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Houston Mayor, immigrants vow to continue fighting SB 4 after ruling

HOUSTON - Immigrants, party leaders, and elected officials sounded off Wednesday, a day after a federal appeals court ruled that most of the state’s controversial “sanctuary cities” law can remain in effect.

Houston’s mayor and police chief were among those weighing in on Senate Bill 4, which allows law enforcement officers to ask the immigration status of people they detain - and punishes elected officials or department heads that don’t comply with federal immigration holds.

Credit: KHOU 11 News

Tuesday’s ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overturns an August 2017 temporary injunction by a federal judge in San Antonio that blocked several parts of the law deemed as unconstitutional.

SB 4’s legal battle stemmed from a lawsuit filed by the City of Houston and several other Texas municipalities.

Outside City Hall on Wednesday morning, immigrants and activists raised their voices after the conservative appeals court handed down their decision.

“As undocumented people, I constantly worry about my family members being racially profiled,” said Karla Perez, a third-year law student at the University of Houston.

Opponents worry the law could increase deportations and increase racial profiling by law enforcement.

“There’s no difference between someone like me who is a US citizen and someone from Mexico,” said Mary Moreno of the Texas Organizing Project. “It’s not like they wear it on their forehead.”

Mayor Sylvester Turner spoke at the rally, vowing to continue the city’s fight against SB 4 while ensuring that Houston remains a “welcoming city.”

“It’s not one and done,” said Mayor Turner. “It’s staying in the race if you believe in what you’re doing.”

Top state and local Republican officials had a different take on the 5th Circuit’s decision.

“It’s a sensible ruling by the court that just said, ‘It’s right to have a law that requires police to enforce the law and keep our streets safe and keep criminals off the streets,'” said Paul Simpson, Chair of the Harris County Republican Party.

Gerald Treece, KHOU’s Legal Analyst, says the biggest change from Tuesday’s ruling involves law enforcement agencies’ decision on whether to comply with immigration hold requests from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

“Under this law, it’s not optional,” said Treece. “If our law enforcement doesn’t cooperate, they and public officials could face not just civil penalties, but criminal penalties.”

While Chief Art Acevedo of the Houston Police Department has raised concerns that SB 4 could scare crime victims or witnesses from coming forward, he said Wednesday that his officers will continue doing what they’ve been doing: going after criminals, especially violent criminals.

“We’ve been in compliance with SB 4 since it took effect in September,” said Chief Acevedo.

One controversial part of SB 4 that allows officers to ask detainees for their immigration status was not impacted by the August 2017 injunction.

“We actually require our officers to fill out a report, just in case there’s an allegation of racial profiling, which SB 4 actually reinforces and prohibits,” said Chief Acevedo. “The last time we checked, which was like a couple weeks ago, there had been two inquiries out of tens of thousands of contacts in the City of Houston.”

Treece expects the SB 4 lawsuit will end up in the US Supreme Court within two years.

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