SANCTUARY CITIES OUTLAWED IN TEXAS

Gov. Greg Abbott signs law that bans cities, counties and universities from prohibiting their local law enforcement officers from asking about immigration status and enforcing immigration law

On Facebook on Sunday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a statewide ban of sanctuary cities into law.

The new law, which takes effect September 1, bans cities, counties and universities from prohibiting their local law enforcement officers from asking about immigration status and enforcing immigration law. Here are some provisions of the new law:

Local jurisdictions will be fined up to $25,000 per day for each day they violate the ban.

Police chiefs, county sheriffs and constables who violate the ban will face criminal charges.

Law enforcement officers are allowed to ask about a person's immigration status during any legal detention, including a routine traffic stop.

The contrast between Texas and California could not be any clearer. The California legislature is considering a bill that would make the whole state of California a sanctuary for illegal immigrants. The state senate has passed legislation that would provide lawyers for illegals facing deportation and limit the cooperation between local and state police agencies with ICE. (That really means almost no cooperation with ICE.)

The new Texas law has been bitterly opposed by pro-immigration groups.

In the Houston area, the mayor, the police chief and the Harris County sheriff have each expressed strong opposition to the law. Mayor Sylvester Turner says Houston is a “welcoming city” and “Mi casa es su casa.” Police Chief Art Acevedo and Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez say the law will keep the immigrant community from reporting crimes and from cooperating with law enforcement.

So now, according to Acevedo and Gonzalez, the immigrant community in Houston and Harris County will no longer report crimes. That’s really the immigrant community’s problem!