Judge Dismisses Some Of Ken Paxton’s ‘Sanctuary City’ Lawsuit Against San Antonio

San Antonio police released 12 Guatemalan migrants thought to be in the country illegally in 2017. But that happened before the state’s law against so-called sanctuary cities fully went into effect.

By Rhonda Fanning & Terri LangfordJuly 12, 2019 7:04 am, , , ,

A district judge in Travis County has dismissed substantial parts of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against the city of San Antonio. Paxton alleged the city violated state law by not involving federal immigration officials and turning over migrants thought to be in the country illegally. 

In 2017, San Antonio police released 12 Guatemalan migrants found in a trailer there. But Joey Palacios, a reporter for Texas Public Radio in San Antonio, says this happened before the anti- “sanctuary cities” law – which started as the controversial Senate Bill 4 – went fully into effect. That’s why the court dismissed some of Paxton’s claims.  

“A few days before SB 4 was supposed to go into effect in 2017, a federal judge here in San Antonio enjoined parts of SB 4, so that kept the bulk of the law from going into effect,” Palacios says. 

What you’ll hear in this segment:

– What happened to the Guatemalan migrants after they were released

– How the incident’s timing protected the San Antonio Police Department

– What will happen to the attorney general’s lawsuit

 

Written by Hayden Baggett.