House debates plan that punishes agencies that don’t help ICE
AUSTIN — The debate over socalled “sanctuary cities” burst into the Texas House on Wednesday as a committee took up a bill that would punish municipalities that adopt policies creating them while critics vowed to fight it.
Hundreds flooded the Capitol here for a marathon hearing on the legislation, Senate Bill 4, which would impose penalties on municipalities for not honoring every
request by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold immigrants in the country illegally who have been picked up by local authorities.
Cities, counties and college campuses that refuse to do so could be denied state grant money.
The bill was declared an “emergency” priority by Gov. Greg Abbott in January and was fast-tracked through the state Senate after a contentious hearing last month.
Passage also appears likely in the House, but it will not come quickly, and not before some significant changes are made.
Rep. Byron Cook, a Corsicana Republican who chairs the House State Affairs Committee, said at the beginning of the committee hearing Wednesday that the day would end without a vote. Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, an influential member who is shepherding the bill in the House, stressed that he had modified the Senate version and was open to more changes.
Among other tweaks, Geren said he was introducing an amendment that would emphasize that law enforcement officials could inquire about a person’s immigration status only after a formal arrest and not in cases of pre-arrest detention.
Other committee members, including Democrat Rene Oliveira of Brownsville, said the language was not good enough.
At one point, when a witness requested a copy of the latest version to help with her understanding of the issues, Cook said, “we’re a long way from getting that.”
As the lawmakers debated the language, hundreds pleaded with them to scrap the proposal altogether.
In all, 638 people registered to speak about the bill. Of those, 619 registered to voice opposition to the legislation, while just 11 registered in support. Eight were neutral.
The opponents included the Houston Police Department, which called the plan “short-sighted” and Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, who said it would strain relations with immigrant communities and make minorities less likely to report crimes. Despite the fierce opposition, neither Houston nor Harris County has adopted “sanctuary city” policies.
Others spoke of the impact on the lives of immigrants.
Sergio Govea, a 9-yearold, choked back tears as he told a reporter before the hearing about the constant fear that plagued him that his parents won’t return “every time they leave the house.”
“I haven’t lost my parents physically but they are not the same as they were before this,” he said. “They are scared to go to H-E-B to get food, a basic necessity. … I don’t even know if they will be there today when I get back home.”
The supporters of the bill who testified said that the legislation was needed to protect Americans and ensure that rules are followed. Matt Long, a Fredericksburg woodworker and tea party member, said “this country was founded on the rule of law” and “all of the laws should apply equally to all of the people all of the time. Officials do not have the choice to ignore the law.”
“People want to come here because our country functions,” Long said. “Don’t sneak over the border in the middle of the night and then ask for special treatment. Come and knock on the front door and we will say God bless you and welcome.”
Long was in the minority, however. As the crowds gathered and the hearing continued, Democratic Rep. Rafael Anchia of Dallas rallied the crowd in Spanish.
“We won’t let this pass without a fight,” he said.