Dear Sisters and Brothers,
The criminalization of migrants and militarization of the border have led to deadly results during the past two decades. An article in yesterday’s Houston Chronicle pointed out that more than 6300 migrants have died near the border since 1998. During the past year, Texas newspapers have reported that numerous migrants’ remains have been buried in mass graves and identified Houston-based Service Corporation International  (SCI) and its funeral homes as responsible for some of these actions. However, the Texas Rangers and other state officials have denied that SCI violated Texas law or did anything wrong.
Yesterday an article by John Carlos Frey in the Texas Observer confirmed that migrants’ remains have been placed in plastic bags or containers like milk crates and then buried in mass graves, emphasized the responsibility of SCI for these actions, and revealed that Texas laws concerning burials have indeed been violated. Frey’s article is well worth reading and can be found at http://www.texasobserver.org/illegal-mass-graves-of-migrant-remains-found-in-south-texas/. SCI should be condemned for their treatment of migrants’ remains, and it is no surprise that Texas officials have covered up this corporation’s complicity. As Frey’s article reveals, SCI’s CEO, Robert Waltrip, is a friend of former Governor Rick Perry and donated $310,000 to his campaigns from 2001 to 2010. SCI’s director of security, Robert Madeira, is a former Texas Ranger lieutenant.
The Houston Socialist Movement is outraged by SCI’s immoral and illegal treatment of migrants’ remains and by Texas officials’ cover-up of these crimes. We are calling for a protest against SCI and its friends in the state government on Saturday, July 18, 5-7 pm, on the sidewalks in front of Service Corporation International at 1920 Allen Parkway in Houston. The SCI building is right next to KHOU TV-11. Please join us in demanding humanitarian, compassionate handling of migrants’ remains, full compliance with state laws concerning burials, and an end to the criminalization of migrants and militarization of the border that have contributed to the large number of migrant deaths. Please join us on July 18. For more information, please call (713) 213-1678, (713) 530-8999, or (832) 692-2306.
In Solidarity,
Houston Socialist Movement