“The damage is done with the passage of the law”, says Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez when asked about the SB4, which allows law enforcement officers to ask for detainees’ legal status and to collaborate with Immigration officers. The law was passed in the recent Texas Legislature’s session.
“People fear the repercussions, unintended or not, and I think the chilling effect it will have, with some people being fearful of reporting crimes”, Gonzalez explains. The major concern is that “they just won’t come forward or limit our capacity to solve crimes that impact all Texans, not just a few.”
Gonzalez’s thoughts about the SB4 are very similar to those of Houston Police Department Chief Art Acevedo’s in a recent interview.