A Judge Just Blocked Parts of Texas’s ‘Sanctuary City’ Ban — But Cops Can Still Do This

Lawmakers in Texas attempted to do what states are permitted to do: help the federal government enforce federal immigration law.

Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill into law that would require police officers to comply with federal requests to hold illegal aliens in custody and ban cities from implementing policies that would impede immigration enforcement.

But a federal judge just temporarily blocked most of this law, one designed to protect Americans and the integrity of our rule-of-law system.

In deference to illegal aliens over law-abiding American citizens, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia wrote that there “is overwhelming evidence by local officials, including local law enforcement, that SB 4 will erode public trust and make many communities and neighborhoods less safe” and that “localities will suffer adverse economic consequences which, in turn, will harm the state of Texas.”

Doesn’t selectively enforcing the law “erode public trust”? Are communities and neighborhoods safer with people who have no respect for this country’s laws? And is the judge implying that the “adverse economic consequences” would come from deporting illegally hired illegal aliens?

At least — the very least — police officers can still ask about immigration status of anyone they arrest or detain and share it with other law enforcement agencies. But the temporary injunction halts enforcement of the provision that allows state officials to fine localities for impeding enforcement.

“The Court cannot and does not second guess the Legislature,” Judge Garcia wrote. “However, the state may not exercise its authority in a manner that violates the United States Constitution.”

Texas has appealed the decision, as expected. This is a fight to the finish, a relentless push to enforce laws on the books that were created to protect citizens.

Photo credit: By Jonathan McIntosh – Own work, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons