may 7, 2017 - 10. SB4 Law passes in texas
Description:
Texas leaders approved a tough new immigration enforcement law known as SB4, they did so in a state that has had a long, continuing and sometimes unacknowledged struggle for equity by the state’s residents of Mexican descent.
Mexican-Americans have made great strides in Texas, where Latinos make up 40 percent of the state population and are overwhelmingly of Mexican descent.
Saenz and plaintiffs in the case warned that the law will allow every law enforcement officer, booking agent and other law enforcement figures to "decide on their own without any guidance or restrictions from their duly elected and appointed superiors, police chiefs, sheriffs and elected officials ... whether and how to enforce federal immigration law."
SB4 is a Texas law that forces local governments and law enforcement agencies to do the work of federal immigration officers. It punishes local officials who choose to prioritize their communities’ safety over the anti-immigrant agenda of politicians, diverts precious local resources away from communities to serve the needs of the federal government, corrodes public trust in law enforcement, and drives victims and witnesses of crime into the shadows, making everyone less safe. Sheriffs and police chiefs across the state strongly advised the legislature not to pass this awful law. Governor Abbott signed SB4 on May 7, 2017.
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