Tiny 'sanctuary' town fights Texas, Trump on immigration

EL CENIZO, Texas – In this city on the border with Mexico, Mayor Raul Reyes presides over 3,500 residents, city hall, two convenience stores, two churches and not much else.

But Reyes and his border hamlet are on the frontlines of a growing fight between Texas cities, the state of Texas and the Trump administration over what role local municipalities play in enforcing federal immigration laws.

Reyes, along with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and Maverick County, were the first to file a lawsuit in May against the state of Texas challenging Senate Bill 4 (SB 4), a newly-enacted state law that punishes local leaders who do not comply fully with enforcement requests from federal immigration agents. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed SB 4, the so-called “sanctuary cities” law, last month.

“It takes away local authority from elected officials and police departments,” Reyes, 34, said. “We’re ready for the challenge. We’re ready to take this all the way to the Supreme Court, if need be.”

Senate Bill 4 mandates that local law enforcement officials honor requests from federal immigration agents to hold non-citizen inmates suspected of having committed crimes. It also allows local police and sheriff’s deputies to inquire about a person’s immigration status during an arrest or lawful detention, such as traffic stops. It's slated to take effect Sept. 1.

Supporters of the law say it will help crack down on dangerous criminals who entered the country illegally, while critics warn it could lead to racial profiling and drain the resources of local agencies, whose officers are ill-trained to enforce federal immigration rules.

The Texas law follows a similar order by President Trump in January, which threatened to withhold some federal funds from communities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.  A San Francisco federal judge in April blocked that immigration order.

Since Reyes and LULAC filed their lawsuit in May, El Paso County, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Houston, the ACLU and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) have followed. Department of Justice attorneys have also joined the fray, siding with Texas on the issue.

At the lawsuit’s first hearing Monday, hundreds of protestors gathered outside the U.S. District Courthouse in downtown San Antonio, as Reyes mingled with immigrant rights advocates and the mayors of San Antonio and Austin. A scrum of reporters interviewed Reyes, in English and Spanish, as activists pulled him aside to have their pictures taken with him.

“He’s the best person to be there in this fight,” said Gabriel Rosales, LULAC’s vice president for the Southwest, who backed Reyes in the lawsuit. “He feels strongly about standing up for people affected by this law.”

Despite its small size, this is not the first time El Cenizo has taken a controversial issue to the national stage. In 1999, the city made headlines when it enacted laws that made Spanish the official language of city business and declared itself a safe haven for undocumented immigrants, prohibiting city officials from asking about or disclosing the legal status of residents. Most of El Cenizo’s residents are predominately Spanish speakers and some lack proper documentation to be in the country.

Reyes was only 16 at the time but he remembers the death threats that flooded into City Hall and how the KKK threatened to burn down the city. He hasn’t received any threats this time around, but he said he realizes confronting the state of Texas and the federal government is a formidable task that could bring its own ramifications.

“I could be removed from office, fined, even go to jail,” he said. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take. I know at the end of the day I’m on the right side of history.”

In El Cenizo, residents generally backed Reyes, but also voiced concerns that being so outspoken bring trouble. Felix Ramos, 21, said the town has already seen increased Border Patrol agents since Trump’s executive order in January and residents are generally afraid to make the 30-minute drive north to Laredo, Texas.

Reyes’ lawsuit could bring more unwanted federal attention, Ramos said. “I don’t think he could win,” he said. “Donald Trump is too powerful.”

Reyes, who is pursuing a master’s degree from Texas A&M International University in nearby Laredo, said the lawsuit is not just about El Cenizo or even Texas. It’s about combatting a growing national trend of demonizing immigrants and racial profiling, he said.

“This is bigger than El Cenizo,” Reyes said. “This will determine the future of our country and how other states target minority groups.”