Texas migrant law illegal, a burden, cities argue

SAN ANTONIO -- Lawyers for Texas cities fighting the state's tough new immigration law argued Monday that it would force local law enforcement to help federal officials carry out mass deportations.

The lawyers challenging the law, which is backed by the Trump administration, urged U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia to issue a preliminary injunction to keep it from taking effect Sept. 1 and said it is unconstitutional on numerous grounds.

The statute calls for harsh penalties against localities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration agents, including stiff fines, jail time for police chiefs and the ouster of elected and appointed officials from their posts.

"They are setting up a situation that incentivizes people to enforce immigration law to the maximum," said Lee Gelernt, a lawyer for the ACLU.

Opponents said the law is vague and financially burdensome and would have far-reaching effects on the state's residents, students, businesses and schools.

Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, said he signed the law to promote public safety and ensure that criminals are deported. He and his supporters have cited cases in which illegal immigrants allegedly committed heinous crimes, including murder, after they were released instead of being turned over to immigration officials.

William Deane, a lawyer for the state, defended the law during Monday's hearing by saying that Texas law already bans racial profiling.

The legal fight pits border towns and big cities against the Republican-controlled state government. The plaintiffs say the law is another example in a long history of discrimination in Texas against immigrants and Hispanics, who are the state's largest minority group and account for more than 60 percent of the population in San Antonio.

Busloads of demonstrators from across Texas rallied outside, wearing red T-shirts and carrying signs denouncing the law.

Plaintiffs in the court case include El Paso County, a sheriff who is a former Border Patrol agent, and the cities of Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. Their lawyers argue the law is unconstitutional and is an "extraordinary intrusion" on the rights of local governments to decide how they will control their budgets, police and jails.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, said in court filings that the law doesn't require police officers to initiate immigration interrogations or arrests. Rather, it asks police and jailers to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the same way that they do with other law enforcement agencies.

A Section on 06/27/2017

Upcoming Events