85R1736 ADM/SCL-D
By: Metcalf H.B. No. 52
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the enforcement of state and federal laws governing
immigration and the duties of law enforcement agencies concerning
arrested persons and certain persons lawfully detained.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 2, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Articles 2.251 and 2.252 to read as follows:
Art. 2.251. ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAW. (a) A
peace officer may not stop a motor vehicle or conduct a search of a
business or residence solely to enforce a federal law relating to
immigrants or immigration, including the federal Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.), unless the officer
is acting at the request of, and providing assistance to, an
appropriate federal law enforcement officer.
(b) A peace officer may not, without a warrant, arrest a
person based solely on the person's suspected or alleged violation
of a civil provision of a federal law relating to immigrants or
immigration, including the federal Immigration and Nationality Act
(8 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.).
(c) A peace officer may arrest an undocumented person only
if the officer is acting under the authority granted under Article
2.13.
Art. 2.252. VERIFICATION OF IMMIGRATION STATUS OF ARRESTED
PERSONS AND CERTAIN PERSONS LAWFULLY DETAINED. (a) A law
enforcement agency that has custody of an arrested person or of a
person lawfully detained for the purpose of investigating whether
the person committed a criminal offense shall verify the person's
immigration status by using the federal Priority Enforcement
Program operated by United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement or a successor program.
(b) A law enforcement agency is not required to perform the
duties imposed by Subsection (a) with respect to a person who is
transferred to the custody of the agency by another law enforcement
agency if the transferring agency performed those duties before
transferring custody of the person.
SECTION 2. Subtitle C, Title 11, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 364 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 364. ENFORCEMENT OF STATE AND FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAWS
Sec. 364.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Immigration laws" means the laws of this state or
federal law relating to immigrants or immigration, including the
federal Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1101 et
seq.).
(2) "Local entity" means:
(A) the governing body of a municipality, county,
or special district or authority, subject to Sections 364.002(a)
and (b);
(B) an officer or employee of or a division,
department, or other body that is part of a municipality, county, or
special district or authority, including a sheriff, municipal
police department, municipal attorney, or county attorney; and
(C) a district attorney or criminal district
attorney.
Sec. 364.002. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. (a) This chapter
does not apply to a school district or open-enrollment charter
school. This chapter does not apply to the release of information
contained in education records of an educational agency or
institution, except in conformity with the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g).
(b) This chapter does not apply to a hospital or hospital
district.
Sec. 364.003. LOCAL GOVERNMENT POLICY REGARDING
IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT. (a) A local entity may not adopt a rule,
order, ordinance, or policy under which the entity prohibits the
enforcement of immigration laws.
(b) In compliance with Subsection (a), a local entity may
not prohibit a person who is employed by or otherwise under the
direction or control of the entity from doing any of the following:
(1) inquiring into the immigration status of an
arrested person or of a person lawfully detained for the purpose of
investigating whether the person committed a criminal offense;
(2) with respect to information relating to the
immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any arrested person or
of any person lawfully detained for the purpose of investigating
whether the person committed a criminal offense:
(A) sending the information to or requesting or
receiving the information from United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services or United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, including information regarding a person's place of
birth;
(B) maintaining the information; or
(C) exchanging the information with another
local entity or a federal or state governmental entity;
(3) assisting or cooperating with a federal
immigration officer as reasonable and necessary, including
providing enforcement assistance; or
(4) permitting a federal immigration officer to enter
and conduct enforcement activities at a municipal or county jail to
enforce federal immigration laws.
Sec. 364.004. DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED. A local entity or
a person employed by or otherwise under the direction or control of
the entity may not consider race, color, language, or national
origin while enforcing immigration laws.
Sec. 364.005. COMPLAINT; EQUITABLE RELIEF. (a) Any
citizen residing in the jurisdiction of a local entity or an
employee of a local entity may file a complaint with the attorney
general if the citizen or employee offers evidence to support an
allegation that the entity has adopted a rule, order, ordinance, or
policy under which the entity prohibits the enforcement of
immigration laws or that the entity, by consistent actions,
prohibits the enforcement of immigration laws. The citizen or
employee must include with the complaint the evidence the citizen
or employee has that supports the complaint. An employee may file a
complaint anonymously.
(b) A local entity may not retaliate against an employee for
filing a complaint under Subsection (a).
(c) If the attorney general determines that a complaint
filed under Subsection (a) against a local entity is valid, the
attorney general may file a petition for a writ of mandamus or apply
for other appropriate equitable relief in a district court in
Travis County or in a county in which the principal office of the
entity is located to compel the entity to comply with Section
364.003. The attorney general may recover reasonable expenses
incurred in obtaining relief under this subsection, including court
costs, reasonable attorney's fees, investigative costs, witness
fees, and deposition costs.
(d) An appeal of a suit brought under Subsection (c) is
governed by the procedures for accelerated appeals in civil cases
under the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. The appellate court
shall render its final order or judgment with the least possible
delay.
Sec. 364.006. DENIAL OF STATE FUNDS. (a) A local entity
may not receive state funds if the entity adopts a rule, order,
ordinance, or policy under which the entity intentionally prohibits
the enforcement of immigration laws or, by consistent actions,
prohibits the enforcement of immigration laws.
(b) State funds for a local entity shall be denied for the
state fiscal year following the year in which a final judicial
determination in an action brought under Section 364.005 is made
that the entity has intentionally prohibited the enforcement of
immigration laws or, by consistent actions, prohibited the
enforcement of immigration laws.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2017.