LUPE cohosts 'Know your Rights' event in San Juan

SAN JUAN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Wednesday in San Juan, members of La Union del Pueblo Entero and other immigration advocacy groups gathered to educate Valley residents on their rights.

This comes as Senate Bill 4 is slated to take effect next month.

LUPE, along with “ARISE” and the Border Network for Human Rights hosted the know your rights event. Founder of border network Fernando Garcia made the goal clear.

"For the elimination or repeal of SB4," said Fernando, executive director and founder of border network for human rights. "I mean, that’s our goal, and the end of Operation Lone Star. We believe that they are unconstitutional, they are illegal, and they should not be part of our Texas communities. And there shouldn’t be a law like SB4.”

The event saw a significant amount of Valley residents attend. LUPE knows the people affected are in large-part immigrants themselves. LUPE 's community organization director Joaquin Garcia seeks to help them specifically.

”This is crucial because a lot of the members that we work with are undocumented," said Joaquin Garcia, LUPE director of community organizing. "And every day they have to go to work and they drive their family members to the doctor. And so these laws are going to affect them, and we want to let them know that they have constitutional rights.”

One such right in SB4 pertains to human trafficking. Joaquin believes misinformation surrounds local concern for this part of the bill.

“Human trafficking is very specific; to a specific scenario, right," Joaquin said. "And so a lot of people think that just driving their undocumented grandma or mom to the doctor already constitutes human trafficking, and that is not necessarily the case. So, there’s a lot of this fear going around community members because they’re seeing things on social media, on Facebook, on TikToks, so it’s important for them to come to sessions where we have legal experts.”

With the bill currently in federal court, organizers are calling for action.

”Legal process is going there, is going right now, as we speak," Fernando said. "And I think we’re going to have a resolution, maybe an injunction, soon in the federal court. But at the community level, we are having this journey of resistance through Texas.”

Advocates plan to rally in cities like Brownsville and San Antonio ending with a march in Austin scheduled for March 9.

Senate Bill 4 is scheduled to take effect March 5.