Texas has just won the second (procedural) round in the fight over the state Legislature’s attempt to punish cities that implement sanctuary policies.
A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily stayed on Monday key portions of the injunction issued in September by a federal judge in San Antonio that prevented the state from implementing major parts of the law.
As explained here, the 2017 statute applies to illegal aliens arrested or otherwise lawfully detained by local law enforcement.
The core parts of the law ban Texas cities from prohibiting or “materially limit[ing]” local law enforcement from:
- Notifying federal immigration officials that an illegal alien has been arrested.
- Cooperating with immigration authorities (including honoring detainer warrants on illegal aliens issued by federal authorities).
- Allowing federal immigration officers to enter local jails to conduct investigations of criminal illegal aliens.
The lower court federal judge had enjoined Texas from implementing the second and third provisions. However, the 5th Circuit issued a stay of that portion of the injunction.
Holding that Texas was likely to succeed on the merits of those two provisions, the 5th Circuit lifted the injunction until the appeals court has a chance to consider the merits of the case. Otherwise, the “state necessarily suffers the irreparable harms of denying the public interest in the enforcement of its laws.”
Prior case law holds that when it is a state appealing, the state’s “interest and harm merges with that of the public.”
According to the appeals court, the lower court judge misinterpreted federal law when he enjoined the Texas provision on cooperation and assistance with federal immigration authorities. The statute he cited, 8 U.S.C. §1357(g), actually “provides for such assistance.”
So Texas can “prohibit” local jurisdictions from engaging in such behavior, although the injunction remains in place on the phrase “materially limits” because that phrase needs “clarifying.” But being able to “prohibit” gives Texas what it needs in order to stop these sanctuary policies.
The appeals court also threw out the injunction on the section of the Texas law that requires local law enforcement to “comply with, honor, and fulfill” any immigration detainer request issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The 5th Circuit panel noted that local jurisdictions would not have to comply with a detainer request if the detainee “provide[s] proof” of lawful immigration status. Further, unlike the view of the lower court judge, this provision of the Texas law only “mandates that local agencies cooperate according to existing ICE detainer practice and law.”
This means that the most important provisions of the Texas statute that are intended to stop sanctuary policies from being implemented locally are still in force, and will remain in force until the 5th Circuit issues a decision on the merits.
That is vital to the public safety of the citizens of Texas. Sanctuary policies create sanctuaries for criminals.
According to PJ Media, an unreleased internal report from the Texas Department of Public Safety revealed that from 2008 to 2014, criminal aliens committed over 600,000 crimes in the state, including almost 3,000 murders.
Yet cities like Dallas and Austin, which are among the challengers in this litigation, are telling their residents that they would rather release criminal illegal aliens who have been convicted of crimes such as assault, burglary, sexual assault, theft, and even homicide into their local communities (where they can victimize even more people) than call federal immigration authorities so that they can be picked up and deported.
As Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said, “Enforcing immigration law helps prevent dangerous criminals from being released into Texas communities.”
We can only hope the 5th Circuit realizes this when issuing its final decision on this Texas law.
From - The Daily Signal - by Hans von Spakovsky
Repeal Ammendment of 1913 changing the Constitution controlling the U.S. SENATE #XVII over the judicial system. Ie TX
Just curious. What gives these renegade Federal Judges the idea that their political beliefs outweigh the established provisions of the Constitution? We’re seeing these “activist” judges sticking their Left-side-of-the-boat-only oars into waters they don’t belong in.
How did anyone who seemingly has so little idea of their own true power get appointed to such a critical post?
Really, are those who appoint these clowns that ignorant of who and what they really are? Or, as is more likely, is there something far more sinister at work here?
Well, I guess I’ll answer my own question this way – I’ve been screaming the warning that the nation was being forced to the “Left” little by little for the past 40 years. All I got for my efforts was insulted and laughed at and told over and over “it can’t happen here”.
So here we are.
Frankly, I AM LAUGHING NOW. Laughing at all of those people who are running in circles screaming and wildly waving their arms in new found alarm. The “deep state” already all but owns this country.
But heck, ignore it and get back to the soaps and football boards. Oh, wait …… they own football now too. And basketball. And movies. And TV. And the news media. And our schools. And virtually all of the courts. And, one other little thing – BOTH political parties.
But, no, no …. it can’t happen here. Right?
Yeah, I always laugh when someone says “It can’t happen here”. If we repeat all the same mistakes that others countries did that resulted in their becoming socialist **llholes, there is nothing to prevent us from experiencing the exact same fate. There is no “magical forcefield” surrounding our country to prevent us from the consequences of our own bad and stupid decisions or ignorance of history.
The judge didn’t “misinterpret” the law, he willfully tried to twist it into something he wanted and completely ignored the law. He should be impeached! He’s a San Antonio liberal, Mexican judge that the sanctuary city supporters purposely got this case in front of, because they knew he would find in their favor. Judge shopping shouldn’t be allowed, and he should be thrown out of office!
I think I should move to TX
KJS, just be aware,Texas is not what it used to be. Progressive influence is alive and well in our State house, just not in total control as of now. Only tomorrow will tell. But welcome, should you arrive. Just do not be too surprised.
Although there are too many so-called Federal laws on the books and more added over time, and most crimes were once States based, it now seems most everything has been taken over by the Feds. However, immigration and migration have since 1808 been the purview of the general government.
So, the next question is why appellate or Circuit are being involved? Article III, Section 2, paragraph 2 of the Constitution states explicitly that “those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction.
And so long as funding to accomplish oversight for Fed Law is delivered, States and their sub-governing bodies should comply. Of course, unfunded demands should be resisted always.
Once, fair was fair. Maybe those times are past, but our Founding Document addressed most things needed then and now. Why have we allowed our government to stray from the tenets that first made America great?
This case should be the supreme Court’s issue and not even be addressed by those “lower” courts.
Geez, I’m just looking for an explanation as to why white people want to give away all their stuff to brown people. They have absolutely nothing in common with these law breaking, free loading, illegal aliens. Your comment makes my head spin.
I’ll take a shot at this, if you don’t mind. The politicians and judges who are advocating for the creation of sanctuary cities and open borders are NOT talking about them personally giving anything to these illegal aliens. They will not give one penny of their own money or property to provide this never-ending flow of “free stuff” to the illegals feeding off this country. They are talking about forcing YOU, ME and the rest of the average citizens in this country having to foot the bill for their largess. Does that clarify things?
So true, PaulE, and by accomodating those lobbyist working for business that employ those visitors from afar, the polititions reap rewards they could never expect by serving the public.
Paul
No you guys, Im just speaking in my layman way that I speak. Have you seen what illegal immigration has done to Europe. They trample farmers fields, defecate and urinate on public sidewalks, in public swimming pools, they love to fondle white girls, oh i don’t need to go on here Paul, I’m sure your aware of whats going on there.
When i talk about white people giving all their stuff to brown people, I can’t believe I have to explain this to you, you of all people, well I thought you’d get the metaphor. White people ARE giving away all their stuff to brown people. They’re giving away huge amounts of $$$, they’re giving away their security, their education, even their identity. I just went for a 5 mile walk with my dog, in the city, gosh, trash in the streets, big screen tvs and couches on the sidewalks,graffiti on all the fences and sidewalks,broken down unregistered vehicles. Ive been doing these walks for many years, yes with more then one dog, and its never been like this before. Never. This is a good city I live in, its just almost not like America any more.
And the advocators are personally giving away their wonderful American way of life. Heck, you get a new bed? Just throw the old one out on the street. Its now ok to do that.
So Paul I don’t want to offend you, or start an ongoing battle of wits with you. I could never compete with you on an intellectual basis. You speak to hundreds of young people, Ive had hundreds of young people work for me.
We’re from different ends of the spectrum, but we’re not so much different. I wish you would understand where I’m coming from here. We’re going to be swallowed alive here.
I think a guy like you, as smart as you are, would see this. It all starts with the whites giving away all their stuff.
I just saw a fox poll where 85% of respondents favorerd a path to citizenship for illegal aliens. Thats EXACTLY what im talking about when I say white people are giving away their stuff.
Thats incredible, 85%!!
Ivan,
You are of course correct that immigration policy has been the sole purview of the federal government since the early history of our country. That has also been positively affirmed by the Supreme Court. So of course the lower federal appeals courts of this country have no legitimate authority under our constitution to over-ride or contradict the current federal law in this area. There is simply no gray area for the federal appeals courts to legitimately exploit.
What we have going on is simply a number of liberal judges, that have been appointed by both Progressive Democrat and Republican Presidents over the last 25 years to the federal appeal court benches around the country, using their authority to attempt to circumvent existing immigration laws in order to promote the progressive agenda they cannot get through Congress.
If you sit down and explain to most people the negative economic impact upon lower skilled American workers and how the whole Open Borders / One World Government agenda serves no real purpose except to perpetuate suppressed wages in this economic class of workers and to cultivate a permanent dependency class wedded to government assistance, most people can understand that. You cannot continually increase the amount of low-skilled, low educated workers flowing into this country and expect there will be any incentive for employers of that type of worker to be compelled to offer higher wages. Why would they? The supply of readily available low-skilled, low-educated workers in an Open Borders society is theoretically limited only by how fast the illegal aliens can get into our country. So the American citizen, who fits the profile of the low-skilled, low-education worker, is constantly competing and usually losing to illegals who will always be willing to work for less. That in turn ultimately drives most of these particular American citizens to exactly where the Democrats want them: The unemployment or welfare roles where they become part of the core Democrat voting base. After all, the Democrats are always promising stuff like the $15 minimum wage, free college, free this and that to compensate for our “unfair economy and country”. Of course the Democrats created the problem for the in the first place with their various policies, which of course they never, ever mention.
To understand your point completely as to low skilled migration from beyound our borders and its empact still does not excuse all those lawyers in Congress and all the lawyers in every State house continuing to allow the lower courts to get involved, nor does it excuse the voting public’s ignorance of their malfeasance. So as to continue informing them of the lawful process will continue to be the goal so long as this forum remains available. You cannot advocate for the law should you not understand the law. Many who do know should continue to apply pressure on leadership, both at the State and the Federal level.
You are quite correct that the pretense being used by the left, of championing open borders and an unending inflow of illegal, unskilled and uneducated aliens into this country, does not excuse the inexcusable response we’ve seen from so much of Congress, the judiciary and various levels of state and local governments around the country. It simply highlights the depth of corruption and infiltration by the left that exists in our government from top to bottom. The silence from so many so-called RINO’s in Congress and elsewhere on this issue, simply demonstrates that many of them share the values of the left as well. After all, the so-called Progressives (Socialists and Communists) have been burrowing into our government for over a 100 years now and have nudging the country bit by bit leftward all that time.
After all, the entire issue of sanctuary cities and open borders is merely a means to an end for the left. A way to: 1) change the fundamental direction of the country by importing millions of low skill, low educated or completely illiterate people, who are much more accepting of the type of the type of socialistic government the left wants to achieve here because most of the countries these illegals come from are already socialist and 2) since most states DO NOT have a consistent voter ID used for all elections, this creates a massive and growing pool of willing voters, all illegal of course, that can be leveraged by the left to expedite the changes they desire. The illegal aliens are simply a useful tool the left is employing to help achieve their end game. It is not like the left cares any more about these people beyond the number of votes they can give the Democrat Party in several states. It also aids the left by weakening us economically through the constant drain of resources that have to be diverted to support the growing numbers of illegals. Anything that helps destabilize the current system is viewed as a positive by the left, as it helps promotes discord in the citizenry.
As to the ignorance of most of the public, that is an issue that has been carefully cultivated for decades now in this country. People are not born apathetic or inherently unable to learn or understand. It is a learned response through careful conditioning. Why do you think every socialist and communist government has always put controlling the education process from an early age as one of the top three priority items for gaining and retaining power. Even most of the Muslim majority countries leverage the public education system in their countries to create blind devotion to Islam and Sharia Law early on. The objective of any autocratic / dictatorial regime is always to breed any sort of critical thinking out of the public via the education process and substitute blind allegiance and comformity to the authority figure(s) the government wants in its place.
At this point, it is not surprising that so much of the public is so completely clueless as to what is going on around them. It is to be expected after how long the left has been degrading our education system in this country. I see the results every day in the young people I speak with. Only a small minority make it through the public education indoctrination process still able to think critically and understand the issues around them. They are still salvageable. By the time most people are in their late twenties and beyond, their minds are set. If they’re a raging liberal, blaming society and the world for all their woes and worshipping socialism or communism, that is likely what they’ll remain the rest of their lives. Case in point, many of the far left hippies of the 60’s grew up to be just like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Maxine Waters. Old socialists and communists. So I usually don’t bother trying to educate any “progressive” over the age of 40. It is a fundamental waste of time and effort. Their mental views are set for life by that point and they are not open to a honest discussion on pretty much anything.
To be simple and blunt, if we import those serfs who have never known liberty, we don’t need to spend the 50 to 100 years teaching them to be serfs as we have been doing with our own.
Yahoo!!!! A little bit of sanity going on here. Never in a million years will I understand why people defend illegal immigrants, let alone criminal illegals. Obviously, there’s a huge influx of white people defending this sanctuary thing. I cannot wrap my head around this. What cause could they possibly have. Its a white people thing, because if they didn’t support sanctuary , it wouldnt exist. Its that simple. What do they have to gain? My problem is, I fail to understand any and all explanations. What do city councils do when they meet? Take some kind of pill, wait for ten minutes and then vote against their constituents (sp?) AND please, leave communism out of oi.
Short answer? Globalists. They want to ERASE all borders between nations. They want 3rd world indigents to have free access to welfare benefits of wealthier and more industrious communities. They want an overriding one world government. In the long run, they want us to be EQUALLY poor and EQUALLY miserable while the “Elites” get to have all the luxuries they can imagine. Witness the Politburo of USSR that had enormous privileges and access to “dachas” out in the country.
Ok look, we’re talking about city counsels in rural areas in Texas! Seriously, if you were to ask these individuals (counsel members) what the difference, or better yet, the definitions of communism, capitalism, and socialism were, they’d be a stuttering bunch of fools.
True, Brian, and communism coming to a State near you, or one near and dear to you.
Ignorance soon will no longer be bliss, as more bleeding of our country by dependancy accelorates.
Somewhere at some time the debt will exceed lenders willingness to continue supporting government spending and all excess will need be supplied by borrowing by the Federal Reserve, diluting the dollar’s value through creating more and more dollars.
If do not stop this foolishness of allowing all and anyone in we might as well just hang it all up.
While I know it happens, I find it hard to imagine any court taking sides against federal law of any kind including immigration laws when those laws have never been overturned and are legal in every way. Sanctuary policy at the state or local level is knowingly refusing to abide by federal law, and any court that rules in favor of that are also ignoring accepted law. This is once again an issue of activist courts ruling against the law as written and intended when passed in favor of what they wish it were, and it’s wrong. The outcome is that the law becomes meaningless as written and can be twisted to suit a very subjective purpose. It’s borderline anarchy. It must be opposed by any thinking person if we are to remain a nation of law not of men. I applaud this latest ruling as a single battle won but the war rages on.
It is so disappointing to see the sanctuary city advocates
In government and the courts
Willingly and deliberately
Undermine the law and the wellbeing and safety of the US citizen.