After the massacre of El Paso, the Texas Governor has established a Task Force against terrorism on our own doorstep. Critics are outraged, who sits in the working group and who is not.
At the beginning of August, a man shot and killed in a supermarket in El Paso, Texas, 22 people and injured dozens more. El Paso is a border town, and eight of the victims were from Mexico. The alleged shooter had been published before the fact, a Manifesto on the Internet, in which he warns, among other things, prior to the “Invasion” of Texas’ by Latin American immigrants. As a reaction to the massacre, which is classified by the authorities as a possible hate crime and as an act of domestic terrorism, called on the Governor of Texas, Republican Greg Abbott of a “Domestic Terrorism Task Force” to life. On Friday, the group came to their first Meeting.
The group will stand by the law enforcement authorities in the fight against domestic terrorism, it was said in the press release that Abbott’s office, the establishment of the Task Force was announced.
“Our highest priority is to ensure that Texans in their communities are safe,” said Abbott. “A part of this Mission is to fight domestic terrorism and extremist ideologies to eradicate the hatred and violence in our state of fuel.”
Members of law enforcement and border protection
One of the tasks of the new Anti-terrorist group, the development of political strategies in the fight against terrorism, in Texas, among others. In addition, the Task Force is to contribute to a better cooperation between local authorities and their counterparts at the state and national level.
After the shooting in El Paso mourned Abbott together with relatives and friends of the victims
The members, to achieve all this, coming from the different areas of the Texas administration. In addition to Governor Abbott and his Deputy Dan Patrick for more politicians like the speaker of the Texas house of representatives. Other members hold leadership positions in the Texas fire service, the police, the military, and the national Park administration from Texas.
“In order to solve a Problem, we must admit that we have one. In this respect, the establishment of a Task Force against domestic terrorism is a step in the right direction,” said Manny Garcia, the Chairman of the Democrats in Texas, in a Statement. He criticises, however, that only Republicans are in the working group. It is incomprehensible that the Governor got no representatives of groups in his Task Force, the “fight every day against the hate”, such as, for example, the Anti-Defamation League or the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Task Force Theater?
In addition to named representatives are also members of the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI and customs and border protection authority to the newly established working group. Critics disrupt this composition. They fear that the actions of the Task Force will be aimed at immigrants.
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Mexican community in El Paso is grieving
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Mexican community in El Paso is mourning the victims of the massacre
Mario Carrillo is the head of the Texas office of the NGO America’s Voice, which campaigns for the rights of migrants. He says the new working group will change little at the fear that reigns since the shooting of El Paso among immigrants and Latinos in Texas.
Members of the Task Force as the Deputy Governor Patrick and Ken Paxton, attorney General of the state of Texas, “used in past Anti-immigrant rhetoric and legislation is not brought, the only immigrants in danger, but also Hispanic US citizens, has, as shown, the massacre of El Paso,” said Carillo, of the DW. “If you are not ready to go in and understand that their words have consequences, I’m afraid that this Task Force is just theatre.”
“The voices of minorities into account”
Another point of contention: The named members are white, with two exceptions, all of the and thus represent neither the group to which it is the alleged shooter of El was Paso in his xenophobia, the Latinos, the population of Texas, of the more than one-third has Hispanic roots.
Abbott: Together for a safer future
“I wonder how effective this Task Force can be, if members of the group, which was affected by the massacre, are not involved with,” says Carillo. In order to ensure that attacks such as in El Paso happen again, should Governor Abbott “also features the voices of minorities into account, the continue to have an increased risk to become victims of assassins.”
The office of Governor Abbott did not respond to a request from the DW to the criticism. In its Declaration on the establishment of the Task Force Abbott that he wanted to make his state for all the residents to a better home, said: “We stand United against all those who want to our state is Evil, and together, we will ensure a safer future for every Texan.”