ACLU Issues Texas ‘Travel Advisory’

| May 9, 2017

The American Civil Liberties Union has issued a “travel advisory” for folks who traveling through Texas because of Texas’ new law SB4;

The law gives a green light to police officers in the state to investigate a person’s immigration status during a routine traffic stop, leading to widespread racial profiling, baseless scrutiny, and illegal arrests of citizens and non-citizens alike presumed to be “foreign” based on how they look or sound. The travel alert applies to all travelers to Texas, including U.S. travelers from other states and U.S. citizens. In addition, this alert applies to all encounters with federal, state, county law enforcement including local police and sheriffs.

“The ACLU’s goal is to protect all Texans and all people traveling through Texas — regardless of their immigration status — from illegal harassment by law enforcement,” said Lorella Praeli, ACLU director of immigration policy and campaigns.

So, it looks like the only people will be targets of this so-called harassment will be illegal aliens. Isn’t the ACLU playing into the hands of the evil Texan governor?

The text of the law specifically prohibits discrimination;

Sec. 752.054. DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED. A local entity,
campus police department, or a person employed by or otherwise
under the direction or control of the entity or department may not
consider race, color, religion, language, or national origin while
enforcing immigration laws except to the extent permitted by the
United States Constitution or Texas Constitution.

Yeah, that’s not what the ACLU opposes – what they don’t like is Section 752.053 – the part that prohibits sanctuary cities and counties. SB4 doesn’t mandate that officers search willy-nilly for illegal aliens, violating everyone’s constitutional rights – it just prohibits subordinate government entities from ignoring the immigration laws in this country.

But, yeah the message of the Texas government and the ACLU seems to be the same one – illegal immigrants should stay out of Texas.

I don’t know why, but the ACLU is sending these propaganda messages to our inbox.

Category: Illegal Immigrants

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Silentium Est Aureum

Cause their little panties are in a wad, plus the donations they got from Trump’s so-called Muslim ban havery dried up and they need some more cash, pronto.

Ex-PH2

They’re sending it to you because they have your e-mail address and think that you will support their social moron views.

Graybeard

Sounds like a win-win.

ACLU wusses get their panties in a wad.
Texas has fewer illegals to deal with.

desert

Way to go Texas! Sic’em! Every state in the stinking union should be after the invaders!!!

IDC SARC

Fukk em

Deplorable B Woodman

The only tbing the ACLU opposes is losing their donations and donation base.

OWB

Can’t imagine any of the Texans I know taking the ACLU pronouncement as a negative thing. That would include all those with a Hispanic surname. (For those keeping count – my acquaintances there include a significant proportion with that Hispanic surname, variously referred to as “Mexican,” “Spanish,” and assorted other things through the decades.)

Graybeard

Aqui tambien, OWB.

USAFRetired

Y ya lo mismo

Just An Old Dog

Soy Tambien

The Stranger

Igualmente!

David

So with the law barely in effect, they have seen widespread discrimination, detentions, deportation, and general panic in the streets – uh, maybe not.
I am all in favor of this, though: if it keeps on ACLU member from coming to Texas, I’m thrilled. Now if the ones we already have would only leave…

Hack Stone

You said “gun”. That triggered my anxiety, so I need to retreat to my safe space. But the word “trigger” triggers my anxiety, which causes a chain reaction of more anxiety. What is a snowflake to do in order to cope?

PigmyPuncher

just wait till .gov Affordable Healthcare collapses and single payer healthcare comes about – then you should be able to claim PSTD from all the triggering and never have to work again…

nousdefions

It’s working, I haven’t seen a California or Maryland license plate this week.

Foxbat40

That is because the election is over. Come the next election cycle the DNC operatives will be back.

A Proud Infidel®™

I’m sure that’s when Texans will be forced to deal with busloads of “AstroTurf Mobs” aka paid protestors imported to infest their State once again.

rgr769

Let us all not forget that the real name of the ACLU is not the “American Civil Liberties Union.” It is the American Communist Liberals Union. As its founder Roger Baldwin once commented to his members: “Remember, Communism is our goal.” He also explained that the organization would have to represent groups/people other that the Communist revolutionaries they were created to defend in court, as a cover for their real objective, the destruction of our representative republic and its freedoms. But hey, never fear the commie!

A Proud Infidel®™

“Let us all not forget that the real name of the ACLU is not the “American Civil Liberties Union.” It is the American Communist Liberals Union.”

I also like “Anti-Christian Litigation Union” or “American Communist Litigation Union” as well. WHEN was the last time they lawered up and sued over islam being taught in public screwels, but let just ONE Teacher have a Bible in his or her possession on school grounds and watch them sue at Mach 3 speed!

Joe

I’m sure Saul Alinsky was in there somewhere, right?

Hondo

Nah. It appears the ACLU wasn’t radical enough to suit ol’ Saul.

rgr769

Saul apparently believed their cover story that they were all about free speech and the Bill of Rights. Plus, the ACLU was lawers doing litigatin’. Saul was more about organizing protest mobs to scare the politicos. Same goals, just different tactics.

Combat Historian

Is SPLC now going to list the Republic of Texas as a “domestic terrorist group”?

rgr769

If they run true to form, they likely will do so.

A Proud Infidel®™

I’m surprised they and the SPLC haven’t done so already.

Graybeard

We can then create t-shirts celebrating the fact!

nousdefions

Texas Akbar, Ya’ll

My, My, My

Well, it’s not working since I have seen numerous Cali plates this week.

I sure wish the ACLU would issue a Move referendum. Start with all the Austin degenerates.

Next up: LA, San Fran and Sac will issue their travel ban for gov employees as well. Things are looking up.

Fjardeson

Houstonian here. California license plates are a plague. Let’s deport them back to Taxifornia!

My, My, My

I am in Plano/DFW area. They are coming in droves. Disappointingly, they are bringing their politics with them; the exact reason they left Cali to begin with.

I have two of them as neighbors (literally). They are everything I dreamed to dread and then some. Trust me.

A Proud Infidel®™

Situations like what you are in are EXACTLY why I view liberals an liberalism as a pathogenic or parasitic infection. Liberals infest areas, render them uninhabitable, then migrate to infest and infect other locales like they did starting with California, then infected the rest of the Western Coastal States and are now trying to infest States like Texas.

My, My, My

^^^ You sir are a gentleman, Scholar and Spot on.

They have delusional beliefs while attempting to bring us all on board.

Add to yours and my rant: their unapologetic disbelief when their great migration fails. There is a reason why those in Washington State continue to despise the California Carpet Baggers.

A Proud Infidel®™

“Add to yours and my rant: their unapologetic disbelief when their great migration fails.”

IMHO THAT is further proof that liberalism is a Mental Disorder! One definition of insanity is to repeat the same action over and over expecting different results. Liberalism fails each and every time it’s tried, but despite that libtards ALWAYS want to give it just one more chance thinking it will still work and I share your abhorrence of not just infesting Californites, but liberal Carpetbaggers, period.

PigmyPuncher

I believe it was primarily the Toyota Corp Headquarters move that brought this latest influx of Californians – just wish I was in a position to sell and move – houses were going quick in N Dallas all last summer…

Commissar

This advisory is prudent and any Texas officer investigating immigration status is doing so with no more authority than a private citizen sine immigration law is outside state and local jurisdiction. States have zero constitutional authority over immigration status and zero authority over enforcing immigration laws.

You guys talk about separation of state and federal power until it no longer suits your dystopian police state agenda.

And before you whine about me being an ignorant snowflake; I was a deputy sheriff in a county on the US/Mexican border. I coordinated with border patrol and border drug and security task forces daily. I know exactly the limits of state authority over immigration enforcement and exactly the liability I was exposing myself and my county to when I detained someone on suspicion of being a illegal entry.

It was not apparent to those bring detained because of my badge and uniform but unless they had committed some other crime for which I had jurisdiction I was detaining them as a private citizen.

Texas is being moronic and this law will get shutdown for the blatantly unconstitutional nonsense it is.

I also find it interesting that so many conservatives claim to love the constitution but whine about the ACLU whenever it pushes back against unconstitutional bullshit.

Fyrfighter

The ACLU picks and chooses it’s cases.. have you ever seen them support the Second Amendment to the Constitution? Nope, didn’t think so.. And try to remember this, the Constitution of the United States should be CAPITALIZED!!!

And please ooh wise one, bestow upon us heathens your infinite knowledge on how exactly foriegn nationals, especially those here ILLEGALLY deserve Constitutional protections….

That being said, looks like my decision has been made on where to vacation this summer!

Veritas Omnia Vincit

Well the ACLU did defend Rush Limbaugh with respect to the privacy of your medical records.

Everyone gets all weird about the ACLU but they are remarkably consistent in the cases they take and they take quite a few in defense of privacy issues for conservatives as well as liberal causes. The conservative issues get less airplay (I wonder why?) but the ACLU still files amicus briefs in many of those cases as they did for Rush.

Graybeard

Fyr – my impression is that it varies from office to office of the ACLU.
Some offices seem to get more involved in “progressive” causes, others try to be true to the stated goals of the ACLU.

Dennis - not chevy

What’s your deal? Do you see yourself as the political officer that Mao said had to be assigned to each guerilla war unit? Do you see yourself as the leading light in the joining of the student and worker?
I cannot speak for the proletariat; however, my calloused hands have grown sick of the patronizing left. I have had enough of the taxes, in cash and kind, the left desires to enable them to reach the summit of their self-importance.

HMCS(FMF) ret

Lars speaks for all of the “oppressed”… he knows how to get socialism/communism “right”… he’s learned from the mistakes of the others through his “education”.

I’m with you Dennis… I’m sick and tired of the “free shit army” and its minions wanting everything under the sun at the expense of others.

A Proud Infidel®™

LIBERALISM is a Mental Disorder and its dolts like Babbles McButthead aka Lars T. PROVE THAT with their deeds and words.

RM3(SS)

Well you’re partially right. I was local law enforcement until I retired and then went to work for ICE. When in the academy I got very familiar with the 287(G) program and later worked with local deputies that had graduated it.
When Deputized, they have basically the same power as ICE agents in detaining and deporting illegals.
https://www.ice.gov/factsheets/287g

Commissar

Not partially. A traffic stop is not a voluntary interaction so an officer can only detain someone during a stop as long as it takes to investigate and cite for the reason the person was stopped, unless the officer develops reasonable suspicion of another crime FOR WHICH THE OFFICER HAS JURISDICTION. Investigating crimes they do not have jurisdiction is beyond the scope of the officers authority and he is doing so as a private citizen.

ChipNASA

Just off the top of his head
😀

HMCS(FMF) ret

And it’s really dull….

A Proud Infidel®™

Is there anything you DON’T consider yourself an expert on?

Bruno Stachel

That would be the United States Constitution, API.

Herr Kommissar is, however, a renowned and peer-reviewed expert on Marx’s ‘Das Kapital’.

He is also rumored to be able to play a rousing rendition of ‘The Internationale’ on the accordion, whilst marching around the room in the Soviet style of close order drill.

A Proud Infidel®™

As well as rehearsing it while looking at the portraits of Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Guevara on his wall.

Silentium Est Aureum

Expert:

Ex–formerly, used to be.

Spert–A drip under pressure.

Commissioner Wretched

I like Garry Moore’s definition of an expert:

“You know what an expert is, don’t you? An expert is a guy who knows 42 different ways to make love … but he doesn’t know any girls.”

Hondo

Well, now they appear to have jurisdiction to do exactly that if Federal authorities have a detainer request or other form of request for assistance from local LE concerning the individual. See the text of the law in the link I posted.

RIF, Berkeley-boi – reading is fundamental. But only if you actually (a) bother to do the reading, and (b) have a good enough grasp of written English to comprehend what you read.

Now, regarding my question about Kennedy and Khrushchev . . . got an answer yet?

rgr769

Anything commie progtard related is sure to bring the Berzerkely Butt-wipe out of his slumber.

Hondo

Apparently not. He’s seems to have been avoiding answering that question for about a week now in spite of multiple reminders.

HMCS(FMF) ret

He hasn’t gotten in touch with the appropriate “committee” of the local party congress to receive instruction on how to answer your question, Hondo. He’s probably at the keyboard of a 1953 Smith-Corona typewriter tapping out his paper to the “committee” on how to reply to your question.

Original thought is not a strong suite for Lars…

A Proud Infidel®™

What DOES he do other than regurgitate the dogma that his freeze-dried hippie perfessers who have NO real life experience outside of a college campus spoon feed him?

The Other Whitey

I asked Lars a while back to elaborate on his claims of having fought forest fires. Such an innocuous question, and an opportunity for him to earn a tiny little bit of respect. Still waiting.

David

“to investigate a person’s immigration status during a routine traffic stop” sounds like someone has already given cause to be pulled over. And I believe you will find Texas LEO are sworn to uphold all laws, not just laws of the state of Texas. Try planting a bomb and making a terrorist threat – think the cop is gonna do a jurisdictional retreat like a waiter saying “it’s not my table”? Good luck with that.

Re the ACLU – at one point about 20 years back I remember reading that they had actually been in MORE cases on the NRA’s side than not. The crucial test of a case is whether they feel is passes Constitutional muster – for example, in the recent no-fly/no-buy attempts to keep “suspected” terrorists from buying guns, the ACLU was firmly on the NRA’s side fighting it. I don’t like ’em, but occasionally they screw up and get something right.

Commissar

An officer cannot investigate something they do not have jurisdiction to investigate. Even if they have the person stopped for something they do have jurisdiction to investigate.

This law is literally giving officers the green light to do something they have no authority to do.

It will be struck down.

RM3(SS)

Lars, 287(G). Read it. Learn something. It’s been going on for YEARS.

Just An Old Dog

Once again Lars gets awarded a medal for Ignorance Beyond the call of Stupidity.
Law enforcement cannot pick and choose what state or Federal Laws they enforce.
While I don’t expect someone who who is paid to enforce traffic laws as the major part of their job to go out of their way to FIND illegal immigrants I DO expect them to not overlook obvious evidence that someone is an illegal and not Cooperate with ICE.
Trey Gowdy, one of the best supporters of our Constitution and much smarter than your ass will ever be made mincemeat of the snowflake DAs from the sanctuary cities during congressional hearings. State and local Law enforcement are expected to enforce the Federal Laws the Snowflakes are up in arms about, yet they get their asses all up in the air when their voting block is threatened.
I’m sure if you were a deputy you were respected by your peers about as much as you were during your “military career”. That’s why you are cowering in the People’s Republic of Berkeley, hoping the other snowflakes protect you when taxpayers get tired of that cess pool and raze it to the ground.

Twist

“States have zero constitutional authority over immigration status”

Do you have the same response when talking about sanctuary cities?

Commissar

Yes.

A Proud Infidel®™

Methinks you’re full of shit and you demonstrate it with the vast majority of your comments.

Hondo

Actually, Berkeley-boi, from your comment above it’s pretty obvious you haven’t bothered to read the law in question. Apparently reading the 5 or 7 pages of text in question was too much work for you. And as a result, you once again are engaging in PPPPP (Parroting Pathetic Progressive Party-line Propaganda) without really knowing what you’re talking about. It is true that the new TX law doesn’t grant Texas LEOs the right to stop people “at will” to check immigration status. But that’s not what the law was designed to do in the first place. Further, I’m reasonably sure it would be within the power of the state of Texas to empower it’s LEOs to check Federal immigration status incident to lawful detention for another reason via passing a TEXAS STATE LAW authorizing same (Federalism, remember?). I don’t remember seeing that explicit authorization in Texas SB4, but perhaps it’s there and I missed it. However, the new law does indeed appear to not only grant Texas LEOs the authority to continue detention of people in response to Federal immigration detainer requests, but also makes doing exactly that on request by Federal authorities mandatory – as well as making mandatory cooperating in general with Federal LE in the enforcement of Federal immigration law. And it also appears to impose significant financial penalties for willful failure to do so. IMO those latter two are the real reason the ACLU opposes this law – e.g., it makes it mandatory for Texas LE to cooperate with Federal immigration authorities in this area of law, and also imposes financial penalties for willful failure to do so. The text of the law can be found in the link that follows. You might want to read it so that, in the future, you actually know what you’re talking about on this issue. Based on past experience, however, I’m not holding my breath. https://legiscan.com/TX/text/SB4/2017 Your past LE experience here is no longer relevant. When state law changes, what state LEOs can and cannot do – provided their conduct remains consistent with the US Constitution – often also changes.… Read more »

gitarcarver

Dead solid and right on.

Lars (and apparently the ACLU) thinks a Texas LEO may check the “status” of a person in regards to being in the country legally or not. That is not what is happening. Texas is allowing LEO’s to check with Federal agencies to see if there is a warrant for detention.

That is no different than a Texas LEO stopping someone and asking if there are warrants out for a person in another state.

I would be against stopping people and “demanding papers,” but this law doesn’t do that. Lars is in essence, creating a strawman argument and debating that which doesn’t exist.

Graybeard

Without strawman arguments, the Leftists/Progresives have no arguments at all.

Just sayin’

AW1Ed

Perhaps his site navigation-fu is weak, Hondo. Allow me to assist:

http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=71789

There you go, Commi. Welcome!
*grin*

Graybeard

Lars:
I know you are not a resident (now, at least) of Texas. But consider this please:

If it is against Texas law to be an illegal immigrant, then it would be a matter well within the scope and authority of any LEO in Texas.

I will not presume to speak to the scope of the powers granted to deputy sheriffs in New Mexico.

But in Texas they are allowed to enforce all the laws, regardless of whether they are state or federal. The caveat is that they are allowed to enforce them in the county which they serve. A LEO who is outside his or her jurisdiction would be making an arrest as if they were a private citizen.

Then we have TxDPS and the Texas Rangers, who have jurisdiction throughout Texas. (The Rangers are a part of the Texas Department of Public Safety, for those who may not know.) Texas Game Wardens have state-wide jurisdiction as well.

While reasonable suspicion is fundamental in all cases before a stop is made, if I understand this new law correctly then if the LEO has reason to believe he/she is interacting with an illegal immigrant, then he/she is will within their authority to question the suspect on that point. If the LEO has reason to believe that any law has been broken, then they are free to arrest the suspect and turn them over to the appropriate authorities for further determination.

You say “Texas is being moronic and this law will get shutdown for the blatantly unconstitutional nonsense it is.” Given that similar slander has been hurled at Texas and its laws in the past, and given that Texas has a very good track record in defending their laws, it is apparent that you are most likely wrong on this point.

If I were to be frank, given the relative performance of Texas’ economy to California’s, along with the comparative cost-of-living especially in regards to housing costs, then the adjective “moronic” is, arguably, most appropriately applicable to California and its laws. But that is another issue.

David

Graybeard – I have been told by cops in Houston that since they are sworn as LEO in and by the state of Texas, they have jurisdiction anywhere in the state. Not just in their county. It’s hearsay, but it’s hearsay from the horse’s mouth.

Graybeard

It has been some years since I was familiar with the issues, so I was erring on the side of what I knew.

Thanks for the clarification!

A Proud Infidel®™

” A LEO who is outside his or her jurisdiction would be making an arrest as if they were a private citizen.”

Maybe, maybe not. Are you saying a Texas LEO outside of the State or within another Jurisdiction in that State? Many States have Laws allowing LEO’s to make arrests anywhere in that State. For instance, in Florida an LEO say from Miami PD could still make a lawful arrest in say, Fort Myers or Daytona Beach.

rgr769

There are two different kinds of jurisdiction, if not more. There is geographical jurisdiction, which is a sheriff in a county not having jurisdiction to enforce the law in another county. Then there is subject matter jurisdiction, which is whether a state of county LEO has the authority to enforce some set of laws. Generally state and county LEO do not enforce federal immigration law. But they clearly have “jurisdiction” or authority to honor federal detention warrants whether they be for immigration violations or other federal crimes. Contentions to the contrary are BS. But then that is what Berkeley-boi deals in.

Silentium Est Aureum

I’d like to share a revelation that I’ve had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify you and I realized that you’re not actually human. Every human on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you liberals do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Liberalss are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You’re a plague and we are the cure.

(And yeah, it definitely fits.)

UpNorth

We really need a ‘like’ button. Dead on, SEA.

rgr769

Are you saying they are like the “Borg,” of the new Star Trek?

Commissioner Wretched

Or maybe like cockroaches?

Casey

Since when do local law enforcement officials have “zero constitutional authority” over enforcing Federal law?

There’s something moronic here, but it ain’t coming from Texas…

HMCS(FMF) ret

It’s Der Commissar’s “interpretation of the Constitution… the document that he believes is nothing more than toilet paper.

See what you get for getting an education at Bezerkley?

The Other Whitey

Remember, the ACLU defends nazis and NAMBLA (not the National Association of Marlon Brando Look-Alikes).

Veritas Omnia Vincit

Geez I might have to consider the Gulf Coast of Texas as a potential retirement location. Need to investigate marinas in the area and condo pricing…shit like this just makes me smile.

Graybeard

VOV – while our beaches are less picturesque than others (Florida, for example) the fishing is evidently very good, the sailing pleasant, the condos reasonably priced (dependent upon time and location). Come on down.

Veritas Omnia Vincit

Sounds good to me…it’s my understanding my 30′ Catalina will sail nicely in the Gulf as it does currently in New England coastal waters….

David

No state income tax, generally affordable housing, and in general VERY military friendly, by the way.

Graybeard

Sounds like we’ll get to call you “neighbor” right soon.

A Proud Infidel®™

I have Hispanic friends that are every bit as anti-illegal immigration as wel are. Let the Texas Authorities go down this route and I hope other States follow suit as well, the left had a fun-filled ride for eight years under President Trump’s predecessor and now it’s out turn. Illegal aliens now have to worry about “Rock and Roll with the Border Patrol” like it ought to be!

FatCircles0311

Well if there was any doubt about the ACLU being pro criminal there isn’t any longer.

Fucking seditious NGO.

A Proud Infidel®™

One thing is for sure, and it’s that the picture is getting brighter and better IMHO. Remember the left’s catering to illegals under the previous POTUS? Well according to this and other articles illegal immigration in the Southwestern US is down about 70%.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/9/illegal-immigration-southwest-border-down-70-pct/

Just An Old Dog

Lars,
Get your binky and juice box and have a seat and listen to someone who knows what the fuck they are talking about.

Casey

Nationality is now race? Who knew?