Grassroots organizations and community leaders gathered in City Hall July 27 calling city council to denounce Senate Bill 4, an anti-immigration bill allowing local police to question the immigration status of people they lawfully detain.
Several community leaders including Ruben Becerra, owner of Gil’s Broiler and Dixie Cream donut shop, and Reverend Karl Brown of United Campus Ministry, spoke within the lobby of City Hall imploring council members to take a stance against the controversial bill to diminish fear in the community.
Members submitted a request to city council to “direct the City Attorney to either join the lawsuit against Texas or file an amicus curiae with one of the existing lawsuits.”
An amicus curiae, a brief submitted to the court with the intent of influencing the court’s decision, would allow San Marcos to petition the court for the opportunity to express disdain against the bill without participating in the lawsuit itself. No council members were present at the meeting.
Karen Muñoz, organizer and co-founder of the grassroots activist organization Mano Amiga, helped draft the resolution in hopes of convincing the city council to join in the lawsuit.
Muñoz, along with Gloria Salazar, founder and program coordinator of Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos, met with Mayor John Thomaides May 30 and requested he speak with Austin Mayor Steve Adler about the possibility of San Marcos joining the litigation against SB4.
San Marcos is not currently involved in the litigation.
“The council has taken no action to amend this list of guiding principles, and therefore has no official position as a body on this particular bill,” said Communications Specialist Trey Hatt to KXAN in a recent statement.