Immigrant advocates packed a Dallas County commissioners meeting Tuesday, turning a vote welcoming unauthorized immigrants into hours of emotional, sometimes tense debate over so-called sanctuary cities.

The "Welcoming Communities" resolution, which is not legally binding, passed 4-1. The commission's sole Republican, Commissioner Mike Cantrell, voted against it.

The symbolic resolution says that unauthorized immigrants are "integral members to our community." It calls for local law enforcement to "end nonessential collaborations" with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Cantrell said that language "paints a bull's-eye on Dallas County" for President Donald Trump and Gov. Greg Abbott to take away federal and state funding that the county needs. Both Trump and Abbott have called for punishing sanctuary cities, a loose term that they have used to describe jurisdictions that don't fully cooperate with ICE.

"This is a resolution that supports open borders and will label Dallas County as a sanctuary county," Cantrell said. "This resolution is nothing more than pitching a personal and political agenda."

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Though Dallas County has sometimes been considered a sanctuary by conservative politicians, county officials reject that notion. Sheriff Lupe Valdez has said her office fully cooperates with federal immigration authorities and has never rejected an ICE request.

Commissioner Elba Garcia, who moved to America from Mexico decades ago, said she introduced the resolution to calm immigrants and make them feel safe in Dallas County. She said local law enforcement officers have told her they want to forge trust with immigrants — not deport them.

"The purpose of this resolution is the dream — the American dream," Garcia said. But she stopped short of specifying what she meant by ending "nonessential collaborations" with ICE. "We don't want to do the federal government's work. 'Nonessential' means exactly that."

1 / 10Dr. Elba Garcia reads the "Welcoming Communities" resolution during a meeting at the Dallas County Commissioners Court in Dallas on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News) 2 / 10Zulikha Hussain takes a photo during a meeting at the Dallas County Commissioners Court in Dallas on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. More than a dozen D-FW advocacy groups gathered in support of a "Welcoming Communities" resolution, which serves as a proclamation to all residents that Dallas County supports immigrant, refugee, and marginalized communities, documented and undocumented, and values them as integral members of our community. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News)(Staff Photographer) 3 / 10People outside the room watch a TV showing the Dallas County Commissioners Court meeting at the in Dallas on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. More than a dozen D-FW advocacy groups gathered in support of a "Welcoming Communities" resolution, which serves as a proclamation to all residents that Dallas County supports immigrant, refugee, and marginalized communities, documented and undocumented, and values them as integral members of our community. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News)(Staff Photographer) 4 / 10Advocacy groups wait in line to speak during a meeting at the Dallas County Commissioners Court in Dallas on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. More than a dozen D-FW advocacy groups gathered in support of a "Welcoming Communities" resolution, which serves as a proclamation to all residents that Dallas County supports immigrant, refugee, and marginalized communities, documented and undocumented, and values them as integral members of our community. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News)(Staff Photographer) 5 / 10Rene Martinez speaks in support of the "Welcoming Communities" resolution during a meeting at the Dallas County Commissioners Court in Dallas on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. More than a dozen D-FW advocacy groups gathered in support of the resolution, which serves as a proclamation to all residents that Dallas County supports immigrant, refugee, and marginalized communities, documented and undocumented, and values them as integral members of our community. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News)(Staff Photographer) 6 / 10Harry Davis speaks in support of the "Welcoming Communities" resolution during a meeting at the Dallas County Commissioners Court in Dallas on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. More than a dozen D-FW advocacy groups gathered in support of the resolution, which serves as a proclamation to all residents that Dallas County supports immigrant, refugee, and marginalized communities, documented and undocumented, and values them as integral members of our community. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News)(Staff Photographer) 7 / 10People stand against a wall during a meeting at the Dallas County Commissioners Court in Dallas on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. More than a dozen D-FW advocacy groups gathered in support of a "Welcoming Communities"  resolution, which serves as a proclamation to all residents that Dallas County supports immigrant, refugee, and marginalized communities, documented and undocumented, and values them as integral members of our community. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News)(Staff Photographer) 8 / 10People pack into a meeting at the Dallas County Commissioners Court in Dallas on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. More than a dozen D-FW advocacy groups gathered in support of a "Welcoming Communities" resolution, which serves as a proclamation to all residents that Dallas County supports immigrant, refugee, and marginalized communities, documented and undocumented, and values them as integral members of our community. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News)(Staff Photographer) 9 / 10The overflow crowd watched proceedings on a TV screen during a meeting at the Dallas County Commissioners Court in Dallas on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. More than a dozen D-FW advocacy groups gathered in support of a "Welcoming Communities" resolution, which serves as a proclamation to all residents that Dallas County supports immigrant, refugee, and marginalized communities, documented and undocumented, and values them as integral members of our community. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News)(Staff Photographer) 10 / 10People wait outside the Dallas County Commissioners Court meeting in Dallas on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. More than a dozen D-FW advocacy groups gathered in support of a "Welcoming Communities" resolution, which serves as a proclamation to all residents that Dallas County supports immigrant, refugee, and marginalized communities, documented and undocumented, and values them as integral members of our community. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News)(Staff Photographer)

The resolution's wording also concerned Dallas City Councilman Lee Kleinman. He urged the commissioners to remove the clause about stopping "nonessential collaborations" with ICE.

"We are asking to have our hands slapped — so please don't put us in that position where we get named a sanctuary city," said Kleinman, who supported the intent and tone of the rest of the resolution. He said the city receives tens of millions of federal dollars for crucial needs such as transportation, housing and policing.

"We're going to reject federal funding to make a statement," Kleinman said.

Dozens of activists turned their backs to Kleinman as he spoke.

"We're not trying to poke a bear," County Judge Clay Jenkins replied. "If the bear eventually comes over here, we'll try to fight the bear. But until then, we're trying to work with the bear."

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, in a statement, said he agreed with the "overall tone" of the resolution and wanted Dallas to remain a "welcoming, tolerant city." But he shared Kleinman's concerns about the "ramifications of any misperception" that Dallas police aren't cooperating with ICE. He said they are and will continue to do so, regardless of the county's resolution.

State Sen. Don Huffines, a Republican representing northern Dallas County, urged the county in a news release to "immediately rescind" the resolution, which he called "dangerous, irresponsible, and reprehensible."

"Dallas County should focus on keeping Texans safe from criminal aliens instead of playing politics and taking jabs at the laws that they swore an oath to uphold," Huffines said. "The resolution is irrational, and it is an affront to millions of law-abiding legal immigrants."

At the meeting, Kleinman was the only speaker, out of at least two dozen, who objected to any part of the resolution.

One by one, men and women stepped to the podium to support the document that they said would help immigrants feel safe calling 911 and reporting crimes to law enforcement.

"The Welcoming Communities resolution serves as a firm rejection of the hateful rhetoric of President Trump," said Brianna Brown, deputy director of the Texas Organizing Project. "In this era of uncertainty and divisiveness, Dallas County cannot afford to sit on the sidelines."

Brianna Brown, deputy director of the Texas Organizing Project, speaks in support of a resolution during a meeting at the Dallas County Commissioners Court in Dallas on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News) (Staff Photographer)

The resolution also includes some statistics about unauthorized immigrants' contributions to the local economy. It says that 1 in 3 unauthorized residents in Dallas County are homeowners and that unauthorized residents throughout Texas paid about $178 million in property taxes and $1.4 billion in sales tax in 2010, citing a 2016 Texas Public Policy Foundation study.

The resolution also states that Texas county jails spent $210 million housing unauthorized immigrants from December 2012 through October 2015 and were reimbursed only $4 million of those costs.

A speaker, Maria Robles, said she feared being deported under the new presidential administration despite her legal residency on a work permit.

"I live in fear of being separated every day from my family," Robles said. "We should never forget that regardless of our immigration status, we are all human beings."