Houston has joined the lawsuit along with Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and four other counties. Emmett said that neither Harris County nor Houston has ever been a sanctuary county or city, respectively, and that the law was unnecessary. During the public comments, state Sen. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, and Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston, urged the court to join the lawsuit. They said SB 4 could lead to discrimination of people of color and Spanish speakers, and it could discourage immigrants from reporting crimes to police for fear of deportation. “This law is unnecessary, creates more problems than it fixes and is contrary to the values of the people of Harris County,” Garcia said. County bail lawsuit discussed During Tuesday’s meeting, the commissioners also discussed a federal mandate that requires misdemeanor defendants’ release while awaiting trial if they are unable to post bail. The county plans to reform its bail bond system, but in April, Chief U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal ruled that qualifying defendants who signed an affidavit declaring their inability to post bail be released, Community Impact Newspaper previously reported. “I’d like the county attorney’s office to look into the arrest impact that has occurred since the Rosenthal release [ruling],” Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle said. Harris County’s Public Safety Assessment—a data-based tool intended to help judges decide whether to release pretrial misdemeanor defendants—is expected to go into effect for felonies and some misdemeanors by the end of July, Ryan said..@SenatorSylvia speaking against #SB4 at Harris Co. Commissioners Court. Activists also gathered pic.twitter.com/2BxWD9jMV2
— Community Impact KTY (@impactnews_kty) July 11, 2017