FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
September 20, 2017
Steve Marshall
For More Information, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 1
ATTORNEY GENERAL STEVE MARSHALL JOINS COALITION OF EIGHT STATE
ATTORNEYS GENERAL SUPPORTING STATE LAWS BANNING SANCTUARY CITIES
(MONTGOMERY) – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall joined a coalition of eight state
attorneys general in supporting state laws banning sanctuary cities. On Tuesday, Alabama
signed onto a multi-state amicus brief siding with Texas as it appeals a federal court ruling
blocking the state’s sanctuary cities ban.
“When local officials deliberately choose to ignore the law and thereby place their citizens at
risk, the result is a breakdown in the rule of law,” said Attorney General Marshall. “This is
precisely what we are witnessing with sanctuary cities and localities which prohibit or impede
cooperation between federal and local officials on immigration enforcement. Alabama supports
Texas’ sanctuary cities ban because we believe individual states should have the right to
prohibit sanctuary cities within their borders.”
The eight-state amicus brief opposes a federal court injunction of Texas’s ban on sanctuary
cities. Texas law requires local entities and officials to not interfere with federal immigration
enforcement. It also places duties and liabilities on certain persons in the criminal justice
system, provides civil penalties and creates a criminal offense for violating those provisions.
In June, Alabama was also one of ten states defending President Trump’s executive order that
directs the federal government to take lawful actions to ensure compliance with laws
prohibiting sanctuary cities.
Alabama joined Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West
Virginia in filing the amicus brief with the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday evening.
A copy of the amicus brief is available via this link.
–30–
501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.alabama.gov
