Full Notification

WASHINGTON, DC – Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia participated in a live teleconference hosted by the White House on Tuesday, February 3, 2015.

The event, which was open to the press, addressed President Obama’s November 20th Immigration Accountability Executive Action. Fellow participants included Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, White House Director of the Domestic Policy Council Cecilia Muñoz, Brownsville Mayor Tony Martinez, Houston based business owner Stan Marek, and White House Director of Hispanic Media Katherine Vargas.

The full text of the Sheriff’s prepared statement is included below:

“Thank you so much, and I too am honored and proud to join Secretary Castro and Mayor [Martinez], and others. I am the Sheriff of the largest county in the State of Texas, the third largest in the country, with over 4 million people that make our community vibrant. Public safety means that the community can participate in providing information and participate with local law enforcement to keep the community safe.

“But, when there are questions and concerns that local law enforcement, because of our necessary partnerships with federal authorities, may become more concerned about a person’s immigration status rather than information that they have regarding cartels, human traffickers, or other individuals that are interested in causing harm in our community like domestic or international terrorists; then it impedes public safety and persons may not feel welcome to share information about things that they may be aware of.

“And so, the Executive Action is something that I am excited about because it really lays out good rules of engagement, rules that the public can understand and appreciate, and will know up front just exactly how the relationship between local law enforcement and federal authorities engage one another. It really brings the spirit of community policing to this very important segment of our community.

“And look, as the only American-born of my family I know very well the questions and concerns that members of my community have and I work hard every single day to let them know that in spite of whatever circumstances they may be in, that we want them to be active participants in keeping Harris County safe.

“And this is a challenge that law enforcement leaders have throughout our area but also in other parts of the country. I think that it is imperative that people understand that this Executive Action I believe begins the process of getting people to come out from under the shadows, it gets folks stronger and with greater confidence to engage their local law enforcement to do what we all want; to have safe neighborhoods where we can trust that our children will be safe and protected, and that when someone has information about someone who’s carrying gun, or trying to traffic in drugs, or weapons or people, that law enforcement is going to listen to that information and not get side tracked by anything else.

“I think this is how we enhance public safety, this is how we keep the broader community safe, and this is really at the spirit of what we call community oriented policing.”

For access to a tape of yesterday’s live teleconference (in both English and Spanish) follow the instructions below:

English Call:
Telephone: (800) 475-6701
Access Code: 352682

Spanish Call:
Telephone: (800) 475-6701
Access Code: 352765

As the only US born member of his family, and as Harris County’s top law enforcement official, Sheriff Garcia’s unique perspective continues to be invaluable to policy makers in the State of Texas and the Nation.