The anti-sanctuary city law in Texas, arguably the toughest in the country, has been incendiary and the fight to its passage has been emotional. Now, two Democrat-dominated cities in Texas are joining the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and other open border and pro-amnesty organizations to block the law.
The City of San Antonio and City Councilman Rey A. Saldaña are partnering with MALDEF, and plaintiffs La Unión Del Pueblo Entero, the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE), and the Worker’s Defense Project (WDF). They are suing the Lone Star State and its governor and attorney general in federal court. They argue that the new law is unconstitutional.
“The full scope of permanent harms to all Texas residents from the planned implementation of SB 4, on September 1, compelled the filing of this lawsuit,” said MALDEF President Thomas A. Saenz on Thursday after the case was filed. “The constitutional violations in this law are substantial and multiple, and the lawsuits challenging SB 4 should prevent its threatened unleashing of arbitrary and inconsistent law enforcement practices with cities and counties across the entirety of Texas.”
The city of Austin will be joining in the MALDEF lawsuit today by filing a motion to intervene, reported the Texas Tribune.
Last week, Breitbart Texas reported that the City of El Paso was joining the legal fray to block the law.
Breitbart Texas reported on May 11 that the mayor of the small Texas border city of El Cenizo and the League of United Latin American Citizens sued the State over the bill. A sheriff and a constable from an adjacent county are also plaintiffs in that lawsuit.
Breitbart Texas has been following the bill authored by Texas Senator Charles Perry (R-Lubbock). The legislation makes it a Class A misdemeanor for sheriffs and chiefs of police to refuse to comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers. These law enforcement officials can also be removed from office for providing cover for the criminal illegal aliens in their jails.
The controversial bill allows law enforcement officials to ask those being detained about their immigration status. Open borders advocates have tried to paint the legislation as “a show-me-your-papers style law.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 4 on May 7. It will go into effect on September 1, 2017.
In an exclusive interview with Breitbart Texas after the signing, Governor Abbott said:
The so-called controversial part of this law is what some label as the “show your papers’ component. And what everyone seems to get wrong is they think that that provision was stricken down in the Arizona law. To the contrary, the provision in the Arizona law is stricter than the Texas law. The Arizona law required that law enforcement ask for papers. The Texas law does not require it; it allows it so there is that one difference.
“But despite that difference, the Arizona law was upheld by every U.S. Supreme Court justice, including the liberals,” the governor added. “The so-called controversial part of this law has been ruled on by the U.S. Supreme Court and upheld.”
The Texas governor has steadfastly said that he would sign Senate Bill 4 and pushed for its passage.
After Governor Abbott had signed the bill into law, he told Breitbart Texas:
“This law makes Texans safer because it prevents the types of policies that California has that lead to the tragic murder of Kate Steinle. It prevents the types of policies that were adopted by the Travis County sheriff who had policies that release back out on the street, people who are either accused of, or even convicted of, very dangerous crimes and so Texas is going to be a safer place by ensuring that law enforcement will work with federal officials to ensure that we keep behind bars, and remove from this country, those who pose a danger to our fellow Americans.”
In January, Governor Abbott responded when Travis County Sheriff “Sanctuary Sally” Hernandez announced that her department would be changing its policy about working with ICE. Abbott immediately countered that doing so “betrays your oath and the residents of Travis County.” Abbott gave her until February 1 to reverse her policy and cut the County’s state law enforcement grants on that day when she did not.
Lana Shadwick is a writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge in Texas. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.