87R29 SCL-D
By: Toth H.B. No. 101
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to civil liability of municipalities for failure to comply
with immigration detainer requests.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 101, Civil Practice and
Remedies Code, is amended by adding Section 101.0216 to read as
follows:
Sec. 101.0216. LIABILITY OF MUNICIPALITY FOR FAILURE TO
COMPLY WITH IMMIGRATION DETAINER REQUEST. (a) Except as provided
by Subsection (e), a municipality that releases from custody a
person who is the subject of an immigration detainer request issued
by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement is liable for
damages resulting from a felony committed by the person in this
state within 10 years following the person's release if:
(1) the municipality did not detain the person as
requested;
(2) the person was not a citizen of the United States
at the time of release; and
(3) the attorney general has filed a petition or
applied for equitable relief under Section 752.055, Government
Code, against the municipality.
(b) An immigration detainer request described by Subsection
(a) is presumed to be valid, regardless of whether the detainer is
written or verbal.
(c) This section does not create liability for damages that
a person who is subject to an immigration detainer request sustains
following the person's release by a municipality.
(d) Governmental immunity of a municipality to suit is
waived and abolished to the extent of liability created by this
section.
(e) A municipality is not liable under Subsection (a) for
damages incurred after United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement subsequently detains the person described by that
subsection.
SECTION 2. Section 101.0216, Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, as added by this Act, applies only with respect to the release
of a person from custody on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.