Council wants to end funding for groups that take part in family separation

On Thursday, City Council passed a resolution directing the city manager to “develop recommendations to ensure that the City of Austin does not provide financial support to organizations whose activities result in the separation of immigrant children from their parent/parents and/or siblings.” The resolution instructs the manager to report back to Council during the upcoming budget process with information about current contracts that the city may have with such organizations. The measure comes amid community debate over Southwest Key, a nonprofit that operates a variety of services for at-risk youth, including shelters that have housed children refugees who were separated from their parents at the border. Currently the organization has a city contract to run the Latino Arts Preservation Program. The resolution passed 10-1, with only Council Member Ellen Troxclair against.