Civic Register
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Judge Blocks Texas Sanctuary Cities Law & Houston Police Cheer

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What’s the story?

In the midst of Hurricane Harvey’s aftermath, late Wednesday a federal judge blocked a Texas law targeting sanctuary cities, calling it unconstitutional and inconsistent with the preservation of public safety.

The Department of Justice has filed official statements of interest supporting the case, as the law is consistent with the administration’s opposition to sanctuary cities. President Trump signed an executive order penalizing sanctuary cities in January.

Local officials in Houston who opposed the law, and are responsible for the safety of hundreds of thousands of legal and illegal immigrants following Hurricane Harvey, cheered the decision.

Why does it matter?

The law, known as S.B. 4, has several components. It prohibits cities and counties from adopting policies that limit immigration enforcement and requires them to cooperate with ‘detainer requests’, which allow foreign-born detainees to be transferred to federal custody after they are released from state or local custody. It allows police officers to question the immigration status of anyone they detain or arrest. Finally, it threatens officials who violate the law with fines, jail time and removal from office.

The judge blocked all but one of these provisions. He allowed that officers could question anyone arrested or detained about their immigration status, though only to pass the information along to federal authorities. To detain individuals in local facilities for federal crimes beyond the 48-hr limits of immigration detainer requests would be unconstitutional, he ruled, violating the Fourth Amendment.

The fines, threats of criminal charges and removal from office included in the law were ruled by the judge to be a violation of local official’s right to free speech, protected under the First Amendment.

Opponents of the law include the mayors and police chiefs of the four largest cities in the state — Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and Austin. They argue that blurring the lines between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement prevents them from keeping their communities safe from local crime. The threat of possible immigration detention deters both illegal and legal immigrants from reporting crimes to local authorities.

Fear of detention has become so rampant that, in the midst of the worst of Hurricane Harvey, local officials had to broadcast via Twitter they would not ask anyone in shelters their immigration status.

ABC News reports that Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, a vocal opponent of the law, heard about the ruling while standing inside the Houston Convention Center, which is currently housing upwards of 10,000 people. He high-fived another officer, and then got back to work.

S.B. 4 would have gone into effect September 1, but now is on hold as the case progresses through the courts. The New York Times reports Governor Greg Abbott, who signed the bill into law in May, promised the swift filing of an appeal:

"U.S. Supreme Court precedent for laws similar to Texas’ law are firmly on our side. This decision will be appealed immediately and I am confident Texas’ law will be found constitutional and ultimately be upheld."

Critics of the law applauded the decision. Terri Burke, the executive director of the ACLU of Texas, told the Texas Tribune that the law would have made communities less safe:

"The court was right to strike down virtually all of this patently unconstitutional law. Senate Bill 4 would have led to rampant discrimination and made communities less safe. That’s why police chiefs and mayors themselves were among its harshest critics — they recognized it would harm, not help, their communities."

The appeal will go to the U.S. District Court for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, considered one of the most conservative appeals panels in the country. The Department of Justice is expected to support the appeal, though no official statement has been issued.

What can you do?

Do you support or oppose S.B. 4? What do you think should be the relationship between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement? Do you think Hurricane Harvey will change the conversation in Texas? What do you think the Department of Justice should do in regards to this case as it moves through appeals?

Use the Take Action button to tell your reps what you think!

— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Wikimedia / Creative Commons)

Related Reading:

Federal judge blocks enforcement of Texas' 'sanctuary cities' law — Fox News

Federal judge blocks Texas’ harsh anti-sanctuary law — Washington Post

Federal judge blocks Texas' tough 'sanctuary cities' law — Business Insider