By Allan Wall
10/22/2017
The state of Texas is trying to crack down on so-called sanctuary cities, and so of course the government of Mexico is trying to stop Texas.From an article on the Dallas News:
The government of Mexico has aligned itself with municipalities suing the state of Texas over a new law that, if implemented, would crack down on sanctuary cities, arguing that the state’s action hurts Mexico’s relationship with Washington.Translation: The Texas law could make it harder for Mexico to colonize the United States.Mexico joins legal fight against Texas' sanctuary city crackdown
Dallas News, October 21, 2017
Lawyers for the Mexican government argue that Texas Senate Bill 4 creates unnecessary tension in relations between Mexico and the United States. It forces Mexico to treat Texas differently from other states and interferes with diplomatic interests and ongoing negotiations on a range of bilateral matters, from trade to security. "Given the importance of the international relationship between the U.S. and Mexico, it is essential that Mexico be able to approach its discussions with one consistent negotiating partner rather than having to enter into 50 different negotiations with each state regarding the type and extent of immigration enforcement that will occur in that state," the Mexican government wrote in an amicus brief filed late Thursday night [October 19th].
No states are supposed to have sanctuary cities. And Attorney General Sessions is (hopefully) gearing up to really take this issue on at the federal level.
Once again, there are federal judges at the bottom of this:
In August, a federal judge in San Antonio temporarily halted the implementation of the state law that punishes officials who don’t honor requests by immigration authorities to detain people suspected of being in the country illegally. But the state appealed and, last month, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans allowed Texas officials to implement part of the law while awaiting a full hearing on the appeal in November.What was the law?
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed the law in May. It would prevent municipalities from adopting their own policies to limit enforcement of immigration laws and empowers police officers to question people about their immigration status when they are detained. Civil rights activists in Texas and around the country say the law will promote racial profiling. Some call it the "show your papers" law.Behind the talk about “civil rights” and “racial profiling”, the real motivation is that the law’s critics don’t want our immigration laws enforced.
Mexico is the third-largest U.S. trading partner and a crucial ally in a wide range of security, migration and trade issues. The two sides are in heated negotiations over NAFTA, the trade agreement that President Donald Trump has threatened to exit if the United States, Mexico and Canada can’t work out a better deal for the United States. The Mexican government says the Texas law will only make it harder to reach an agreement on this and other diplomatic matters between the two countries.What a bizarre argument. A rational court would just toss it out.
Leon Fresco, a lawyer representing the government of Mexico, argues in the brief that SB-4 has already harmed the relationship between Mexico and the United States. Mexican consulate officials in Texas have been flooded with calls from scared Mexican nationals. Fears are so widespread that Mexican nationals were afraid to seek government assistance during Hurricane Harvey. "The reason immigration law is meant to be federal is because when 50 states pass 50 different laws, this negatively impacts foreign policy in ways that the federal government is unable to control," Fresco said.Exactly, states shouldn’t pass their own immigration law. And municipalities shouldn’t make their own immigration law, which is just what they’ve done by refusing to enforce federal immigration law. So this argument has it backwards.
At the federal level, AG Sessions needs to enact an aggressive policy to crack down on sanctuary cities. Meanwhile, Texas is doing what it can, so Mexico wants to stop that.
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