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New York, NY, August 31, 2017 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today lauded a decision from a federal judge in Texas halting key provisions of SB 4, one of the worst anti-immigrant laws enacted anywhere in the country.
The law would have given local law enforcement the authority to ask about a person’s immigration status during routine interactions, such as a traffic stops, and local law enforcement officials could have been fined or removed from office if they did not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. It had been scheduled to go into effect on September 1.
“This decision is a victory for immigrants, for families in Texas, and for all who care about civil rights and human dignity,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “As people struggle to recover from the devastations of Hurricane Harvey, immigrant communities today will have one less thing to worry about. We applaud the Texas communities and local leaders who stood against this unconscionable bill.
“Immigration enforcement does not belong in the hands of local law enforcement,” Mr. Greenblatt added. “If it had been allowed to go into effect, SB4 would have irreparably damaged trust between law enforcement and the immigrant communities they serve. We are heartened to see that the judge recognized these truths, stating explicitly that SB 4 would ‘erode public trust and make many communities less safe.’ We are confident that the judiciary will continue to see this hateful law for what it is: an unconstitutional and unjust attack on immigrants that must be struck down.”
ADL filed a brief urging the court to issue a preliminary injunction. The law firm DiNovo Price Ellwanger LLP prepared the brief on behalf of ADL.