As President Trump and Governor Abbott both declare war on 'Sanctuary Cities,' several political, religious, and law enforcement groups are fighting back, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
State Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas), who heads the Mexican American Legislative Council, says the laws demanded by Trump and Abbott would essentially force local police officers to become units of immigration enforcement, and he says that would not help the citizens that police are supposed to protect.
"If these bills pass, it will actual make us less safe," Anchia said. "Because what we would be doing is injecting state requirements onto local law enforcement related to prioritization of resources and related to community policing."
Many police agencies say they cannot develop the sorts of relationships they need in neighborhoods if people are afraid officers will investigate their immigration status.
That would essentially create a group of people who criminals know could be easily victimized, and witnesses would not come forward.
Ramiro Cavazos, who heads the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, says the U.S. cannot afford to lose the entrepreneurial spirit of immigrants.
"Today, one out of every ten jobs in America is a job created by an immigrant, and that's a fact," he said, adding that as many as 40% of America's fortune 500 coroprations were founded either by an immigrant or by a child of an immigrant.
The group said fewer than one half of one percent of all immigration service detainers requested by ICE officers are refused, meaning the use of a 'blunt instrument' like the anti Sanctuary City bill would accomplish little and has the potential to cause a lot of damage.
Meanwhile, Abbot is vowing to 'remove the Travis County Sheriff from office' after her declaration that she will not honor ICE detainers at the Travis County Jail, unless it involves an individual charged with a Class A felony. Abbott has already vowed to withhold millions in state funding from Sheriff Sally Hernandez' department due to her stance.