A San Antonio federal judge has blocked the implementation of Texas’ so-called “sanctuary cities,” law which would have allowed local police to check the immigration status of detainees and imposed criminal penalties on local officials who refuse to cooperate in efforts to remove people from the country.
Orlando Garcia, chief judge of the Western District of Texas, granted a temporary injunction requested by several of Texas’ largest cities including Houston, Dallas and Austin that are opposed to the controversial law. He ruled that the cities are likely to succeed on their Fourth Amendment challenges to Senate Bill 4, which was signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in May and was set to go into effect on Friday.
