Gov. Rick Perry kicked off the 82nd Legislature by addressing an issue he deemed an emergency: "sanctuary cities."
Katherine Cesinger, press secretary for the Governor, said sanctuary cities are cities that tie the hands of law enforcement by prohibiting them from questioning someone's legal status during the course of a lawful encounter.
"We must abolish sanctuary city rules in this state," Perry told legislators Tuesday. "Although immigration laws and their enforcement are the responsibilities of the federal government, we cannot compound their failure by preventing Texas peace officers from doing their jobs."
The main difference between Perry's proposed legislation and the Arizona law is the Arizona law would require law enforcement to question immigration status, whereas Perry's proposed legislation would leave the decision to check someone's immigration at the discretion of law enforcement personnel...
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