Friday, May 13, 2011

Tx House Passes Sanctuary City Law Reform

The office of Rep Linda Harper-Brown released a statement on the passage of the Sanctuary City bill in the Texas House of Representatives:

Today the House passed HB 12, co-authored by Representative Linda Harper Brown, which ensures that law enforcement officers are not prohibited from upholding the immigration laws of our state and nation.

"As an elected officeholder, it is my responsibility to abide by the oath of office to, 'preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this state.' Prohibiting law enforcement officials to ask the immigration status of individuals has hindered the ability of officers to defend the laws of this state. I am honored to be a co-author of this responsible legislation that gives local authorities the tools needed to keep Texas families and communities safer," Representative Linda Harper Brown said.

Specifically, House Bill 12 includes language that an entity, "may not adopt a rule, order, ordinance, or policy under which the entity prohibits the enforcement of the laws of this state or federal law relating to immigrants or immigration, including the federal Immigration and Nationality Act." This means entities must allow officers to inquire into the immigration status of a person arrested or detained for the investigation of a criminal offense and allow information to be exchanged with another federal, state, or local governmental entity, such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The bill will now be sent to the Texas Senate for approval.

While President Obama enjoys mocking the GOP for insisting on border security and real immigration reform, states such as Texas are stepping up and doing the work of protecting their residents. We are a nation of laws and it is not funny, the violence on our border and in our cities by those with no legal right to be living here. It is an economic drain and it does not honor those who came here legally.

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