San Antonio Officials to Abbott: Veto Sanctuary City Ban

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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Read more: http://woai.iheart.com/articles/local-news-119078/san-antonio-officials-to-abbott-veto-15805307/#ixzz4gEHT9AzY


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