Texans split on ‘sanctuary cities,’ oppose border wall, survey finds

Texans are roughly split over the issue of so-called sanctuary cities, with 49 percent of respondents to a state survey saying they oppose them and 45 percent supporting them.

The results from the Texas Lyceum poll, released Tuesday, were more complicated for questions that waded into the details of one area of the debate over sanctuary cities, a name for local jurisdictions where officials decline to participate in federal immigration enforcement: whether officers should be allowed to ask subjects about their immigration status.

While 93 percent of Texas adults support checking the immigration status of people who have been arrested by local law enforcement officials, only 44 percent said officers should be able to check immigration status during a routine traffic stop. Even fewer people said they should be able to investigate immigration status for people who are reporting a crime or are witness to one.

Those findings appear to bolster recent changes made to Senate Bill 4, the measure being pushed by Republicans in the Legislature to ban sanctuary cities. In the original Senate-approved version of the bill by state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, police and sheriff ’s departments would face stiff penalties if they prohibit their officers from inquiring about subjects’ immigration status.

The House State Affairs Committee, however, last week approved a version that would allow departments to prevent their officers from asking about immigration status during traffic stops or other routine interactions. It would still ban departments from preventing