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Harris County, TX, March 20, 2024, Judge Lina Hidalgo issued the following statement today about SB 4:

“I’m an immigrant myself and I lead a massive county where almost 25 percent of the population are immigrants. Under SB 4, it’s conceivable that an anti-immigrant officer could arrest someone for little more than them “looking like an immigrant.” That possibility alone makes our community nervous, and with good reason. I’ll be the first to say that our immigration system and border security have major challenges. There is an opportunity to fix these with the bipartisan bill President Biden, Leader McConnell and senior Republican leaders moved forward until Trump demanded that Republicans continue politicizing immigration rather than solving it.  Fundamentally SB 4, which purports to give states the authority to – like sovereign nations –  make their own immigration laws, shows disheartening disrespect for the United States constitution and for the rule of law,” said Judge Lina Hidalgo.

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