Federal judge dismisses Texas' sanctuary cities lawsuit

[TexasTowelie]

AUSTIN — U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks on Wednesday dismissed Attorney General Ken Paxton's lawsuit against Austin, El Paso County and other local governments over the state's new ban on so-called sanctuary cities.

Paxton filed a preemptive lawsuit in federal court hours after Gov. Greg Abbott signed the ban into law in May, asking that it be declared constitutional.

While Sparks' decision avoided commenting on the legal merits of the sanctuary cities law, he added a footnote to the ruling that included a broader statement on state and local efforts to regulate immigration in Texas.

"The federal government has the exclusive power to enforce immigration laws, and regardless of its intent, no state or local entity can interfere with the enforcement of these laws," Sparks wrote.

Read more: http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/politics/texlege/2017/08/09/federal-judge-dismisses-texas-sanctuary-cities-lawsuit/554230001/

[MichMan]

1. Not sure I understand the ruling

"The federal government has the exclusive power to enforce immigration laws, and regardless of its intent, no state or local entity can interfere with the enforcement of these laws," Sparks wrote.


If a state can't sue a city to enforce a ban on sanctuary cities, doesn't that also mean that sanctuary cities by definition are also illegal?

[Gothmog]

3. There is another lawsuit pending and Sparks is deferring to that lawsuit

[Gothmog]

2. Sam Sparks is a great judge

This means that the case in San Antonio will be the case with jurisdiction on this issue. I like the judge in that case who is also one of the judges on the three judge redistricting case. http://kut.org/post/federal-judge-hears-arguments-over-texas-new-sanctuary-cities-law

A federal judge in San Antonio is hearing arguments today in a lawsuit filed by several cities, including Austin, seeking to block enforcement of the state's new anti-sanctuary cities law, Senate Bill 4.

U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia will rule on whether SB 4 should be allowed to take effect Sept. 1 while a court battle plays out. The bill, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in May, requires jurisdictions to honor all requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain suspected undocumented immigrants and allows local law enforcement officials to question a person's immigration status during a routine stop. It also punishes officials who do not cooperate with federal immigration laws.