Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is optimistic that a federal appeals court will allow Texas to begin to enforce that new law which would ban so called 'Sanctuary Cities,' following a hearing on the case on Friday, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Both sides were grilled by the appeals court lawyers, but Paxton says he got the impression that Texas' position is strong."Enforcing immigration law helps prevent dangerous criminals from being released into the community," Paxton said.
Opponents of the law, technically called SB 4, also made public safety arguments before the appeals court.
"The enforcement of SB 4 will damage the relationship between the law enforcement community and the immigrant community," said Jose Garza, who is one of the attorneys who argued on behalf of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund and several cities, including San Antonio, which are challenging the law.
Opponents call it the 'show me your papers' law, after a provision that allows local police the authority to ask individuals who are 'detained' on traffic stops about their immigration status.
"We delivered a strong case for allowing SB 4 to take effect," Paxton said, "pointing out the wide reaching consequences of a lower court order."
A San Antonio Federal judge last month ruled that the law cannot take effect while several constitutional questions are resolved.
The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals promised a decision soon.