Hundreds gather in Dallas to protest SB4
DALLAS — The controversial Texas immigration law known as SB4 has been through several legal battles this week. The Supreme Court allowed it to be enforced on Tuesday before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals put another freeze on it.
Although the law is on hold right now, hundreds of North Texans gathered in Dallas Sunday to protest the law.
Critics of SB4 say it's a law that unfairly targets Latino and immigrant communities.
"It's not really right, I think that we can't go anywhere without feeling a little scared that a cop will pull up and be like 'Hey where's your papers,'" said protester Heli Martinez.
Today hundreds gathered at Civic Garden Park in Dallas and marched through the streets to say no to SB4, the Texas law that allows state and local police to arrest and charge people suspected of entering the country illegally.
A large crowd is forming here at Civic Garden Park in Dallas for a protest against Texas’ #SB4 which gives TX officials the ability to jail and prosecute migrants suspected of crossing the southern border without authorization. The full story at 5:30 @CBSNewsTexas pic.twitter.com/RtEr97xVMl
— Olivia Leach (@OliviaLeachNews) March 24, 2024
"It's not right I don't like my parents having that fear," said Karla Lopez.
But Governor Greg Abbott is pushing back on those concerns.
"Those people who say we're going to target Latinos, that's completely ignorant about the people and where they're coming from. We're getting people from China, we're getting people from Russia, We're getting people from the Middle East," said Gov. Abbott.
SB4 also gives judges the power to deport or jail people, duties normally handled by federal officials.
"You live in Eagle Pass and you're used to some level of militarization but that comes from Border Patrol and Border and Customs and now it can come from local police and state police," said North Texas college student Karyme Flores.
Flores grew up in Eagle Pass, the city now at the center of the debate on immigration. She says SB4 has her worried about her family back home.
"That just leaves room for racial profiling because you can't tell if someone is a US citizen or not and that could lead to a lot of police violence in border communities and even in Dallas," said Flores.
Although SB4 is currently on hold, local police are figuring out how to enforce the law. Dallas Police tells us it will follow current general orders until they have more clarification on the law and said their department will also enforce existing laws against racial bias.
In a statement Fort Worth Police said:
"Although we will always follow the law, the primary responsibility for immigration enforcement and border protection should be left to our federal and state partners."
But protesters hope their voices will lead to change.
"We're all immigrants we all came from across the pond or across this border and we built this country on hopes and dreams," said Karla Lopez.