CALDWELL COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – The Caldwell County Commissioners Court voted to amend the language in its disaster declaration it initially approved in 2022.
According to a county press release, the change was to “make the county eligible for potential state and federal aid that would help communities that are seeing population growth due to an influx of immigrants.”
In the original disaster declaration approved in December 2022, the resolution stated Caldwell County might need additional resources due to an influx of immigrants from the border bringing contagious diseases and novel strains of the COVID-19 virus.
“[The] Border Crisis places Caldwell County at a substantial increased risk of exposure to new and novel strains of COVID-19 and other contagious diseases for which Caldwell County resources are inadequate to effectively address for the purpose of protecting Caldwell County residents,” the declaration read.
On Tuesday, the Commissioners Court voted 4-1 to remove the language on the declaration pertaining to immigrants spreading disease.
“When the court approved this resolution in 2022, the world, the United States and the state of Texas were in a different situation than the one we find ourselves in today,” Caldwell County Judge Hoppy Haden said in a press release.
“The state was still under a COVID-19 disaster declaration and the country was still considered to be battling a pandemic with treatment and prevention of that disease being of paramount importance. We’re pleased to approve an amended resolution that more accurately represents the time in which we live and the circumstances we now face,” he continued.
The county’s resolution regarding the “state of disaster” is still maintained, allowing it to be eligible for state and federal aid related to immigrant-related population growth.
“The amended resolution acknowledges that an increase in the non-citizen population contributes to added pressure on law enforcement, health care resources, schools and infrastructure while striking language related to COVID-19 and concerns about preventing the spread of that disease,” a county press release read.
Before commissioners officially discussed the amendment, people spoke during public comment, pleading to tone down the rhetoric in the resolution. Still, they questioned whether a change in language would make a real difference in what they view as a flawed purpose.
Julieta Suárez Calderón, speaking on behalf of the Austin social justice nonprofit Grassroots Leadership, questioned the need for the resolution at all.
“This resolution should have never been written into existence, as there is no such threat,” Calderón said. “There is no state of disaster. This is fear rhetoric that has no basis in reality.”
Once the commissioners began discussing the amendment, Commissioner Dyral Thomas of Precinct 4 voiced his opposition over a lack of evidence. He referenced earlier public comment from Bob Libal, a consultant for Human Rights Watch, suggesting, “there's nothing in the resolution that says that recently arrived migrants are settling in Caldwell County in particularly large numbers.”
“I’m a numbers guy, so I don't see enough statistics here for me to justify this declaration,” Commissioner Thomas said.
Explaining his support for the amendment, Judge Hoppy Haden said it would place Caldwell County in line for federal funding if it were allocated, as they support a growing undocumented migrant community. He did note that many people who spoke at the meeting, while against the resolution, do not reside in Caldwell County.
“We have not done a statistical analysis, but I could definitely take some folks on a tour of our county and show you some areas that this has had a severe impact on,” Judge Haden said. “That's why we're doing it, and it's in the hope that there will be some assistance coming forward from the federal government to assist us with this. If there's not, then we eventually would rescind the declaration. We're hopeful to see that no matter how this next election turns out. If we don't see that, we can revisit this.”
