Texas lawmakers might meet in ‘sanctuary city’

As if a lot of Texas legislators needed anything to raise their ire about illegal immigration and so-called sanctuary cities, there’s a good chance their session starting in January will convene in one.

An often-cited characteristic of a sanctuary city is refusal to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement efforts to deport illegal immigrants who have been arrested on local charges.

Come January, that is likely to fit Austin — all of Travis County, in fact.

The favorite in the November race for Travis County sheriff, Democrat Sally Hernandez, says that under her administration the county jail will not hold inmates for ICE when they no longer face local charges.

ICE “detainer” requests are common — so much so that agency personnel make two trips a day to pick up Travis County inmates about to be freed. Other counties hold inmates for up to 48 hours awaiting ICE.

If Hernandez is elected and fulfills her promise, Travis County will be the first place in Texas to have a blanket policy against ICE detainers.

Her chief opponent, Republican Joe Martinez, says he would hand over only the worst offenders to ICE.

Legislators have tried before to outlaw sanctuary cities. Come January, they’ll probably try again.

This story was originally published September 1, 2016 at 5:48 PM with the headline "Texas lawmakers might meet in ‘sanctuary city’."