Texas governor signs into law bill to
punish 'sanctuary cities'
Send a link to a friend
[May 08, 2017]
By Jon Herskovitz
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas Republican
Governor Greg Abbott signed into law on Sunday a measure to punish
"sanctuary cities," despite a plea from police chiefs of the state's
biggest cities to halt the bill they said would hinder their ability to
fight crime.
The Texas measure comes as Republican U.S. President Donald Trump has
made combating illegal immigration a priority. Texas, which has an
estimated 1.5 million illegal immigrants and the longest border with
Mexico of any U.S. state, has been at the forefront of the immigration
debate.
“As governor, my top priority is public safety, and this bill furthers
that objective by keeping dangerous criminals off our streets,” Abbott
said in a statement. The law will take effect on Sept. 1.
The Republican-dominated legislature passed the bill on party-line votes
and sent the measure to Abbott earlier this month. It would punish local
authorities who do not abide by requests to cooperate with federal
immigration agents.
Police officials found to be in violation of the law could face removal
from office, fines and up to a year in prison if convicted.
The measure also allows police to ask people about their immigration
status during a lawful detention, even for minor infractions like
jaywalking.
Any anti-sanctuary city measure may face a tough road after a federal
judge in April blocked Trump's executive order seeking to withhold funds
from local authorities that do not use their resources to advance
federal immigration laws.
Democrats have warned the measure could lead to unconstitutional racial
profiling and civil rights groups have promised to fight the Texas
measure in court.
[to top of second column] |
Texas governor Greg Abbott speaks during an interview on the floor
of the New York Stock Exchange July 14, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan
McDermid
"This legislation is bad for Texas and will make our communities
more dangerous for all," the police chiefs of cities including
Houston and Dallas wrote in an opinion piece in the Dallas Morning
News in late April.
They said immigration was a federal obligation and the law would
stretch already meager resources by turning local police into
immigration agents.
The police chiefs said the measure would widen a gap between police
and immigrant communities, creating a class of silent victims and
eliminating the potential for assistance from immigrants in solving
or preventing crimes.
One of the sponsors of the bill, Republican state Representative
Charlie Geren, said in House debate the bill would have no effect on
immigrants in the country illegally if they had not committed a
crime.
He also added there were no sanctuary cities in Texas at present and
the measure would prevent any from emerging.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Peter Cooney)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|