Texas Ban on Sanctuary Cities Can Begin, Appeals Court Rules

[Judi Lynn]

By MAGGIE ASTOR
MARCH 13, 2018



People in the State Capitol last year protesting Senate Bill 4, which bans so-called sanctuary cities in Texas. A federal
judge had halted the law, but an appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the ban could begin.
Credit Ricardo Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman, via Associated Press



A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that Texas’ ban on so-called sanctuary cities can take effect while legal challenges proceed, concluding that opponents of the measure were not likely to succeed on the merits of their case.

In a unanimous ruling, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit almost completely reversed an August ruling by a federal judge in San Antonio, who had temporarily blocked Texas officials from enforcing the ban.

The law in question — Senate Bill 4, passed by the Texas Legislature in May 2017— requires police chiefs and sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigration officials, and allows the police to question the immigration status of anyone they arrest. It was passed in response to the proliferation of sanctuary cities, which restrict such cooperation and have gained national attention as President Trump pursues stricter immigration policies.

The appeals panel rejected one element of the law: a clause that prohibits local officials from “endorsing” policies that limit immigration enforcement. Officials can be forbidden to enact or enforce such policies, the panel ruled, but a ban on endorsements violates the First Amendment. The judges upheld all other parts of the law, rejecting opponents’ arguments that, among other things, it failed to adequately define the prohibited conduct and would open the door to racial profiling.

More:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/13/us/texas-immigration-law-sb4.html

LBN:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142012870