Texas Elected Officials Vow To Challenge Senate Bill 4 With Legal Maneuverings

Insert linkAUSTIN, TX — A diverse group of elected leaders from throughout Texas staged a press conference at the steps of the state Capitol on Tuesday denouncing the anti-immigration Senate Bill 4 recently signed into law, later asserting during a telephone conference call of their collective plan to legally challenge the measure.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed the law on May 7, choosing to do so on Facebook Live without pomp or ceremony as is the custom during such signings. Due to take effect Sept. 1, the law allows police officers to ask residents questions about their citizenship status during encounters such as traffic stops and calls for issuing fines and assessing jail time for local law enforcement officials deemed as not cooperating fully with federal immigration officials in deporting undocumented immigrants.

During a media conference call after the Capitol gathering, elected officials from various Texas cities vowed to fight the measure in through the court system, defending themselves against a preemptive lawsuit filed by Attorney General Ken Paxton the day after Abbott's signing. The lawsuit filed by Paxton anticipates legal challenges and argues for SB4's constitutionality as viewed by the Republican leadership members who ensured its passage, an effort to dissuade legal challenges.

Responding to questions from Univision 62, Abbott attempted to tamp down the fear SB4 has already wrought, labeling opposition to it as "fear-mongering" while telling a reporter it wouldn't result in wholesale checks for citizenship as has been depicted. The measure has long been a pet cause for Abbott, who made elimination of what he views as "sanctuary cities" a top priority of his administration.

"No one who is Hispanic get detained inappropriately," Abbott told Univision 62 on Tuesday. "All these comments being made about being pulled over and detained are absolutely false. If you are not someone here who has committed a crime, you have absolutly nothing to worry about."

He noted laws barring racial profiling are already in place and would be strictly enforced. He cited his marriage to the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott, as further evidence of his desire not to see people detained solely on suspicion of being undocumented residents.

"As the husband of the first Hispanic first lady in the state of Texas, I want to make sure that neither she nor her family is going to be detained inappropriately," he told Univision's Edgar Camargo. "If you are Hispanic, or frankly anybody from any other country, you are not going to be stopped and required to show your papers unless you are suspected of ha having committed some serious crime."

During the conference call with elected officials opposing SB4, Patch asked them about Abbott's assertions through the prism of their own legal expertise in interpreting the law. Despite Abbott's assertions of judicious checks for only criminal immigrants, those responding to the question disputed the governor's categorization of his new law.

"I don't understand on the one hand how the governor can say this is fear mongering and we should not be worried when there was ample opportunity to make this bill less hateful," Austin City Council member Delia Garza said. Several amendments were introduced during the process of crafting a final bill allowing for more safeguards to the public, but all were rejected, Garza said. "I am a fourth-generation American but the fact is I may be subject to a different level of scrutiny should I get pulled over because of my brown skin. This is not Nazi Germany; this is the U.S.A."

Jose P. Garza of Workers Defense Project, an Austin-based immigrants advocacy group, also disputed Abbott's assertions: "You don't have to have probably cause," he said. "There is ample research that people of color are more likely to be arrested. There's plenty of research."

Greg Casar, another member of the Austin City Council, envisioned the legal challenge to SB4 would be comparable to successful fights against proposed bans of travel by Muslims into the U.S. that have been blocked by federal judges both times Donald Trump has tried to enact them.

"Ultimately, it really is going to be city attorneys working collectively," Casar said, referring to municipal lawyers crafting challenges at the direction of their city councils. "I do predict city attorneys will work together to push this forward."

On Thursday, Austin City Council members are expected to put forth a motion to this effect, Garza mentioned during the conference call with reporters. That cooperative effort was expressed during the call with elected officials from Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Houston and San Antonio. In signing the bill, Abbott made a point to target Travis County as an example of what he sees as more relaxed compliance with immigration enforcement.

Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez, is among law enforcement officials who prefer a more nuanced approach to immigration laws by focusing on the hardened criminal element for deportation rather than than entire communities. In signing SB4 into law, Abbott categorized her stance as tantamount to not arresting criminals even though daily logs of detention requests honored at the behest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials appears on the sheriff's website.

For added measure, Paxton's subsequent lawsuit named the county among the defendants. Dallas City Council member Philip Kingston said council there would assist Austin in its legal fight: "We have lots of legal resources," he said. "The fight is now in the court and it is time to stand together."

While Austin plots it next step, several entities opposed to the law already have taken legal action. The League of United Latin American Citizens has sued over the bill, as has the border city of El Cenizo and Maverick County. On Monday, El Paso County commissioners voted to pursue legal action as well.

Related stories:

Texas Governor Signs Far-Reaching Anti-Immigration Law On Facebook Live

Texas Governor Makes Good On Grants Cut-Off Threat To County Amid Immigration Feud With Sheriff

Texas Attorney General Files Suit To Deter Sanctuary Cities Law Legal Challenges

City, State Officials Throughout Texas Band Together To Challenge Senate Bill 4

>>> Photo from previous Austin march against Trump anti-immigration measures by Tony Cantú