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Texas gov. bans sanctuary cities from state

Texas gov. bans sanctuary cities from state

Sanctuary cities have been outlawed in the state of Texas.

Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed legislation Sunday allowing police to ask about the immigration status of anyone they detain. Additionally, local law enforcement is now required by state law to comply with federal immigration enforcement officials.

“This law effectively bans sanctuary cities in the state of Texas.” Gov. Abbot said on “Fox & Friends” Monday morning. “What it means is that no county, no city, no governmental body in the state of Texas can adopt any policy that provides sanctuary.”

“Second, what it means is that law enforcement officials such as sheriffs are going to be required to comply with ICE detainer requests. What this law is going to do is engender greater cooperation between local law enforcement and federal officials, so that we ensure that everybody is going to be, simply, following the law.”

Officials that fail to comply with the law will face fines or jail time.

“They could be subject to jail time. It means they could be subject to being removed from office. It means that their city or county could be subject to fines or penalties up to $25,000 per day.”

Liberal groups are attacking the law as racist. The American Civil Liberties Union claimed the law “encourages racial profiling by untrained immigration agents” and “removes democratically elected representatives from office should they fail to comply.”

Terri Burke, executive director of the ACLU of Texas issued a press release stating, “This racist and wrongheaded piece of legislation ignores our values, imperils our communities and sullies our reputation as a free and welcoming state.”

Democratic state lawmaker Sen. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, expressed fear that this legislation would “lead to the harassment and profiling of Latinos.”

Governor Abbott dismissed criticism that the law is racially biased as “wild rhetoric” that is “divorced from reality.”

“The people who are coming into the United States, especially across the border in Texas, are not from Mexico; there are people from around the entire globe.

“Most of the Hispanics in the state of Texas are here legally and they have absolutely nothing to worry about,” Abbott said, adding that “it is illegal for a law enforcement officer to racially profile anybody.”

“This [law] is simply a mechanism such that when someone who has a criminal record, who is wanted by ICE, they are going to be held and detained and turned over to ICE. If you are here, regardless of what your status, and you have not committed a crime that makes you subject to an ICE detainer, you have no problems whatsoever.”

 

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