IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS

SAN ANTONIO DIVISION

CITY OF EL CENIZO, TEXAS, et al.,

Plaintiffs

CITY OF AUSTIN, et al.,
Plaintiff-Intervenors
CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:17-cv-404-OLG
v.

STATE OF TEXAS, et al.,
Defendants

DECLARATION OF VINCE RYAN, HARRIS COUNTY ATTORNEY

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1746, I, Vince Ryan, declare the following:

1. My name is Vince Ryan and I am over eighteen years of age. The facts stated in

this declaration are true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

2. The Office of the Harris County Attorney represents the largest county in Texas,

its departments, elected officials, and employees, in all civil matters involving County business.

Harris County is one of the most diverse counties in the United States and includes significant

immigrant communities from all over the world. Because of the patterns of immigration over the

last few decades, many children who are United States citizens have parents and other adult

relatives who are undocumented.

3. As one of its mandates, the Office of the Harris County Attorney is tasked with

representing the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (the Department) in

legal actions involving Childrens Protective Services. TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. 264.009

(providing that the county attorney shall represent the Department). Our office files an average

of 1,400 cases a year on behalf of the Department, each of which may involve several children

DECLARATION OF VINCE RYAN, HARRIS COUNTY ATTORNEY Page 1 of 8

who have been subject to abuse or neglect in their homes. Currently, my office is representing

the Department in 2,962 active cases involving approximately 4,600 children in the States

temporary or permanent care.

4. Senate Bill 4 defines local entity as including an officer or employee of. . . a

county . . . including a . . . county attorney. Tex. S.B. 4, 85th Leg., R.S. 1.01 (enacting TEX.

GOVT CODE 752.051(5)). Senate Bill 4 prohibits a policy, pattern or practice that would

prohibit or materially limit the enforcement of immigration laws. Tex. S.B. 4, 85th Leg., R.S.

1.01 (enacting TEX. GOVT CODE 752.053(a)). Thus, a county attorney may not engage in

any acts that materially limit immigration laws. Senate Bill 4 exempts certain areas from its

effects, specifically hospitals, religious organizations, public health organizations, and certain

community centers, but does not in any way address the civil law matters of child protective

services and the foster care system. See Tex. S.B. 4, 85th Leg., R.S. 1.01 (enacting TEX. GOVT

CODE 752.052). In fact, on the House floor an amendment was proposed to exempt the

Department from Senate Bill 4s effects, but it was rejected as part of a mass rejection of dozens

of amendments. See House Amd. No. 145, Tex. S.B. 4, 85th Leg., R.S. (2017); Tex. H.J. of Tex.,

85th Leg. R.S., 1929, (Apr. 26, 2017) (Record Vote No. 460).

5. Likewise, Senate Bill 4 contains some efforts to lessen its effects on victims and

witnesses of wrongdoing, but limits those provisions to criminal acts. See Tex. S.B. 4, 85th Leg.,

R.S. 1.01 (enacting TEX. GOVT CODE 752.057), 6.01 (amending TEX. CODE CRIM. PRO.

art. 2.13). The laws governing child protective services are civil and not criminal; thus, the

victims and witnesses of child abuse will not enjoy these modest protections provided by Senate

Bill 4 to crime victims and witnesses.

DECLARATION OF VINCE RYAN, HARRIS COUNTY ATTORNEY Page 2 of 8

 6. The State of Texas has made clear through its laws and through the policies

promulgated by the Department that a primary consideration in child protection cases is to serve

the best interests of the children involved. See, e.g., TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. 153.002 (The best

interest of the child shall always be the primary consideration of the court in determining the

issues of conservatorship and possession of and access to the child.); TEX. DEPT OF FAMILY &

PROT. SERVS., CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICE HANDBOOK 1100 (stating the purpose of CPS is to

protect children, act in their best interest, and to seek involvement of parents and other family

members in the effort to preserve the family unit). To achieve the best outcomes for these

children, Texas law requires that the Department work to rehabilitate and preserve the family

unit if at all possible, and to rely on other family members and relatives as caregivers to lessen

the impact of the trauma children experience when they are separated from their parents.

7. Senate Bill 4 presents significant barriers to achieving the best outcomes for

children in State care, and represents a stark departure from Texas plainly stated intent that we

prioritize the safety and stability of our States children and their families. The bills provisions,

which apply to county attorneys and their employees as local entities, will require that, instead

of working toward family preservation a goal presumed by our law to serve a childs best

interest the attorneys in my office assist with the enforcement of immigration laws, leading to

the arrest and deportation of parents and relatives, and the separation and destruction of

childrens families. See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. 262.201, 262.205, 263.101-102, 263.306

(requiring the Department to return the child to parents unless there is a continuing danger, and

to provide rehabilitative services to facilitate family reunification); Tex. S.B. 4, 85th Leg., R.S.

1.01 (enacting TEX. GOVT CODE 752.051(5), 752.053). In other words, Senate Bill 4

DECLARATION OF VINCE RYAN, HARRIS COUNTY ATTORNEY Page 3 of 8

requires county attorneys to put immigration law enforcement ahead of protecting the welfare of

children.

8. My office has identified the following typical situations we encounter in child

protection cases and Senate Bill 4s effect on each.

9. First, Senate Bill 4 will discourage reporting of child abuse in immigrant

communities. Investigations into the neglect or abuse of a child begin with a report which

triggers the Department stepping in to ensure the childs safe care. See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN.

261.101. The Department and the attorneys, investigators, and other employees of the Harris

County Attorneys Office rely on County residents and community members to report instances

of abuse or neglect, as well as to provide statements and evidence which aid in the investigation

and prosecution of child protection cases. Both the terms of Senate Bill 4 and the political

rhetoric surrounding it have created intense fear in immigrant communities. Members of

immigrant communities in Harris County will no longer come forward with information vital to

the protection of children knowing that with the passage of Senate Bill 4, the employees of my

office must assist in the enforcement of immigration laws. The initial reports of child abuse that

are necessary to trigger an investigation simply will never occur in the first instance. The result

is that children, including United States citizen children, will continue to be abused or neglected

because of the fear a witness or victim has of deportation.

10. Second, Senate Bill 4 will push children who are well-cared for by their parents

into the foster care system simply because the parents are undocumented. Under Texas law, the

Department may only take custody of a child when there is evidence showing that the parents

have engaged in conduct which places the child in danger. See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN.

262.104, 262.201, 262.205. Danger includes abandonment and when parents are taken into

DECLARATION OF VINCE RYAN, HARRIS COUNTY ATTORNEY Page 4 of 8

the custody of immigration officials, their children may be considered abandoned. Under Senate

Bill 4s provisions, when parents of children, including United States citizen children, are

detained or deported, the Department will be obligated to take custody of and provide for those

children even in the absence of any parental wrongdoing. The consequence will be increased

costs to the County and the State in the time and resources necessary to file and prosecute these

cases, as well as to house and safely care for the children involved. Moreover, children will

suffer the irreparable trauma of being separated from their families, as well as the uncertainty

and impermanency of being placed in the States care.

11. Senate Bill 4 will also negatively impact children who are now or who may

become involved with the Department by severely limiting the options available for their

placement outside of State care because kinship placements often involve undocumented adult

relatives in Harris County. Texas law heavily prefers kinship placements because placing a child

with known relatives greatly reduces the trauma a child suffers when he or she is separated from

their parents. See S.B. 11, 85th Leg., R.S., 18 (2017) (TEX FAM. CODE ANN. 264.151).

Undocumented relatives will no longer present themselves as available to care for a child in the

fear that they, too, will be subject to investigation, arrest, and deportation proceedings. The result

will be that children, who would have had the opportunity to remain with family prior to the

implementation of Senate Bill 4, will now languish in the States custody.

12. Finally, when parents are undocumented, the goal of family reunification will be

impossible because county attorneys will be forced to enforce immigration laws first and

thwarted from pursuing the best interest of the child by reunification with the family.

13. In one specific case, a father was able to provide care for his three children when

a court placed them with him based on a finding that the mother was unfit. When the mother

DECLARATION OF VINCE RYAN, HARRIS COUNTY ATTORNEY Page 5 of 8

subsequently reported the father to ICE, he was apprehended and detained, at which point the

Department was notified. The father requested the three children be placed with his sister, but

because of the childrens behavioral issues and medical needs, she was unable to provide for

their care. The siblings were consequently split up and two of the three were placed in foster

care. This example also demonstrates how the enforcement of immigration laws may be

weaponized against parents in family law disputes with the result of harming children.

14. In another case, a father was provided with custody rights to his child in a CPS

case. However, in a subsequent case involving a later-born child, he refused to come forward as

a possible placement for the newly-born infant because he was afraid of being reported to

immigration enforcement officials and deported. The infant was, as a result, placed in foster care.

15. In a third case, a childs mother was deported and she left the child with another

couple in her community. Subsequently, that couple was deported and the child was left with a

third family. The Department became involved when it was reported the child was abused in this

third home. The child was ultimately placed in foster care.

16. All child protective cases can be traumatic to children, but that trauma can be

minimized when the government is free to pursue the best interest of the child, as the law

requires. See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. 153.002. Senate Bill 4 would greatly exacerbate that

trauma by requiring county attorneys to put immigration laws ahead of the best interest of the

child resulting in more separations of children from family members. Senate Bill 4 will also

have the effect of discouraging reports of child abuse and neglect in the first instance for fear of

deportation. This trauma, which will impact children regardless of their citizenship status, is one

that cannot be undone. Senate Bill 4 will cause immediate, irreparable damage to Texas

children including United States citizens if the court allows its provisions to go into effect.

DECLARATION OF VINCE RYAN, HARRIS COUNTY ATTORNEY Page 6 of 8

 17. Moreover, in all cases in which my office represents the Department, Senate Bill

4 presents a clear conflict for the attorneys who are tasked with achieving the Departments

goals. When the Department determines that a child may safely be reunified with his or her

family, the attorneys in my office who represent the Department are legally and ethically bound

to work toward the achievement of that goal. However, under Senate Bill 4, they would at the

same time be required to assist in the enforcement of immigration laws which could lead to the

separation of the family and further trauma to the child. This conflict is direct and irreconcilable.

18. Texas law clearly announces this States public policy that we preserve and

protect childrens safety, and that we place childrens best interests at the center of all

determinations regarding their welfare. However, as Senate Bill 4 provides no similar protections

for children who are placed in the States custody as a result of abuse or neglect, it plainly stands

in violation of this States public policy that we protect children, including United States citizen

children, from the devastating effects of family separation.

19. Throughout the pendency of child protection proceedings, my office and the

Department work closely with law enforcement and the community in the effort to obtain safety

and permanency for abused and neglected children, and to achieve outcomes which will serve

their best interests. The complex nature of child abuse cases demands that all options be explored

to achieve this States legislatively mandated goals to protect children, preserve the unity of

families, and reunify children with their parents. Under Senate Bill 4, where the attorneys in my

office are required to assist with the enforcement of laws which could lead to the detention and

deportation of parents and relatives of children, including those of United States citizen children,

the options available to achieve the States goals will be severely limited, and local governmental

discretion to take the course of action that will best serve the interest of individual children in

DECLARATION OF VINCE RYAN, HARRIS COUNTY ATTORNEY Page 7 of 8

individual situations will be eradicated. In addition, rather than working toward preservation of

the l'amily unit. my office will now be called upon to assist in enforcing laws which lead to

family separation and the continued placement of children in the State's care. As a result. the

plain effect of Senate Bill 4 is to do irreparable harm to children with undocumented family

members or who Iive in immigranl communities.

20. Finally, the court should take notice of the difficulties Texas's child protective

system has been experiencin g. See M.D. v. Abbot,l52 F. Supp. 3d 694, 828 (S.D. Tex. 2015)

(finding the State of Texas violates the substantive due process right of children in foster care to

be free from an unreasonable risk of harm including "a system where rape, abuse, psychotropic

medication, and instability are the norm"). The additional strains on the system Senate Bill 4

will cause will have the practical effect of harming all children in a system that is struggling to

provide basic safety to the abused and neglected children in state care.

I declare under penalt,"' of perjury that the l'oregoing is true and corrcct.

Executed in Harris County, Texas on the I I , day of .l un 017.

E RYA S COUNTY ATTORNEY

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