The group on Friday expressed a call to action for residents and religious leaders in Dallas County to reach out to lawmakers, to urge them to not support “the warehousing of thousands of migrants in inhumane conditions in our backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n
“<\/b>We should not be housing human beings in warehouses meant for packages,” said Eric Folkerth, lead pastor of the Kessler Park United Methodist Church, where the press conference was held.<\/p>\n
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Carl Sherman, a former Hutchins city manager and former state representative for Texas District 109, which includes Hutchins, said everyone should be concerned about the potential facility. <\/p>\n
Carl Sherman, a former Hutchins city manager and former state representative for Texas District 109, which includes Hutchins, spoke about the impact the facility would have on the community.<\/p>\n
“<\/b>I can tell you that Hutchins does not have the infrastructure, does not the water supply, or the sewage infrastructure to sustain and accommodate the more than doubling of its current population by 150%,\u201d Sherman said.<\/p>\n
He and other speakers asked community members to support Hutchins residents and leaders \u2014 including Mayor Mario Vasquez \u2014 who do not want the ICE detention facility in their city.<\/p>\n
\u201cLocal leaders must be empowered to plan and approve projects in their communities,” Sherman said. \u201cIf you just can’t imagine that it would ever happen in your home, your small town like Hutchins could be the next city, the next community that faces this.” <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, two local faith leaders \u2014 Mara Richards Bim, Justice and Advocacy Fellow at the Royal Lane Baptist Church, and T.J. Fitzgerald, reverend of the First Unitarian Church of Dallas \u2014 were in Minneapolis and St. Paul Friday as part of a larger gathering to oppose ICE activity in Minnesota. They were there to meet with hundreds of leaders from around the country.<\/p>\n
Dallas Rabbi Nancy Kasten said it\u2019s important to work past ideological differences to plan, collaborate and cooperate.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe in Dallas must work together to meet the moment when, not if, it arrives in our streets and at our doorsteps,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Priscilla Rice is KERA\u2019s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at\u00a0price@kera.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n