In July 2017, AALS and the Planning Committee for the 2018 Clinical Conference announced the relocation of this conference from Austin to Chicago due, in part, to the enactment of SB 4, a Texas law banning so-called “sanctuary cities.” SB 4 allows Texas police officers to question the immigration status of anyone they detain or arrest, prohibits Texas cities and counties from adopting policies that limit involvement in immigration enforcement, and threatens officials who violate the law with fines, jail time, and removal from office.
With SB 4, Texas aligned itself with the Trump administration’s effort to mandate the cooperation of state and local law enforcement in immigrant policing, and to punish state and local governments that limit that cooperation. The Trump administration has pursued an aggressive “anti-sanctuary” agenda seeking to punish state and local governments for implementing policies that are welcoming to or inclusive of immigrants, or resisting involvement in immigration enforcement. Most recently, the administration has sued the State of California challenging recently adopted state laws that restrict local involvement in federal immigration enforcement.
Despite this push for increased involvement, state and local governments continue to adopt policies disentangling local law enforcement from federal immigration enforcement. Since Trump’s election more than 70 new sanctuary or disentanglement policies have been adopted. The Trump administration’s unrelenting assault on immigrants and on state and local governments that refuse to demonize immigrants has created a sense of urgency and uncertainty about how we can continue to effectively work within the communities we serve. While much of the controversy about sanctuary arises out of a lack of understanding of what sanctuary is and what it is not, the controversy nevertheless provides abundant opportunity for advocacy, engagement, and learning for clinical law students.
The panelists are among a group of immigration law professors, scholars, and practitioners who collaborated on an article, “Understanding ‘Sanctuary Cities,’” forthcoming in the Boston College Law Review. The panel members will provide examples from their own experiences with engaging students in work to support sanctuary or disentanglement policy adoption and implementation, providing participants with concrete lessons and strategies.