{"id":11114,"date":"2015-12-07T17:07:25","date_gmt":"2015-12-07T22:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=11114"},"modified":"2018-12-28T13:54:05","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T18:54:05","slug":"texas-continues-fight-against-sanctuary-cities-into-next-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2015\/12\/07\/texas-continues-fight-against-sanctuary-cities-into-next-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Continues Fight Against Sanctuary Cities into Next Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"4074366518_f3fde4487c_o\"<\/a>Though out of session until 2017, the Texas Legislature is showing that it is not out of touch with the majority of Americans who favor putting an end to sanctuary cities.<\/p>\n

This past summer, according to a Rasmussen poll, 62 percent of likely U.S. voters<\/a> said they think the U.S. Justice Department should take legal action against cities that provide sanctuary for illegal immigrants.\u00a0 Similarly, 58 percent said they believe the federal government should cut off funds to cities that provide sanctuary for illegal immigrants.<\/p>\n

Recognizing that people have had enough of the problems associated with sanctuary cities, the Texas Legislature is examining the issue closely this month in hearings that are sure to be the first of many as it investigates priority policy matters for the next legislative session.<\/p>\n

State Senator Brian Birdwell (R), who chairs the Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs & Military Installations\u00a0 Subcommittee on Border Security, held a hearing December 3 to examine the critical issue of sanctuary cities.\u00a0 \u00a0Sitting in on the hearing was State Senator Charles Perry (R), who lost a battle in the Senate earlier this year over his bill<\/a> prohibiting sanctuary policies.<\/p>\n

Demonstrating his determination on this issue, Senator Perry asked Deputy Attorney General Brantley\u00a0Starr, who testified before the Subcommittee, whether such a bill cutting funding to sanctuary cities would be permissible<\/a>.\u00a0 \u201cIs there any reason why a state cannot withhold funding from those individual entities that have indicated [they are opposed]by testifying against the legislation that would prohibit them from having internal policies contrary to what we\u2019re trying to achieve?\u201d Mr. Starr replied that nothing under Texas law prohibits the funds from being withheld,\u00a0and Senator Perry urged his colleagues to seek guidance from the Legislative Budget Board or the state comptroller\u2019s office on the matter.<\/p>\n

Such perseverance from the Texas Senate is in addition to a hearing next week the Texas House of Representatives\u2019 Committee on State Affairs is hosting Thursday on sanctuary policies, as well as Governor Greg Abbott\u2019s plan<\/a> to strip certain state grants from law enforcement agencies in Texas that refuse to honor ICE detainer requests.<\/p>\n

Sanctuary policies, which bar state or local officials, including law enforcement, from asking lawfully stopped or detained individuals about their immigration status and reporting or otherwise cooperating with federal immigration officers, undoubtedly result in increased illegal alien populations.\u00a0 As one of six states accounting for 60 percent of the country\u2019s illegal alien population, Texas is right to be concerned about the growing problem of sanctuary cities.\u00a0 To be sure, Texas is home to an estimated 1.8 million illegal aliens as of 2012, which cost Texans an estimated $12 billion in 2013<\/a> in the form of educational, healthcare, welfare, and law enforcement resources.<\/p>\n

More than just draining resources, illegal immigration, driven in part by sanctuary policies, contribute to crime.\u00a0 According to recently released Texas Department of Public Safety criminal alien arrest records:<\/p>\n