HOUSTON — It is often called Texas’ “show me your papers” law, but few papers are actually being shown in some of the state’s biggest cities.
A federal appeals court on Tuesday largely upheld the Texas immigration law known as Senate Bill 4, which bans so-called sanctuary cities in the state. Among other provisions, the bill allows police officers to question the immigration status of anyone they arrest or detain, including during routine traffic stops.
But months after portions of the law went into effect in September, prompting legal battles and fierce debates about whether it could lead to widespread racial profiling, officers in some Texas cities appear to be asking about immigration status only in very rare cases. And even after the court’s ruling this week, officials in those cities are not planning to make them change.
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