Texas bill would punish police who do not comply with immigration enforcers
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Source: Guardian News
House passes bill targeting ‘sanctuary city’ police with criminal charges if they do not help federal authorities with detention requests, including children at school
Tom Dart in Houston
@Tom_Dart
Thursday 27 April 2017 12.49 EDT
Donald Trump’s plan to punish so-called sanctuary cities was blocked in court this week, but the concept is enjoying more success at state level, where Texas is poised to enact a law forcing local police to act as federal immigration enforcers.
A bill passed the Texas state house shortly before 3am on Thursday, after 16 often heated hours of debate amid pro-immigrant demonstrations outside the capitol building in Austin. Democrats in the Republican-dominated Texas legislature proposed a series of amendments in a futile effort to stall and weaken the bill, a version of which was already advanced by the senate.
It puts sheriffs and other police chiefs at risk of criminal charges and other serious sanctions if they do not help the federal government enforce immigration laws by complying with requests to detain immigrants. There are also civil fines for non-cooperation by local entities including campus police departments.
A Democratic state representative, Victoria Neave, began a four-day hunger strike on Sunday in protest at the bill. Another, Mary Gonzalez, wept on Wednesday as she talked in the state house about being a sexual assault survivor and expressed her fear that the law would help criminals. A third, Ana Hernandez, gave an emotional speech about her life before she became a US citizen.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/27/texas-sanctuary-cities-bill-police-detain-immigrants
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