In 2017, the City of San Antonio joined other liberal/leftist cities and states in defying President Trump by declaring themselves “sanctuaries” for illegal aliens and refusing to cooperate with immigration law enforcement. In December 2017, SAPD officers stopped a trailer truck, and 12 suspected undocumented immigrants found inside the trailer were released instead of handing them over to federal immigration officials.
A lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in Travis County district court in late 2018 accused SAPD Chief William McManus and other city officials of ignoring a state law that required local governments to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Records show that since 2018, the City of San Antonio has spent more than $2.75 million (of taxpayers’ money) in outside attorney fees to fight the lawsuit filed by the state.
City Attorney Andy Segovia has arrogantly defended the City’s decision to settle the case. Records confirm that as of Jan. 13, San Antonio has paid $2,750,242.56 to “outside counsel,” an average of more than $100,000 a month since the suit was filed. Apparently, Segovia doesn’t care about the price tag because politics are more important than the law.
The citizens, taxpayers, and voters of San Antonio should also be upset by the disturbing allegations. An amended petition filed by the AG in October 2020 claims that San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg instructed city staff not to contact federal authorities as the incident played out. The amendment claims high-ranking city officials were told “the Mayor does not want ICE called” and that Nirenberg later described their release without being handed over to federal immigration officials as a “Christmas gift” for their families.
Don’t blame the police. Blame the liberals and leftists who don’t care about the costs of their agenda to taxpayers.