Advocates pressure Mayor Whitmire to protect Houston’s immigrant communities from SB4

Immigrant rights organizations rallied at City Hall on Tuesday to ask the mayor and the city’s Police Department to create formal policies to protect Houston’s immigrants from Senate Bill 4, a controversial law that would allow state law enforcement to arrest anyone suspected of entering Texas illegally from Mexico.

The law is temporarily blocked from going into effect by an injunction, but advocates fear its future implementation if Houston officials don’t issue a formal policy.

Abbott has criticized the injunction blocking the law and has said that the state will not back down.

“Texas has the right to defend itself because of President Biden’s ongoing failure to fulfill his duty to protect our state from the invasion at our southern border,” he said in a Feb. 29 statement .

Some law enforcement in Houston’s surrounding counties, including the sheriff’s offices of Fort Bend and Chambers County , have issued statements saying they would not prioritize enforcement of the law. However, others have been hesitant to issue formal statements.

A 2017 Texas law banning sanctuary cities makes it illegal for local authorities to prevent peace officers from asking about immigration status.

Law enforcement departments have since treaded carefully when issuing statements or policies protecting immigrant communities.

But advocates say Houston law enforcement cooperation with ICE has often gone beyond what’s required by law. They say the city can still limit the implementation of SB 4 without violating the 2017 law.

“There are limitations but we don’t have to go above and beyond,” said Canales-Peláez. “We should still be in the business of protecting our communities.”