As Texas SB 4 law debate rages, El Paso law enforcement stuck in the middle
El Paso law enforcement is stuck in the middle of the ongoing legal argument over SB 4, the controversial Texas state law authorizing local police to arrest and deport suspected undocumented immigrants, officials said.
The implementation of the immigration law pushed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was on hold as of Wednesday morning as arguments continued in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Senate Bill 4 would allow police to arrest people accused of illegally crossing the state's southern border outside of a port of entry. They would go before a magistrate judge's who could order them to return to Mexico or face prosecution, with possible penalties ranging from a Class A misdemeanor to a second-degree felony.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office and the El Paso Police Department would not make enforcing SB 4 a priority, El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser and sheriff officials said.
"The ruling (Tuesday) exemplifies the complexities of this issue by the court’s direction to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals," Leeser said in a statement. "While the city of El Paso will always follow state law, it is no secret that our police department is short staffed. Our law enforcement responses are always priority-driven, and our number one priority has and will continue to be public health and safety, not enforcing immigration law."
Previously: Supreme Court lifts hold on law letting police arrest migrants who illegally enter US
Supporters of SB 4 say the law is necessary to help stop the continuing immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Opponents contend that Texas is overreaching into federal jurisdiction and the law is born out of xenophobia with the potential for racial profiling, damaging trust between local police and residents, burdening county jails and passing the cost to local taxpayers.
"Trying to simplify complex immigration law with one state law is really baffling," Cmrd. Ryan Urrutia, who heads the patrol division of the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, said at a news conference Wednesday morning outside sheriff's headquarters.
"It’s not the fix. This law definitely came into affect out of frustration between the state and the federal government and now it’s thrown law enforcement in the middle," Urrutia said.
The Sheriff's Office would have to come up with training plan for its officers if law comes into effect, he said, adding that while deputies would not be told not to enforce the law, it would not be a priority.
Urrutia reiterated the same concerns about SB 4's impact on community trust, jail capacity and inmate-related financial costs previously aired by Sheriff Richard Wiles after the law was approved in November by the Republican-held Texas Legislature.
On Wednesday, Wiles was in meetings regarding SB 4 and other matters and wasn't available for comment, a sheriff's spokesperson said.
SB 4 had been scheduled to take effect March 5, but its implementation was delayed after a lawsuit challenging the law on constitutional grounds was filed against Texas by the U.S. Justice Department and civil rights groups. The lawsuit includes El Paso County and Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, which provides legal representation to asylum-seekers and other immigrants in El Paso.
SB 4 could impact El Paso County jails, officials say
The El Paso County Jail system could see an influx of undocumented migrants arrested under SB 4 by the Texas Department of Public Safety, which under Operation Lone Star has increasingly been involved in border enforcement efforts, sheriff officials said.
More: Texas DPS busts El Paso cartel cell tied to firearms seizure, border migrant smuggling
To make room, the jail would have to reduce the number of federal inmates it is contracted to house to accommodate state inmates it is mandated to take in. The loss of federal inmates would be a financial hit for the county.
It costs the county about $87 a day to house an inmate and the federal contract pays about $100 a day, Urrutia said. There is no money assigned to SB 4 that would reimburse counties for enforcement or incarceration, he added.
No-vacancy at the jail?
In Texas, county jails are run by the local sheriff's office. The El Paso County jail system has a total capacity for up to 2,800 inmates at the Downtown jail and the Jail Annex on the far East Side.
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In a worst-case scenario, the jails could become full, forcing them stop accepting new inmates, sheriff officials said.
"It could put us in a situation where we could see jail closures because we would be at capacity," Urrutia said. "Jail closures happened back in the ‘90s. We don’t want that to happen again. We would pretty much book people and release them on a summons."
The no-vacancy jail closures were basically resolved with the opening of the 1,880-bed Jail Annex in 1997. The Downtown jail is currently operating under its 1,000-inmate capacity because of renovations taking place.
Urrutia was asked by a reporter what the solution was to the immigration crisis.
"There needs to be a bipartisan effort in Washington that comes up with immigration reform that has been discussed over and over and over and that’s what needs to happen," Urrutia responded. "Because now, we are seeing this placed on local law enforcement and just a few years ago there was a cry that law enforcement is being asked to do too much and here we are again being asked to do this."
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Amid Texas SB 4 debate, El Paso law enforcement stuck in the middle
