Temporary Block on the Anti-Immigrant, Unconstitutional SB 4 – NLIRH Will Continue to Fight and Resist

AUSTIN, TX — On Wednesday, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas temporarily blocked Senate Bill 4 (SB 4) from taking effect on September 1. SB 4 is an unconstitutional racial profiling law that would license Texas law enforcement and campus police departments to act as immigration agents. Starting on September 1, SB 4 would have made 40 percent of the population in Texas targets of police questioning regarding immigration status, including children. The discriminatory SB 4 would also force cities and elected officials to comply with federal immigration requests or be subject to steep fines and criminal prosecutions.

Nancy Cárdenas Peña, State Policy Associate Director, Texas Latina Advocacy Network (TX LAN) of National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH), issued the following statement:

“Even though we are relieved that SB 4 was temporarily blocked, it is not a victory, but a pause. A law that infringes on the civil liberties and human rights of the Latino and immigrant communities should have never gotten this far. By signing SB 4 into law, Governor Abbott and the rest of our elected officials chose to knowingly jeopardize the civil and constitutional rights of the Latino community – who make up almost half of their constituents. This measure would have families of all immigration statuses living in constant fear of unjust detainment and family separation. Immigrant women especially would have been forced to retreat into the shadows and forgo essential reproductive care for fear of never returning home to their families. While the law will not go into effect on September 1, the fight is not over. We will continue to fight and resist hate, violence, and bigotry until immigrant families can live free from persecution.”

For more information on NLIRH’s fight for health, dignity and justice, visit us at latinainstitute.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter @NLIRH.

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The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health is the only national reproductive justice organization dedicated to building Latina power to advance health, dignity, and justice for 28 million Latinas, their families, and communities in the United States through leadership development, community mobilization, policy advocacy, and strategic communications.