On May 7, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a new law (SB4), essentially allowing police to ask for immigration papers of anyone they suspect of being undocumented. Governor Abbott signed the law live on Facebook, without taking any questions from the press. At the same time, the Texas Attorney General sued Austin Councilmember, and Local Progress Board member Greg Casar and his colleagues for questioning the constitutionality of this immoral and unethical law. Read Greg's steadfast response in The New York Times. CPD affiliates, Texas Organizing Project and Workers Defense Project, have been leading the fight against SB4. Local Progress has been working to support Greg as he convenes community allies, grassroots organizations, state and legislative leaders as they launch a summer of resistance, to prevent the bill from going into effect on September 1, 2017.

Among the defendants named in the lawsuit is Sheriff Sally Hernandez of Travis County, which includes the state capitol, Austin, who said this year she would not voluntarily comply with federal requests to detain people solely on the basis of their immigration status, Austin Mayor Steve Adler, the city’s interim city manager, all of Austin’s City Council members, and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, a civil rights organization.

Local Progress has been working to support Greg as he works to convene community allies, grassroots organizations, and state legislative leaders as they launch a summer of resistance, to prevent the bill from going into effect on September 1, 2017.  They held a press conference on May 16, with over 100 people and elected officials from the state’s largest cities, including Local Progress members and Austin City Councilmembers Delia Garza and Ann Kitchen, Commissioner David Stout from El Paso, Houston Councilmember Robert Gallegos, Councilmember Ray Saldaña from San Antonio. They announced their intention to file a lawsuit and encouraged cities across the state to join with them.  

On May 17, Greg Casar was featured in the NY Times with an Op Ed talking about how Texans are fighting back against this unconstitutional and immoral state law. CPD’s communications team worked with Greg to place an op-ed in the New York Times. You can read the article here. Please take a moment to share it on social media with the hashtag #SB4ishate.