MALDEF STATEMENT ON "ABBOTT'S FOLLY" -- SIGNING OF TEXAS "SANCTUARY CITIES" BILL INTO LAW

MALDEF

May 7, 2017

Los Angeles, CA - Please attribute the following statement on the signing by Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas' so-called "sanctuary cities" bill (SB 4) into law to Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund):

"Many things in Texas are big, such as the colossal blunder of SB 4. With a stroke of his pen, Governor Abbott has undermined democracy and voters' right to choose their elected officials, alienated nearly half the state population now subject to widespread racial profiling, severely undermined public safety by triggering widespread non-cooperation with police investigations of real crime, subjected Texas businesses tied to trade or tourism to incalculable losses, and exposed the state's taxpayers to substantial costs related to multiple statewide and local challenges to this inhumane law. Given the size of the state, this may well be the most costly gubernatorial signature in all of United States history.

Many things in Texas are also small, such as the hearts and minds of the elected leaders who cravenly championed this wholly execrable legislation.

MALDEF will do its level best, in court and out, to restore Texas, the state where MALDEF was founded, to its greater glory, and to help Texas to overcome 'Abbott’s Folly'."

Founded in 1968, MALDEF is the nation's leading Latino legal civil rights organization. Often described as the "Latino Legal Voice for Civil Rights in America" MALDEF promotes social change through advocacy, communications, community education, and litigation in the areas of education, employment, immigrant rights, and political access. For more information on MALDEF, please visit: www.maldef.org.