8/30/2017

IMMIGRATION/LEGAL/SANCTUARY CITIES/TEXAS: “A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked most of a sweeping state immigration law designed to crack down on so-called sanctuary cities, less than two days before the measure was to go into effect.
U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia in San Antonio said in a 94-page ruling issued Wednesday [8-30-17] evening that much of the law is unconstitutional.
The law, which had been set to take effect Friday, would block municipalities and police agencies from adopting policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. It also includes provisions that impose criminal penalties, including jail sentences, against police and sheriffs who don’t comply with requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to detain illegal immigrants in local jails.
The measure was passed by the Republican-controlled legislature and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in May…
The ruling temporarily blocks provisions of the law that allow for disciplinary action against law-enforcement officials who don’t comply with federal requests to detain illegal immigrants.
It also halts a provision that would prevent municipalities or police agencies from crafting policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration agents and endorsing such policies.”

-Alicia A. Caldwell, “Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Texas Law Cracking Down on Sanctuary Cities,” The Wall Street Journal online, Aug. 30, 2017 11:22pm