Texas Anti-Immigrant Bill Is Filled With Inconsistencies

The big news has been the vote in the Texas state senate to approve a bill, SB 9, called the sanctuary cities bill, which allows local police officers to question the people they detain about their immigration status.

The vote result was expected. The Houston chronicle reports that

the legislation — and nine of 11 amendments — broke along party lines. The Senate has 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats.

Critics contend that the bill will result in racial profiling, that none of the white Republicans that voted for the bill will ever be questioned about their immigration status, but every Latino in the state will surely be suspect.

The author of the bill, Republican Sen. Tommy Williams, said the concerns of non-white opponents were “ginned up” political rhetoric. The bill, he said, does three things: it allows local police officers to question detainees about their immigration status; it prohibits local governments from banning state and federal laws pertaining to immigration; and it establishes uniform statewide standards regarding immigration issues – all this because the federal government has been remiss in its duties to secure the border and enforce immigration laws.

There are, though, some inconsistencies.

• The bill provides a way for citizens to complain when they believe a city is not being “aggressive enough” in questioning people about their citizenship. The state attorney general would be obligated to investigate all such complaints.

• And yet, the bill’s proponents say there is nothing in it that actually requires police to question people about their immigration status.

• But there are no sanctions in the bill that can be used against a police officer that racial-profiles or otherwise abuses this non-requirement. Apparently that’s left to individual police departments.

• But one of the reasons given for the bill was to provide for statewide uniformity in matters pertaining to immigration enforcement.

• And while Texas Governor Rick Perry proclaimed this issue a priority because of increased criminal activity along the border.

• According to FBI data border cities are among the safest in the country.

The Houston Chronicle report says that the police chiefs of the states’ largest cities have publicly opposed the bill, saying that

it will invariably result in racial profiling and make it less likely for immigrants to report crime because the legislation also allows police to question witnesses in the course of an investigation.

But Williams contends that the Chief’s had to say that because they

are simply responding to the political pressures from mayors and city council members.

Imagine that.

Meanwhile a recent poll tells us that immigration has fallen from it’s top place of importance among voters. The Texas Lyceum poll reveals that education is now the top concern.

But the future of the bill isn’t in question. The Texas Observer reports that

“It’s pretty certain SB 9 will pass just as readily in the House, with a Republican supermajority that already voted out the controversial “sanctuary cities” immigration legislation during the regular session.”

Passage in the House is just a matter of time.

Follow Victor Landa on Twitter: @vlanda

[Photo by  Dave_B_]