Bill Aimed At Eliminating "Sanctuary Cities" Tentatively Passes Texas Senate

AUSTIN, TX — The state Senate on Tuesday took a major step in banning so-called "sanctuary cities," voting 20-11 along party lines for tentative approval to advance Senate Bill 4 to the Texas House.

Championed by Gov. Greg Abbott — who has made the elimination of sanctuary cities a priority — the bill is designed to ban prohibit local police and sheriff's departments from declining to participate with federal Immigration, Customs & Enforcement agents in setting up undocumented residents for deportation.

Final approval to send the bill to the House is expected on Wednesday.

Many law enforcement officials, including Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez, have adopted a more nuanced approach targeting high-level felons as targets for deportation rather than have their rank-and-file act as de facto immigration agents at the local level. Perry last week exacted political retaliation against Hernandez personally, taking away $1.5 million in grant monies to various county community programs as a result of her more nuanced approach at enforcing immigration laws.

Authored by Sen. Charles Perry, a Republican from Lubbock, SB 4 would allow police to inquire about residents' immigration status if they suspect a person is undocumented. Democrats fear codifying such behavior opens up the floodgates to racial or ethnic profiling, while Republicans paint the measure as one rooted in public safety rather than a discriminatory one.

The bill passed the Senate after six hours of discussion and 39 amendments.

By Tuesday evening, Abbott issued a statement expressing gratification over the bill's Senate passage.

"As governor, I will not tolerate sanctuary city policies that put the citizens of Texas at risk," Abbott, himself married more than 30 years to a granddaughter of immigrants from Mexico, said. "Elected officials do not get to pick and choose which laws they will obey. Today's action in the Senate helps ensure that sheriffs and officials across Texas comply with federal immigration laws and honor Immigration and Custom [sic] Enforcement detainer requests that keep dangerous criminals off of our streets."

Abbott has demanded local law enforcement officials honor ICE requests, which allow for a detainee suspected of being undocumented to be detained for 48-hour holds — sometimes 72 hours or more if the person is arrested on a weekend or the cusp of a holiday — to allow an ICE agent to retrieve those arrested to launch deportation proceedings. Often, ICE agents have to travel all the way from the ICE base in San Antonio, thus the length of time for detentions offering no option to bond out but wait for the federal agent to arrive.

The bill's passage in the Senate follows its approval for advancement by members of the Senate State Affairs Committee last week. Despite hearing from more than 1,100 residents speaking against the measure in a grueling 16 hours of testimony, the committee voted in favor of the bill in a 7-2 vote.

The passage of the bill represents the cashing of political capital in Texas after the Electoral College presidential victory of Donald Trump to the nation's presidency. Throughout his campaign and into his nascent presidency, Trump has made the elimination of sanctuary cities a top priority and his goal of building a wall along the southern U.S. border is well chronicled.

Critics of SB 4 reacted with disappointment over the measure. The nonprofit organization Workers Defense Project which advocates for undocumented immigrants issued a statement, categorizing the move as a "misguided" one that targets a community that represents an economic backbone of the state economy.

“SB 4 is a misguided priority of the state and our members will continue to show up at the capitol along with Texans from across the state to oppose SB 4, “ said Jose P. Garza, Executive Director of the Workers Defense Project. “The 1.8 million undocumented immigrants that live in our state are hard working and are responsible for building the houses and skyscrapers that dot our communities and skyline. They pay 1.6 billion in taxes and contribute to the success of our businesses and economy."

WDP members staged a vigil at 7:30 p.m. on the north side of the Texas Capitol organized immediately after the Senate vote on SB 4 was tallied.

State Sen. José Menéndez re-tweeted a photo of himself joining SB 4 critics outside the Capitol with the headline from a follower that reads: "We need to be vigilant of these xenophobic and discriminatory proposed laws."

>>> Photo courtesy of Workers Defense Project