United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce

RESOLUTION

To Oppose Texas Senate Bill 4 (Anti-Sanctuary Cities Bill)

WHEREAS, the SB 4 legislation recently passed in the Texas Senate would require local police
and sheriff departments to enforce immigration law1, a role that neither the Nueces County
Sheriffs department or the CCPD currently preform2;

WHEREAS, both the Nueces County Sheriff3 and the CCPD Chief4 have expressed concern that
enforcement of immigration law by their departments could harm community safety;

WHEREAS, labor force participation and median household income tend to be higher in cities
where law enforcement does not enforce immigration law5;

WHEREAS, poverty rates, reliance on public assistance, and unemployment rates tend to be
higher in cities where law enforcement does enforce immigration law5;

WHEREAS, the net direct economic benefits of undocumented workers in Texas were found to
include almost $326.1 billion in total expenditures and $144.7 billion in output (gross product)
each year as well as 1.2 million jobs created6;

WHEREAS, the total tax effect of the undocumented workforce in Texas includes estimated
overall (direct, indirect, and induced) gains of $45.7 billion per year, including $23.2 billion to the
federal government, $15.0 billion to the State of Texas, and $7.6 billion to local entities within the
state6;

WHEREAS, the economic cost of restrictive immigration policies such as SB4 includes $101.8
billion in foregone total expenditures and almost $54.8 billion in gross product each year as well
as a loss of more than 417,000 jobs in Texas6;

WHEREAS, The San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, The Texas Association of Mexican
American Chambers of Commerce, and The Austin Hispanic Chambers of Commerce have all
passed resolutions opposing the economically dangerous SB 4 legislation7;

WHEREAS, the United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerces mission statement is to advance
economic prosperity for all business while preserving the regions diverse cultures;

WHEREAS, Texas Senate Bill 4 both hinders economic prosperity and promotes the
profiling of certain cultural groups by local law enforcement;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce
firmly condemns the passage of Texas Senate Bill 4, and opposes any efforts to further this bill in
the Texas Legislature

1 https://www.texastribune.org/2017/02/07/texas-senate-tentatively-approves-anti-sanctuary-city-legislation/
2 https://www.ilrc.org/sites/default/files/resources/sanctuary_report_final_1-min.pdf
3 http://www.caller.com/videos/news/2017/02/09/sheriff-jim-kaelin-local-immigration-enforcement/97704558/
4 http://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2017/02/02/ccpd-police-chief-discusses-immigration-enforcement/97399546/
5 https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/reports/2017/01/26/297366/the-effects-of-sanctuary-policies-on-crime-and-the-economy/
6 https://www.perrymangroup.com/wp-content/uploads/Perryman-Undocumented-Workforce-Study-1-29-2016.pdf
7 http://www.commonsenseimmigrationtx.org/stop-sb4/business-letter/
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce urges
Representatives Todd Hunter and Abel Herero to vote against the Texas House version of SB 4 at
both the committee and floor levels, and further urges Governor Greg Abbot to withdraw his
support of SB 4 should it arrive on his desk.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce

Government Affairs Committee will add the opposition of SB 4 to their 2017 State
legislative agenda