SAN ANTONIO – A panel of judges in New Orleans heard its first arguments Friday over the controversial so-called sanctuary cities law, often called Senate Bill 4.
A veteran of many court battles, Luis Vera, LULAC national general counsel, said Friday’s hearing before a three-judge federal panel in New Orleans was “very, very, very tough” and “hyper-technical.”
The state of Texas was joined by attorneys with the U.S. Justice Department in asking that a preliminary injunction, which was granted last month by federal Judge Orlando Garcia in San Antonio, be lifted.
The injunction put the state’s so-called sanctuary cities law on hold.
Along with other plaintiffs, the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, is representing the first city to challenge Senate Bill 4, the South Texas town of El Cenizo, the state’s oldest and smallest sanctuary city.
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or MALDEF, is representing the city of San Antonio, among others.
Attorneys with MALDEF and the American Civil Liberties Union argued against lifting the preliminary injunction during the hearing, which lasted less than two hours.
Vera, who was in the courtroom, said he believes the judges were being especially thorough given the likelihood the case will end up before the highest court in the land. He said the Fifth Circuit is considered one the nation’s most conservative appeals courts.
“So the Supreme Court is going to be very leery to overturn anything that the Fifth Circuit does,” Vera said. “They want to get it right.”
Vera said in questioning the attorneys challenging the injunction, it seemed they homed in on immigration detainers for jail inmates in the country illegally.
In regard to the plaintiffs, Vera said the judges questioned the penalties for law enforcement officers who don’t ask for proof of legal status.
Vera said he expects a decision soon, since there is a full hearing on the merits set for early November. He said despite the grilling by the three-judge panel, “We feel good.”
In a statement, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said, “We delivered a strong case for allowing Senate Bill 4 to take effect, pending our appeal, because of the far-reaching public safety consequences of the lower court order.”