Texas Law SB4 has caused many arguments in court this week. The Supreme Court said it could be used on Tuesday, but another court stopped it again.
Even though the law is stopped for now, many people in North Texas met in Dallas on Sunday to show they don’t like it. They say the law unfairly targets Latino and immigrant communities.
One person at the protest said, “It’s not right; I think that we can’t go anywhere without feeling a little scared that a cop will pull up and be like, ‘Hey, where’s your papers.”
Today, a lot of people gathered in Dallas to march against SB4. This law lets police in Texas arrest and charge people they think came to the country illegally.
However, Governor Greg Abbott disagrees with those concerns. He says, “Those people who say we’re going to target Latinos, that’s completely ignorant about the people and where they’re coming from. We’re getting people from China, we’re getting people from Russia, We’re getting people from the Middle East.”
SB4 also lets judges deport or jail people, which is usually the job of federal officials.
A student from North Texas, Karyme Flores, worries about her family in Eagle Pass, a city where this law is a big deal. She’s afraid it might lead to police being unfair to people there.
She said, “You live in Eagle Pass, and you’re used to some militarization, but that comes from Border Patrol and Border and Customs, and now it can come from local and state police.”
Even though SB4 isn’t in effect right now, police are trying to understand how to use it.
Dallas Police says they’ll keep doing what they usually do until they know more about the law, and they promise not to be racially biased.
Fort Worth Police said, “Although we will always follow the law, the primary responsibility for immigration enforcement and border protection should be left to our federal and state partners.”
The protesters hope their voices will make a difference. One of them, Karla Lopez, says America was built by immigrants like them who came here for a better life.
(Source: CBS)
