Freshman state Sen. José Rodríguez, D-El Paso, filed SB 600 on Friday, which would prevent law enforcement from asking the immigration status or nationality of a witness to or victim of a crime “except as necessary to investigate the offense.”
Rodríguez is one one of several outspoken Democrats who believe Gov. Rick Perry’s call to abolish “sanctuary city” policies in Texas would discourage potential witnesses from cooperating with law enforcement.
“Cooperation by witnesses and victims with law enforcement is essential for El Paso and communities across the state to remain safe,” a Rodríguez aide said in a statement. “If they fear they may be jailed, however, witnesses and victims will be less likely to work with law enforcement.”
The bill doesn’t have a prayer of getting anywhere – I’ll be surprised if it even gets a committee hearing – but you can only push back so far on a narrative without having your own story to tell. Good for Sen. Rodriguez for showing what the “sanctuary cities” baloney is all about.
Huzzah!
The Dems need to do more pushing back like this, filing bills to better define what they are for.
I seldom vote Democrat and think this is a great bill. I can’t think of a good reason for local law enforcement to check the immigration status of a person who hasn’t been arrested and booked in jail.