Jan 2024. Blues Vol 40 No. 1

from the stop.
This is a pretty silly law, designed
to make others feel better
but in reality it will do very little.
Cops will still stop cars but instead
of a friendly “slow down”
next time, this law requires them
to state the reason for the stop
and to document it.
If Governor Newsome wants
robot cops, that’s exactly what
we recommend and we would
make sure that every driver is
aware of why.
Here is a suggested script:
“Hello, my name is ——
and I stopped you today for
___________. In the past, I
think you would have been responsible
enough to accept my
warning and we would both
move on to our important day
but Governor Newsome recently
passed a law that mandates
that I tell you why I stopped you
and that I document that reason
on any citation or police report.
Since I don’t do police reports for
traffic stops, I will have to issue
you a citation to comply with this
law.”
TEXAS CONGRESSMAN WHO
CHAMPIONED DE-FUNDING
POLICE REQUESTS PATROL FOR
HIS HOUSE
A progressive congressman
who proudly voted to defund the
Austin Police Department as a
city council member and blasted
the department just last week
for alleged racist practices is
under fire after requesting a police
patrol at his home from the
same department.
“It’s come to our attention that
Anti police king of the defund
movement in Austin @GregCasar
who only last week called APD
an agency with racist practices
has requested enhanced patrols
around his house for the next
week,” the Austin Police Retired
Officers Association posted on X
Tuesday.
“We want everyone in Austin to
feel safe,” the post added. “But
this seems to us as the height of
hypocrisy from the congressman.
Maybe he should hire private
security like his fellow squad
members do. Sure seems like he
wants the police in his neighborhood
just not yours.”
Casar’s request was made
through the United States Capitol
Police in Washington, D.C.,
which forwarded the request to
the Austin Police Department,
Fox News reports.
Casar was perhaps the most
vocal driver of defunding the
Austin Police Department in 2020
while he was a member of the
city council.
“We did it!!” Casar posted on X
in August 2020. “Austin City Council
just reduced APD’s budget by
over $100 million *and* reinvested
resources into our community’s
safety and well-being.”
DOJ TO SUE TEXAS OVER
BORDER BILL THAT MAKES IL-
LEGAL ENTRY A STATE CRIME
By Bethany Blankley
(The Center Square) — The U.S.
Department of Justice says it
will sue Texas over a new law
that makes illegal entry into
Texas from a foreign country
between ports of entry a state
crime.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed SB 4
into law on Dec. 18, saying its
goal is to “stop the tidal wave of
illegal entry into Texas.” It creates
a new state criminal offense
for illegal entry into Texas from
a foreign nation. Repeat offenders
who illegally reenter Texas
can face a prison sentence of up
to 20 years, according to the new
law.
Although the law is slated to
go into effect March 5, it will
likely be halted, held up by two
lawsuits.
Within less than 24 hours of
Abbott signing the bill into law,
El Paso County and several
groups sued. Their lawsuit argues
SB 4 created Texas’ “own
immigration entry and re-entry
crimes; state police arrest noncitizens
for alleged violations of
these crimes; state prosecutors
bring charges in state courts;
state judges order deportation;
and state officers carry out those
orders. The federal government
has no role in, and no control
over, Texas’s scheme.”
One of their attorneys said,
“Governor Abbott’s efforts to
circumvent the federal immigration
system and deny people the
right to due process is not only
unconstitutional, but also dangerously
prone to error, and will
disproportionately harm Black
and Brown people regardless of
their immigration status.”
The U.S. Justice Department
agrees.
Principal Deputy Assistant
Attorney General Brian Boynton
on Thursday sent a letter to
Abbott that states SB 4 is unconstitutional
and will disrupt
federal government operations.
CBS News published the letter,
which constitutes notice that the
DOJ intends to bring a lawsuit to
enforce the supremacy of federal
law and enjoin the enforcement
of SB 4.
The Blues - January ‘24 61