‘Sanctuary cities” are places where undocumented persons can interact with the government without the fear of immigration law enforcement. The raging controversy over them shows no sign of abating—the governor of Texas has just signed into law what is reported to be the nation’s strictest measure against such local government action. In New York City and other places, the efforts to implement sanctuary city status advance.1
This public policy debate has deep implications for how we attorneys conduct discovery, and how we treat undocumented persons in the courthouse. It is not clear whether New York or any other state system will ever have sanctuary courthouses, so it is foreseeable that pretrial discovery or trials will present some difficult judgement calls in the new immigration enforcement environment.
