Several key San Antonio and Bexar County officials today called on Gov. Abbott to veto the bill that was passed by the Texas Legislature earlier this week that outlaws 'Sanctuary Cities,' News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
"We believe that the legislation will have the unintended consequence of diverting law enforcement resources away from our ongoing efforts to fight violent crime in our community," Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff wrote to the governor.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus says he is opposed to a bill that puts his officers in the position of enforcing federal immigration law.
"We should not be enforcing federal immigration laws," McManus said. "What will they have us do next, ask people for their tax return?"
Wolff says even though the law doesn't specify who local officials should ask about their immigration status, he knows who the lawmakers have in mind.
"They're not going to ask the Anglo woman in the fancy dress, they're going to ask the person with the brown skin," he said, saying the law will clearly lead to racial profiling.
Wolff also points out that honoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement 'detainers' on illegal immigrants set to be released from City and County custody has cost Bexar County taxpayers more than $22 million since 2004, because the Feds don't reimburse the county for the extra costs of holding the immigrants until ICE takes custody of them.
He says those costs will rise under the Sanctuary City law.
And Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood says this law will put his office in a bind.
"Criminal District Attorneys around the state could find themselves in the position of having to defend the county they represent in a civil action, and then deciding whether they should prosecute them for non compliance," he said.
The law is said to be the toughest in the country in outlawing 'Sanctuary Cities.' It allows police to grill anybody they 'detain' even for a traffic stop about their immigration status, ask children whether they and their families are in the U.S. illegally, and it calls for prosecution and jail time for police chiefs, sheriffs, and other officials who knowingly violate federal immigration law.
Gov. Abbott has made the bill an 'emergency priority' of the current session and he is expected to sign it next week.
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