Texas Republicans Pass Racial Profiling Law

Texas Republicans pushed through a measure today that would prohibit cities from prohibiting racial profiling by preventing law enforcement officials from asking those they arrest their legal status. In other words, Texas Republicans want local law enforcement to do federal law enforcement work.

As someone who’s lived in Texas for more than 10 years, I personally don’t think this is a good idea. I’ve known federal immigration officers and I’ve known local cops and the training is significantly different. What’s more, local law enforcement these days with the recession are short-staffed as it is, I don’t see how it’s fair to make them also bear the burden of a federal job they’re not being paid for. The Texas Tribune reports:

…the bill, by state Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, would prohibit cities, counties and other governmental entities or special districts from adopting a policy that prevents law enforcement from asking persons lawfully detained or arrested if they are in the country legally. Entities not in compliance could risk losing state funds.

Mind you, no one is “pro” undocumented immigration, rather, big cities in Texas decided to focus on local problems and direct their law enforcement officials to do the same. As part of the fight against this bill, San Antonio State Rep. Joaquín Castro (who we interviewed about this issue here), tried to amend the bill by filing an amendment that punished employers who hired people without papers.

It didn’t work, the bill passed to the state senate, where it will probably also pass and head to Governor Rick Perry, who made this item an “emergency” item in the first place. Castro made a statement on the passage of the bill:

Rather than fully addressing an issue that was deemed an emergency item by Governor Perry, the Republican majority chose to prematurely end debate tonight on one of the most significant pieces of legislation in Texas in the last 50 years. This bill is consistent with other legislation passed this session which targets and disenfranchises minorities.

The latest emergency item brought to the House floor is another attempt by the governor to distract Texans from the most pressing issue facing our state, the budget.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD