A legal case was filed against by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) against the Texas Officials pertaining to a part of the House Bill 11 passed last September, that prohibits the harboring of illegal undocumented immigrants.
As reported by 1200 News Radio Woai, MALDEF filed the lawsuit as a portion of the HB11 declaring that it as a felony for an immigrant rights organization or a landlord to give shelter to illegal immigrants. MALDEF's Vice President Nina Perales said that they think the new measure is illegal.
"This is just another punitive measure that we believe was intended to intimidate those who work directly with immigrants," Perales said. She also cited that the immigrant harboring laws have been struck down in five different states as well as it was deemed to be an unconstitutional intrusion to the federal government's responsibility to protect the borders.
Perales also added that they deem the measure as a move to intimidate those who work closely to immigrants. According to CBS DFW, two of the plaintiffs of the case are landlords who claim that they will be affected by the new law since they do not inquire of their tenants' immigration status as it would invade their privacy.
Another member of the group suing is Jonathan Ryan, the director of a San Antonio-based immigration legal services center that runs a shelter for immigrants whose staff could be in danger because of the new law.
The House Bill 11 is part of a $800 million border security effort by the Legislature. It was signed by Gov. Greg Abott last year and stated that "by concealing, harboring, or shielding that person from detection", a person can be charged by different felony degrees and punishment will depend on the age of the immigrant as well as whether he or she became a victim of sexual and other crimes.
According to The Daily Caller, the law was implemented last September and was created to provide reinforcement in the state police and technology in the Southern border. It provides funds for Texas National Guard to continue their operation until the Texas Department of Public Safety can train and send troops to the area.
Gov. Abott was also included as one of the defendants in the case as well as the director of director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the members of the Texas Public Safety Commission. The states mentioned by MALDEF to have struck down "immigrant harboring" laws are Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.
