Fort Worth (WBAP/KLIF News) – A majority of the Fort Worth City Council has spoken against joining a lawsuit that would block Texas’ ban on “sanctuary cities” from taking effect later this year. The law would require departments to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Police chiefs who refuse could be charged with a misdemeanor; elected sheriffs could be removed from office.
Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio are all among communities that have joined the suit. The Fort Worth city council has started discussions about how to move forward, but a majority has voiced opposition.
“This is not a bill about discriminating, it’s a bill about preventing crime,” says Mayor Betsy Price.
Several hundred protestors marched outside Ft. Worth City Hall, calling on the city to join the suit.
“Texas does need effective immigration policies,” says organizer Mindia Whittier. “What most people don’t seem to understand is SB4 does not the right law to do that. Not all laws are good laws.”
Whittier says the law would lead to discrimination and racial profiling.
“It’s written so broadly that it affects anyone who either looks or sounds like they come from somewhere else,” she says.
Ft. Worth police say they will allow officers to ask about immigration status or work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but the department will not require officers to ask about status.
“Ft. Worth is not significantly changing how we’ve always cared for people,” Price says. “I do understand in their hearts, the concern and the fear that they have.”
The department says officers will be allowed to ask about immigration status when the information may be relevant, such as human trafficking investigations.
“This bill does not mandate that they have to ask,” Price says. “It only keeps us from saying, ‘You absolutely cannot.'”
The law is scheduled to take effect in September. Opponents have moved to have the law blocked until the case makes its way through court.
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