San Antonio (WBAP/KLIF News) – A federal judge is now deciding whether to issue an injunction to block Texas’ ban on “sanctuary cities” from taking effect later this year. Several communities, including Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio have sued.
The lawsuit says the law violates equal protection and due process by allowing officers to question people based on their race. They say the law also violates the first amendment because elected officials could be removed from office for criticizing the measure.
“That fight about ‘We the people’ is what the fight in the court hearing is all about,” says Austin City Councilman Greg Casar. “Does ‘We the people’ include all of us here, or does include just some of us with power?”
Casar spoke at a rally outside the federal courthouse in San Antonio. Several hundred people attended the demonstration, including the Catholic Archbishop of San Antonio, Gustavo Garcia-Siller, who led a prayer.
“Help us to build bridges, to build unity,” he said.
Inside, lawyers for the state testified the measure only requires officers to cooperate with federal requests as “reasonably necessary.”
The Department of Justice argued Immigration and Customs Enforcement only asks for people to be held if they are arrested, not simply detained for something like a traffic stop.
The judge has not said when he may reach a decision.
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