Bishops object to House version of SB4, anti-sanctuary city bill

The House State Affairs Committee considered SB4 today, and Bishop Joe Vasquez testified against the bill. As passed by the Senate, two parts of the bill are particularly objectionable: (1) the bill does not prioritize criminal offenders for detention and deportation, and (2) the bill allows local law enforcement to stop individuals in public and inquire about their immigration status. Chairman Charlie Geren has now amended the bill to address the second point. We are grateful for this improvement and strongly urge him to also amend the bill to prioritize criminal offenders for detention and deportation. We hope that this change will be made. However, the bill is still early in the process, and changes could also make the bill worse. We will continue work on this issue; please see our complete bill position page for other bills on which we are working.