‘Welcome to Texas’ should not come with a ‘but — ’
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry was very fond of his 2010 TV ad saying Texas is “open for business.”
Seven years later, Texas no longer seems so open.
A lawyers’ association has canceled a June 2018 conference in Grapevine, saying a new Texas law is “unwelcoming” and promotes “scapegoating of immigrants.”
The Washington-based American Immigration Lawyers Association is moving the $3 million, 3,000-member conference away from the Gaylord Texan Resort.
Under Senate Bill 4, taking effect Sept. 1, Texas police will be free to launch an immigration investigation against anyone they stop except a crime victim, complainant or witness.
The most publicized section of the law outlaws so-called “sanctuary cities.” But a more debated section will allow police to investigate legal residency status.
That prompts fears of unjust stops and racial profiling of Americans, legal residents and tourists.
The cancellation was a surprise. But Texas tourism officials already warned the state will lose economic development, corporate relocations, tourism and conferences if the Legislature passes Senate Bill 6 or another overly harsh version of a “bathroom bill” restricting transgender persons and insulting LGBT Americans.
That bill and the less inflammatory House version, House Bill 2899, will return in some form when the Texas Legislature goes into special session July 18.
Texas is supposed to be a friendly and welcoming place. We want to do business with everybody.
That’s no good if we shake their hands and then say, “You look foreign. You got any papers?” or “Glad you’re here. But are you sure you’re using the bathroom that was on your birth certificate?”
There is no indication that other organizations will bypass Texas over the immigration law, which has yet to face a court test. The lawyers took specific interest.
But Texas has much at stake in decisions affecting tourism, and in particular, so does Grapevine.
Grapevine drew 20 million visitors last year. The city cashes about the same tourist tax revenue as larger Fort Worth, and that goes a long way to help homeowners keep taxes low.
Yet Grapevine was one of the few large tourist cities in the state that never spoke out on legislation, particularly against an antagonistic “bathroom bill.”
The city already lost a $3 million conference. Grapevine leaders should reconsider the cost of being neutral.
This story was originally published June 9, 2017 at 7:29 PM with the headline "‘Welcome to Texas’ should not come with a ‘but — ’."