time in the legislature and I've been effective,
I've been able to, to um
provided the opportunity,
earn the opportunity uh earn the trust of this particular speaker.
Uh And I support it.
And so
um
for me,
it, it was, it's personal
because
as, as, as,
as much as folks can empathize with
uh the plight of
people of color
uh in this state,
we have a very difficult um
uh tragic history
in this state
as it relates to its treatment
of people of color. That is a fact nobody can deny that.
However, I for me,
uh on a personal level,
nobody can live, nobody's lived the life that I've lived,
right.
Um And those that look like me,
uh people of color in this state that wanna be that are proud Americans
that, that, that are proud Texans.
Um
uh
We have that history. We have to acknowledge that history, but we also have to know
that
unfortunately, some folks they may empathize but they, they haven't lived
in our skin, they haven't lived our experiences
and, and that's what
hidden it,
any regrets about that exchange?
Absolutely not.
Absolutely not. It, it was uh
ha have you heard from any of your Republican colleague privately since then?
No, I've heard from him. Um
There was, there was a look I I've met with
uh a lot of my Republican colleagues. Um We have had good conversations.
We're trying, what do they, what do they say after this though?
Did, did they say anything after this?
Uh Most of the,
most of the exchanges that I've had have been uh positive.
Um And so to the extent that
that there's any um
backlash or perceived backlash,
I haven't received it from my Republican colleagues.
II, I think representative, I think what,
what really stood out to us is that we saw a human side of
a lawmaker there and we don't see that a lot on the house floor.
We, we hear impassioned speeches from the back microphone,
maybe from the front microphone, but we don't see
what, what people are like um on a human level and that's what this was.
Yeah, I mean, absolutely.
And I, and I think that that's um look, I didn't know somebody was filming.
So let me just
let me just uh acknowledge that I didn't, I had no idea
that a camera was, was on
the encounter.
Um
It was a, a raw um
it was a, an encounter that I don't regret
uh because that's how I felt and that's how I feel,
but I'm not the only one that feels that way.
Uh There are hundreds of thousands of people in this state,
they love this state.
They're proud Americans,
but sometimes feel that
um
those that are in power
um try everything in their, in their power
uh to marginalize communities
look like me.
I have a vote too.
Um
I'm one of 100 and 50 members and I, I love
the legislature.
Uh But I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna sit
by and let
folks continue to one
try to circumvent the process
at the same time, substantively attack our communities. I would, I, I do not regret
uh what was said on the floor and it was wrong. Yes. Um
And
there was some language that,
you know, maybe I wouldn't, my grandmother,
my
Guli
probably wouldn't appreciate.
Um
But I know my, my late Aguta
and my late
Auo
would be proud that I stood up for my values because that's what they taught me.
Well, let me ask you about House Bill four,
specifically one of the three bills that relate to the border and immigration.
House Bill four,
would, would
give local police the authority to detain someone they think they
suspect is here illegally and take them back to the border.
Uh What do you think the, the reality is going to be when this becomes law?
Look, I mean, all that does is so mistrust between
H le
let, let's just,
I'm born and raised in Houston, as I said,
uh,
Houston is a great town. Uh, but it's, it's an international city.
Uh, we have and we're a welcoming, uh, community.
Uh, this city is, is, is, uh,
opens its arms to hard working people from all
walks of life in all countries and all backgrounds,
right?
The Houston Police Department,
um,
has had
a AAA,
you know, a difficult history but in, in, in recent times
they've done a good job of hiring people from the community.
Um, look, our, our sheriff is African American, right?
Um,
and, uh, they do a good job of, of recruiting those, uh,
the
police force that's reflective of the community and that,
that should be applauded.
It also has been very proactive in working with our immigrant community.
Um, and because they become victims of crimes, whether they're documented or not.
Right. Oh, sure.
But as far as the I'm sorry. Uh, as far as far as the effects of HP four,
do you think that families are gonna get picked up on
the streets essentially because they might not be able to prove,
or they don't have ID on them?
That proves that they're a citizen.
Yes, because that's what the, that's what the bill,
that's what the language of the bill does.
The plain meaning of the language authorizes state or local law enforcement,
the authority to determine if somebody is here without papers or not.
Right.
So
I know many law enforcement
officers, some of them are in my family.
I know that I, I can't speak for all of them, but I can,
I can safely say that
um if they wanted to be border patrol agents,
they would have gone to be border patrol agents, right?
They wanted to be Harris County sheriff's deputies
or they wanted to be Houston police officers.
Um
If they wanted to be immigration in the immigration business,
that's what they would have done.
But they've become local law enforcement.
I don't think they want to have that type of authority to then determine
if somebody is here undocumented or not, right?
Because somebody could be seeking asylum,
you know, somebody could be a DACA recipient.
Somebody could be uh in the process of adjusting their status, right?
But because they don't have proper documentation at the,
at the time of a particular stop,
then you're just empowering
um
uh, you know,
a regime that probably is gonna make mistakes. That's just a sad reality sometimes.
What's your, what's your biggest,
what's your biggest worry on this bill here specifically?
Well, precisely that, that
you're empowering local law enforcement is to make a determination
where they may or may not have the proper training
and, and you can engulf family members,
family members. Right? Because this bill on local entry
works with the other bill with human smuggling
because those two bills work in tandem.
Right. So
if, if I'm a US citizen,
right?
And I have, maybe I have my grandmother here or maybe I have a father that's here,
that might be
uh trying to adjust status and that, that law enforcement officer
stops me.
Right.
I potentially, ok,
potentially could be charged with human smuggling and face a
10 year mandatory minimum because that's what the bill does.
A 10 year mandatory minimum
and my grandparent who may or may not be,
or my father who may or may not
be undocumented because maybe they're adjusting their status
could be charged with another crime
for unlawful entry.
Get charged with the crime and then get sent back
to the port of entry because that's what the bill exactly stipulates
that the law enforcement agent
can then
pick that person up
and take him back.
Right. This is a law enforcement officer. He has a gun, he has a uniform or she,
he has a vehicle, he has lights or she has lights on that vehicle.
So
that is, that is a sad reality.
What option do Democrats have from here?
Is this a AAA bill and a law that's going to end up in court?
Um I anticipate uh some legal action being taken. Uh, one particularly on,
on the, the preemption federal immigration law, particularly on the,
on the uh unlawful entry a state. I think it's a state
jail felony. How soon would that happen? Do you think?
Well, honestly, that
it's hard to, hard to tell now, only because the, the,
the legislative process is still working,
it just passed the Senate or just passed the house,
um, 33 or four o'clock this morning.
Uh, and so,
uh, we'll see once the,
once it gets over to the Senate and how fast it gets to the governor's desk and then
once we get those timelines, we'll, we'll figure out a plan of action after that.
But you, you think that this is something that would end up in court though,
uh, I anticipate, uh, some legal action on this. Absolutely.
Representative. Thank you for the time. We appreciate that.
That and, and the honesty as well, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. I appreciate your time.