Less than 24 hours after Gov. Abbott signed that law outlawing 'Sanctuary Cities' in Texas, the first lawsuit has been filed in the case, but it was filed by the Texas Attorney General, and aims to get a judge to declare that the law is constitutional, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
“SB 4 is constitutional, lawful and a vital step in securing our borders,” Attorney General Ken Paxton said. “SB 4 guarantees cooperation among federal, state and local law enforcement to protect Texans. Unfortunately, some municipalities and law enforcement agencies are unwilling to cooperate with the federal government and claim that SB 4 is unconstitutional.”
Paxton said he hopes a quick declaration by a federal judge that the law is constitutional will short circuit efforts by cities like San Antonio, as well as groups like the ACLU, from attempting to defeat it in court.
Paxton said he filed the lawsuit, 'to defend the right and duty of law enforcement agencies throughout Texas to detain individuals pursuant to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) federal detainer program. The program enforces immigration law and helps prevent dangerous criminals from being released into Texas communities.'
“Texas possesses an independent sovereign responsibility to protect the health, welfare, and safety of its residents,” Paxton wrote. “Texas, cognizant of this duty, recently enacted SB 4 to set a state-wide policy of cooperation with federal immigration authorities.”
The Texas Civil Rights Project reacted swifty to the Attorney General's move.“This unprecedented step by the Attorney General’s office is a direct attack on democracy and local autonomy," Executive Director Mimi Marziani said. "We will not allow state officials to move their anti-immigrant agenda forward unchallenged and we stand with our community in Austin, our allies at MALDEF, and the Constitutional values we hold dear.”
The law is widely expected to be challenged in federal court, and could set a precedent on how aggressive states can be in enforcing federal immigration policy.
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