Texas's anti-sanctuary cities legislation will not go into effect on Friday, Sept. 1, as scheduled following a federal judge's decision to put the law on hold.
U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia issued the ruling on Wednesday, Aug. 30, less than 48 hours before the law, otherwise known as Senate Bill 4, went into effect. Garcia granted the injunction on the bill sought by a conglomerate of Texas cities and advocacy groups who claimed the law was unconstitutional. The ruling puts the law on hold until the court makes a final determination on its constitutionality.
The bill, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed May 7, requires jails to honor all federal immigration detainer requests and ensures the right of any law-enforcement officer to inquire about immigration status in the midst of a legal detainment.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler said the ruling was good for the city and used the events surrounding Hurricane Harvey as an example of how laws like Senate Bill 4 could hurt a community.
"This ruling is good for Austin because [Senate Bill 4] if ever implemented would make Austin less safe," Adler said in a news release. "This week’s crisis with Hurricane Harvey is just the most recent example why people need to feel safe approaching our local police and support groups, no matter what. If people in Austin do not feel safe asking for help, they become more vulnerable to crime, not just natural disasters.”
Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt echoed Adler's sentiments.
"The events of the last week have only confirmed that we need to view our fellow Texans as people, not as threats or political pawns," Eckhardt said in a release. "Judge Garcia correctly realized that [Senate Bill 4] is an unconstitutional ‘solution’ in search of a problem that would ultimately make Travis County and all of Texas less safe. Hopefully this is the first step in consigning [Senate Bill 4] to the dustbin of history.”
The timeline below chronicles the evens from the bill's filing in the Texas Senate and the several lawsuits and protests that ensued in the wake of its passage, to Wednesday's federal court ruling.