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In Light Of ‘Sanctuary’ Law, ACLU Warns Travelers To Avoid Texas Or Risk Their Rights

Gabriel Cristóver Pérez
/
KUT
Demonstrators outside the Office of the Governor support a sit-in protest led by City Council Member Greg Casar and dozens of others to protest SB4.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: Traveling to Texas could be a risk, the ACLU says; meet a lifelong West Dallas resident facing eviction; Neiman Marcus sells torn-up sneakers for $1,425; and more.

The American Civil Liberties Union issued a “travel alert” on Tuesday warning anyone coming to Texas “to anticipate the possible violation of their constitutional rights when stopped by law enforcement.”

The alert came two days after Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 4 into law.  In short, the so-called “sanctuary cities” bill punishes local law enforcement for not cooperating with federal immigration authorities. It also allows police to ask people about their immigration status during routine stops.

 

In a news release, the ACLU says the law leads 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 law has already prompted lawsuits — the first being from Texas. Attorney General Ken Paxton pre-emptively sued Austin, Travis County and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund to enforce the constitutionality of the law.  It takes effect in September. [KERA News]

  • “I like my little house. I would like to stay in the neighborhood.” Pearlie Mae Brown, a West Dallas native, turns 81 in June. That’s the same month she’s been told to leave her home. And possibly, the only neighborhood she’s ever known. Hundreds of families rent inexpensive homes from HMK Ltd., which says it can’t afford to repair these deteriorating houses because of tougher city codes. After getting eviction notices last fall, many of the 305 families in the neighborhood have left. Some of the community’s oldest residents, like Pearlie May, however, are staying until the end. [KERA News]

 

  • The “bathroom bill” in the Texas House missed a crucial deadline for survival, but the issue isn’t dead yet. The House State Affairs Committee on Monday did not act on House Bill 2899, viewed by some as an alternative to the Senate's "bathroom bill," The Texas Tribune reports. That means the proposal won’t reach the Calendars Committee, which sets the House's daily agenda.Republican state Rep. Ron Simmons of Carrollton, who authored the bill, indicated Monday he could bring back the bill's language as an amendment to another piece of legislation. [The Texas Tribune]

 

  • Would you buy sneakers that were ripped with holes and scratches? What if they were $1,425 at Neiman Marcus? The Dallas-based department store is selling white-and-yellow, high-top “Future Destroyed” sneakers from Belgian designer Maison Margiela. Neiman Marcus says “Margiela challenged the boundaries of convention, turning out extreme proportions, deconstructed designs, and conceptual pieces made from found objects like trash bags and seat belts.” The shoes are gaining attention because of the recent fuss over Nordstrom’s $425 jeans with fake mud. [ABC News]

 

  • Students at the University of Texas at Dallas are rallying to save one of the Richardson school’s cultural hubs: the Art Barn. The university plans to demolish the studio and gallery space this summer to make way for the new Science Building. Built in 1978, the Art Barn has avoided the wrecking ball before — in 2014. According to D Magazine: “The closing seems to create more uncertainty about what’s next for the arts at UTD, which revealed earlier this year that it is leaving the Expo Park home of CentralTrak.” [D Magazine]

The High Five is KERA’s daily roundup of stories from Dallas-Fort Worth and across the state. Explore our archives here. And sign up for our weekly email for the North Texas news you need to know.