Thursday night, a federal judge blocked major provisions of Texas’s racist “show me your papers” law from going into effect, just hours before the bill’s September 1 implementation date. While Vox’s Dara Lind writes that the temporary block “doesn’t stop every part of the law that had local police officers concerned,” it’s nonetheless a victory for immigrant rights activists and communities of color struggling in the midst of Hurricane Harvey. Lind:
Among the parts of SB4 that have been put on hold:
- A provision that would have forced local jails to honor federal agents’ requests to hold immigrants after they’d otherwise be released, so that ICE could pick them up.
- A provision that would have barred any local official from “endorsing,” or even appearing to endorse, any policy that would have materially limited immigration enforcement (including, possibly, standing on stage with advocacy groups that were advocating for such limits).
- A provision that would have required local police to allow their officers to cooperate with federal agents whenever possible, including “enforcement assistance” of federal immigration law.
Mother Jones writes that “a section of the law that gives police the authority to ask people about their immigration status will still be allowed to go into effect, according to the ruling.” But as MALDEF notes, individuals asked don’t have to answer. Lind writes that ”if they ask about immigration status, the law doesn’t allow them to do anything with that information beyond sending it to ICE—they can’t hold onto someone they would otherwise let go while they wait to hear back from ICE about the detainee’s immigration status, for example.”
Lind notes that advocates still see this ruling as a victory because local law enforcement officers who don’t want to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will no longer be punished. “The battle is far from over,” noted Austin council member Greg Casar, “Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton will likely try to appeal today's ruling. And we know we have a long way to go to protect everyone’s rights from the constant attacks by the Trump and Abbott administrations.”
“Tomorrow, we will continue to fight for the basic rights of our families. But today, we should celebrate the power of the statewide movement we have built together.”
Other reactions from Texas leaders and advocates are below. Efrén C. Olivares, Racial and Economic Justice Program Director with the Texas Civil Rights Project and attorney in the case:
We don’t have to look far to see the real-life effects of [these] anti-immigrant laws. Instead of focusing on their safety, hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their families in Houston’s rising flood waters worried about facing deportation. Thanks to the efforts of Houston officials and the police department, the fears were quickly addressed. But this should never happen in the first place. We will celebrate this community victory and continue to fight back against all attempts to target immigrant communities in Texas, and we are proud to represent the Texas Organizing Project Education Fund and MOVE San Antonio in our litigation to stop this discriminatory law.
Julieta Garibay, campaign director and leader with immigrant youth organization United We Dream:
As many of our neighbors and friends suffer because of Hurricane Harvey, today’s news is a bit of welcome relief that they won’t be facing another terror. The judge confirmed what we and the majority of Texans already knew: that SB4 is a racist law that targets communities of color to lock up, deport, and tear apart our families. Today’s ruling brings us one step closer to our demands for a complete repeal of this racist law. But make no mistake, we will continue to fight for our people, because when immigrant communities are under attack, we rise up, we fight back, and we win.
“This decision today feels like a ray of sunshine,” said Michelle Tremillo, executive director of the Texas Organizing Education Fund, “and Texans, especially undocumented Texans, deserve a reprieve in what has been a steady assault on their families.”