<p>In early May, Texas lawmakers approved a bill that would ban sanctuary cities and threaten non-compliant law enforcement officers with jail time, fines, and removal from office. ;</p>
<p>The bill cleared the GOP-controlled legislature last week, and was signed into law this Sunday. ;</p>
<p>SB 4, ;which will take effect on September 1st, requires police officers to cooperate with ICE agents and requires sheriffs to honor the agency&rsquo;s requests to hold a person in advance of deportation. It also enables cops to ask a person about immigration status during any legal detention.  ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Citizens expect law enforcement officers to enforce the law. Citizens deserve law breakers to face legal consequences,&rdquo; announced Texas Governor Greg Abbott in a surprise Facebook livestream signing of the law. ;</p>
<p>Democrats say Abbott used the social media broadcast as a way to avoid the protests that no doubt would have accompanied a public signing. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Quite frankly I think it was a cowardly way to do it,&rdquo; said Texas state Rep. Cesar Blanco. &ldquo;I think he wanted to get it done quickly with less friction.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>But protestors showed up anyway, crowding around the Governor&rsquo;s mansion on Sunday night for a protest and vigil. Immigrant rights activists carried signs with the words &ldquo;Abbott is a racist.&rdquo;</p>
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<p>Fighting illegal immigration by punishing sanctuary cities was one of President Trump&#8217;s key campaign promises. In January, he issued an executive order threatening to withhold federal money from sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with ICE. ;</p>
<p>Law enforcement officers in cities like Los Angeles argue that helping ICE would ;destroy the trust between citizens and police and endanger immigrants by making them afraid to contact the police. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Elected officials and law enforcement agencies, they don&rsquo;t get to pick and choose which laws they will obey,&rdquo; said Abbott. ;</p>
<p><strong>The Dems are furious.</strong> ;ACLU exec. Terri Burke calls SB 4 an &ldquo;assault on humanity&rdquo; and insists the organization will challenge the law &ldquo;in the courts, at the ballot box, and in the streets if we have to.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>Abbott criticizes the law&rsquo;s opponents as people who &ldquo;seek to promote lawlessness in Texas&#8221; and ;insists SB 4&#8217;s key provisions have been tested and approve by SCOTUS.  ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;As governor, my top priority is public safety,&rdquo; said Abbott. &ldquo;And this bill furthers that objective by keeping dangerous criminals off our streets. It&rsquo;s inexcusable to release individuals from jail that have been charged with heinous crimes like sexual assault against minors, domestic violence, and robbery.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>Texas cops have banded together in opposition to the law. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;We officers work extremely hard to build and maintain trust, communication, and stronger relationships with minority communities through community base policing and outreach programs,&rdquo; reads a commentary endorsed by cops in Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Arlington, and Forth Worth.</p>
<p>The new law ;&ldquo;will further strain the relationship between local law enforcement and these diverse communities&rdquo; at a time when &ldquo;distrust and fear of contacting or assisting the police has already become evident among legal immigrants.&rdquo; ;</p>
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<p>The <em>Washington Post</em> defines &ldquo;sanctuary city&rdquo; as a jurisdiction in which law enforcement officers &ldquo;refuse to hold immigrants who have been arrested for local crimes past their release date so that ICE can take them into federal custody and try to deport them.&#8221; These cities and towns are magnets for illegal immigrants. ;</p>
<p>Under the new Texas law, jurisdictions ;that refuse to cooperate with ICE will be fined up to $25,500 a day. Elected or appointed officials who refuse to cooperate with the agency could be removed from office; cops who don&rsquo;t cooperate could be thrown in jail. ;</p>