Austin City Council Member sat on the floor, his back blocking one of the two main entrances to a state building on the Capitol grounds. .
The bill, known as the 鈥渟anctuary cities鈥� bill, which would require local law enforcement to cooperate with warrantless immigration detainer requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
鈥淸Gov. Greg Abbott] wants to sign the hateful, anti-immigrant, discriminatory, dangerous and unconstitutional law known as SB 4,鈥� Casar said before he was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing along with at least 20 others. The sit-in's forced end came after nine hours.
鈥淭his law basically wants to turn our police officers into folks asking to 鈥楽how me your papers,'鈥� he said, referring to a provision in the bill which allows local law enforcement to ask a person's immigration status.
Last week on the House floor, the bill drew comparisons to Arizona鈥檚 SB 1070, which was signed into law in 2010. So, how do the bills stack up?
Big picture? It's similar
, professor at the University of Texas School of Law Immigration Clinic, said the general effect of the two bills is the same.
鈥淚n the same way that the Arizona legislation removed local authority, local control, local decision-making from how there was cooperation with ICE, SB 4 accomplishes the same objective,鈥� she said.
In general, both bills force local law enforcement to fully comply with federal immigration law.
Steglich, along with immigrant rights advocates, also said both bills result in a chilling effect among immigrant communities and people of color.
鈥淭heir loss of faith in law enforcement is accomplished,鈥� she said.
Interim Austin Police Chief Brian Manley has told lawmakers SB 4 will make his job harder.
鈥淚 think that we will create situations where the trust we鈥檝e worked so hard to build can be eroded,鈥� he said at a press conference last week.
The authors of SB 4 have said any fear is assuaged by a provision protecting witnesses and victims of crime from being asked about immigration status.
So, how do they differ?
When you dig into both bills, the specific provisions differ greatly. Arizona鈥檚 SB 1070 is much more comprehensive and prescriptive than the Texas bill. It created numerous criminal offenses, including making it illegal for an undocumented immigrant to solicit work or fail to carry immigration documents. SB 4 includes nothing like that.
But perhaps the most notable difference is that SB 1070 required law enforcement to ask about someone鈥檚 immigration status if they reasonably suspected that person was in the country illegally. SB 4 does not go that far. Instead, by prohibiting policies limiting an officer鈥檚 ability to ask about immigration status, the Texas bill gives local officers the option to ask about legal status once someone has been detained or arrested.
And then there are ICE detainer requests. Arizona鈥檚 bill left these mostly untouched. SB 4 not only mandates that local heads of jails honor all requests to detain inmates believed to be in the country illegally, but it also gives the attorney general the power to remove from office elected officials who limit their department鈥檚 cooperation with federal immigration agencies.
For example, Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez鈥檚 current policy to honor ICE detainer requests only in the case of high-level felonies . Hernandez has said she will follow SB 4 should it become law.
This might all end up the same
鈥淚t is almost a certainty that this, SB 4, is going to be challenged immediately as soon as it goes into effect in September,鈥� said Jackie Watson, an immigration lawyer with Walker Gates Vela, PLLC. 鈥淥f that I have no doubt.鈥�
And that's what happened in Arizona.
In 2012, , ruling that federal law preempted them. A fourth provision, which mandated law enforcement ask about immigration status if they have suspicions someone is in the country illegally, was .
, an immigration lawyer with De Mott, McChesney, Curtright and Armend谩riz LLP, said a lawsuit may depend, in part, on how SB 4 plays out.
鈥淲ill we see a pattern in practice of individuals being detained based on national origin or racial profiling?鈥� she said. 鈥淲ill we see individuals being held for longer than is constitutionally permissible in order for ICE to arrive?鈥�
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick signed SB 4 on Thursday. It still requires the governor鈥檚 signature. On Wednesday, Abbott tweeted: 鈥淭he Texas sanctuary city ban wins final legislative approval. I'm getting my signing pen warmed up.鈥�
Copyright 2020 KUT 90.5. To see more, visit . 9(MDAxODQzOTgwMDEyMTcyNjI4MTAxYWQyMw004))
