Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said the city would support efforts by President-elect Donald Trump to deport undocumented migrants accused of violent crimes in an interview on Fox News.
Johnson made the comments during the interview last week after he was asked how Dallas is addressing migrants and whether or not he would support efforts to deport them.
“Of course, we’d support that,” Johnson said during the segment. “Of course, we’d stand by President Trump in an effort to get rid of people in our country illegally who have violent criminal records or who commit violent criminal acts here. But even more than that, people need to understand it’s a strain on our hospital system, there are hidden costs to having a porous, open border, and we need to shut that down.”
As the mayor of Dallas, Johnson doesn’t have the power to unilaterally direct city policy regarding undocumented immigrants. Dallas has a council-manager form of government in which the city manager oversees city operations, and the mayor and the 14 city council members have equal voting power on policies.
Johnson’s comments have come under fire from some fellow city council members.
“As the son of formerly undocumented immigrants, I find the mayor’s remarks not only deeply misleading, but also harmful in their fearmongering. It’s easy for Eric to say the city will help deport immigrants committing violent crimes,” Dallas City Council member Jaime Resendez said in a post on social media. “It sounds good, but the problem is that he’s scapegoating immigrants for political gain by conflating immigration with criminality and portraying undocumented people as a burden on our schools and hospitals.”
"The Latino community of Dallas needs to know they are safe, that they are welcome here. And it’s outrageous to have someone who calls themselves a leader in this city say otherwise," Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Adam Bazaldua added.
He added that the mayor cannot set policy for Dallas independently of the city's 14 council members.
"The mayor has a vote that weighs just as much as mine," Bazaldua said. "You need seven colleagues on this council to get anything done."