WASHINGTON — Facing threats of pulled state funding, the leaders of Texas’ biggest cities are falling in line with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s demands that their police fully cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
But there are concerns that cooperation could violate the constitutional rights of people who will be detained.
The City of Houston was the first domino to fall.
What You Need To Know
Houston, Dallas and Austin updated their rules that limited how local police could detain certain non-violent undocumented immigrants for federal immigration agents after encounters like traffic stops
Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to withhold almost $200 million in state funding to the cities if they did not change how their local police officers interact with Immigration and Customs Enforcement
At issue is whether local law enforcement can detain individuals based solely on an administrative ICE warrant
After the Houston City Council voted to allow local police to cooperate more fully with federal immigration agents, Austin and Dallas followed suit. Some civil rights groups voiced disappointment.
“This amended ordinance,” said Kirsten Budwine, a policy attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, “really muddies the waters and sets a really dangerous precedent as it pertains to state overreach into what local officials decide to do in their communities.”
Abbott threatened to withhold almost $200 million in state funding to the cities if they did not change how their local police officers interact with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
For Houston, public safety grants were at risk. Dallas would have stood to lose funding related to safety for the World Cup, set to begin later this summer. And city of Austin officials said their funding helps resources to address violence against women, youth diversion programs, and cybersecurity enhancements.
The governor demanded an end to rules that limit police from detaining certain non-violent undocumented immigrants for federal immigration agents after encounters like traffic stops.
“We believe that this is going to cause a lot of confusion around what the Fourth Amendment in the Constitution allows and will give police officers the discretion to prolong those stops past what the Constitution allows,” Budwine told Spectrum News.
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.
On social media, Abbott said, “Any argument that the newly revised Houston Police Dept. policy may violate the 4th Amendment is flat out wrong. It is in full compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court. Arguments to the contrary are just pandering to far left socialists — like the Houston judges who let murderers out of jail with easy bail only to murder again. Just stop the insanity.”
Randy Erben, an adjunct professor at the University of the Texas School of Law and former legislative director for Abbott, said how such state funding is allocated is under the governor’s authority.
“It’s within the governor’s discretion to withhold these funds if he deems it appropriate, and if there are certain conditions, he wants met before these funds are released,” Erben said. “It doesn’t deprive defendants of a Fourth Amendment claim or any other constitutional law claim against the city that that holds them too long or engages in reasonable searches or seizures.”
At issue is whether local law enforcement can detain individuals based solely on an administrative ICE warrant, which is civil and not a criminal warrant issued by a judge.
“You want to keep them longer, arrest them, but you arrest someone for a crime, and that’s not what these administrative warrants are for, which is why there is lack of clarity right now,” said David Kwok, an associate professor at the University of Houston Law Center. “The Supreme Court hasn’t directly answered what the proper procedure is in this situation.”
The local leaders of Houston, Dallas and Austin say they are not in the business of immigration enforcement, but they are trying to comply with state and federal laws while ensuring public safety.
“The newly amended General Orders take into account the practicality and reality of policing in Austin while also satisfying some of the concerns raised by the governor’s office,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said in a statement.
“I have been clear from day one that we are not immigration enforcement, and that has not changed: our role is public safety. However, we have the responsibility to operate fully within the law and ensure compliance with our legal requirements,” Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux said in a statement.