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The Texas Capitol building in Austin, Texas was the site of the state's debate over Sanctuary cities on Monday.
The Texas Capitol building in Austin, Texas was the site of the state's debate over Sanctuary cities on Monday.

Fight over Texas Bill SB-4 ends last of day of session in commotion

Protesters gather in the Capitol building on Monday to protest SB-4, a recent ban on sanctuary cities.

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Texas sanctuary cities aren’t going down without a fight. According to Fox News, on the last day of the regular session of Texas Legislature, protesters crowded the state capitol with chants and protest signs against Senate Bill 4, an initiative that allows police officers to request the immigrations status of any person they pull over or detain.

An occupation of the building that took place quietly at first, the activists began to shout, “Hey, hey. Ho, ho. SB-4 has got to go,” roughly a half hour into the proceedings.

Wearing shirts that read, “Lucha” and “Fight” the protesters also held banners that read, “See you in court” and “See you at the polls.”

The protests continued until the session was forced to end and protesters were ushered out of the Texas legislature peacefully.

The bill was signed into law earlier in May by Governor Greg Abbott in an effort to comply with the executive orders signed by President Donald Trump and carried out by his administration.

“What it means is that no county, no city, no governmental body in the state of Texas can adopt any policy that provides sanctuary, and second, what it means, is that law enforcement officials, such as sheriffs, are going to be required to comply with ICE detainer requests,” Abbott said on “Fox & Friends” the day after signing the bill into law.

The law not only has repercussions for city officials but also for law enforcement officers. Those who are found to resist the law or not cooperate with federal immigration agents could face fines up to $25,000 per day and jail time.

The law is unprecedented under Trump, making the Texas the first state to pass such legislation recently. Colorado had a similar bill in 2006 that outlawed sanctuary cities, but the legislation was overturned in 2013.

Texas is a part of a wave of states that have moved to ban sanctuary policies including: Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee.

SB-4 will take effect on Sept. 1, and opponents have said they will oppose the bill in court.

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