The Texas Attorney General's Office has filed a lawsuit in defense of the state's new anti-sanctuary city bill.
The lawsuit asks the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to uphold the constitutionality of Senate Bill 4 -- a measure which bans sanctuary cities and requires local and county governments to obey immigration law and detainer requests.
“SB 4 guarantees cooperation among federal, state and local law enforcement to protect Texans," Attorney General's Office said in a statement Monday. "Unfortunately, some municipalities and law enforcement agencies are unwilling to cooperate with the federal government and claim that SB 4 is unconstitutional.”
The lawsuit was filed to support law-enforcement agencies empowered to detain people under the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) federal detainer program.
“Governments throughout Texas have a clear duty to continue holding undocumented and suspected criminal aliens pursuant to ICE detainers,” the AG's Office stated Monday. “This is a public safety issue that requires swift resolution. If a Texas sheriff or other law enforcement authority cannot lawfully honor an ICE detainer, dangerous people will slip through the cracks of the justice system and back into our communities."