Travis County Judicial System Prepares for Enforcement (or Not) of SB 4
Adeola Ogunkeyede, Travis County’s chief public defender, is asking the county’s judges to consider how they would respond to a frightening prospect: the possibility that federal courts approve Texas’ anti-immigrant law, Senate Bill 4.
“I don’t know that anything surprises me anymore,” Ogunkeyede said. “Certainly nothing out of the Supreme Court.” However, SB 4 does not require judges to deport people – they may exercise discretion, Ogunkeyede said. On Feb. 29, she asked the county’s judges to take advantage of that power. “We write to urge the magistrate judges of Travis County not to exercise their discretionary power to order people to leave the United States under this new law,” the letter stated.
Aside from Ogunkeyede, other actors in the local judicial system are expressing opposition to SB 4. After the Supreme Court allowed the law to go into effect, the Austin Police Departmentsaying that its officers would be unlikely to make warrantless arrests under it. “APD respects and serves the whole Austin community,” the statement read. “It is vital for the community to understand that APD will continue to follow its policies and state law that prohibit racial profiling.
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