Boelter pleads guilty in lawmaker attacks, agrees to two life sentences

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Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill into law that lets police ask during routine stops whether someone is in the country legally and threatens sheriffs and police chiefs with jail if they don't cooperate with federal immigration agents.

The timing of the signing caught Democratic lawmakers off guard.

Abbott signed the bill Sunday night during a Facebook Live event with no advance public warning.

He signed the measure four days after both chambers of the Legislature approved it. The new law goes into effect Sept. 1.

The term "sanctuary city" has no legal definition, and Texas doesn't currently have any cities that have formally declared themselves sanctuaries for immigrants.

Republicans want local police to help federal immigration agents crack down on criminal suspects in the U.S. illegally.

Opponents of the law were quick to condemn the signing.


Thomas Saenz, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, told the 

 that the law was a "colossal blunder" and that the lawmakers who championed it were small-hearted.


Protests over the bill have been intense for months. Last week, protesters staged a sit-in at a state building where some of the governor's staff works.

Politics and Government News

Doreen McCallister

Author

The law, effective Sept. 1, allows police to ask during routine stops if someone is in the country legally and threatens sheriffs with jail if they don't cooperate with immigration agents.

Texas governor signs measure targeting 'sanctuary cities'

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