Eddie Rodriguez
The court allowed a key provision of the law to take effect in September.
Austin, Texas – Today, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the challenge against Texas Senate Bill 4, the “show me your papers”-style ban on sanctuary cities passed during the 85th Legislative Session. The court overturned U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia’s temporary injunction against the law in September.
State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez represents Texas House District 51 in Southeast Austin and serves as policy chair of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, the oldest and largest Latino legislative caucus in the nation.
State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez issued the following statement regarding the hearing on SB 4:
“The Fifth Circuit’s review is an important first legal test for SB 4, but this case could make it all the way to the Supreme Court. The road ahead is likely to be long and costly as courts rule on the merits of the law.
“In the meantime, SB 4 has been allowed to take effect and nobody is safer than before. No sanctuary city complaints have been submitted to Attorney General Paxton, but the law has had at least one important impact.
“SB 4 exposed the racial animus lurking under the surface of Republican primary politics, the elephant in the room in Texas politics. Combined with the rhetoric and actions of the Trump administration, under which millions of Americans’ lives have been transformed in a short period of time, an environment of fear, uncertainty and distrust has pervaded communities like mine. People are terrified that the government is out to get them.
“We must replace ideologues with public servants who have the courage to lead for all Texans. Otherwise, I fear that the Texas Miracle will die with our state’s respect for the Constitution.“