The State of Texas wants a federal appeals court to allow Texas to implement the new law banning ‘Sanctuary Cities,’ and Attorney General Ken Paxton wants the Fifth Court of Appeals to rule this week, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
“The District Court’s order should be immediately stayed, as this injunction has far reaching public safety consequences,” Paxton spokesman Mark Rylander told News Radio 1200 WOAI.
Rylander says the appeals court should rule this week, a very quick time frame in the judicial world, because not banning ‘Sanctuary Cities’ allows violent criminals to roam free.
But Selena Moreno of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund says two days is unusual, and it will ask for more time.
“We don’t see any reason why it needs to be in two days,” she said. “Obviously they have had more time to brief, so we will request the standard amount of time in these cases, which is usually ten days.”
U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia last week blocked the law, dubbed SB 4,from taking effect on September 1 as scheduled, saying there are ‘serious constitutional issues’ which need to be debated. Garcia did not throw out the law, which was passed by the Legislature in the regular session earlier this year.
The law mandates that local governments comply with immigration officials by honoring ‘Immigration Detainers’ which require that an individual who is on ICE’s radar be detained in a county jail even if they are up for release on whatever charges led to their arrest.
The law also authorizes, but does not require, local police officers to inquire about the ‘immigration status’ of individuals they ‘detain,’ even in traffic stops.
SB 4 was a top priority of Gov. Greg Abbott, who says it is necessary to make sure that dangerous illegal immigrant felons, like the man charged with killing Kate Steinle in San Francisco two years ago, are not allowed to walk the streets and endanger more Texans.
MALDEF and other groups say the law, which they derisively dub the ‘show me your papers’ act, amounts to unconstitutional racial discrimination, and places local police in the position of being required to enforce federal laws.