'Stand up for us': Why Austin's hands are tied in its response to immigration policy

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- It's a question Austin City Council Member Mike Siegel says he's getting often: Why isn't the city of Austin doing more to take a stand against federal immigration policy?

"We just had an ICE raid a few blocks from my home over the weekend, and had a lot of community members reach out to me," Siegel said on an episode of Inside Austin's Agenda in April. "'What can you do about this? Stand up for us.'"

For years, the city of Austin has faced pressure from its largely left-leaning voter base to react to federal and state immigration rules. During President Donald Trump's first term, Austin was the poster child of resistance.

That Austin City Council, which included now-Congressman Greg Casar, made Austin the first major U.S. city to declare itself a "freedom city" in response to state and federal pushback on sanctuary cities — including Texas' Senate Bill 4 in 2017.

That law prohibits any local policy that would interfere with state or federal immigration enforcement, effectively banning sanctuary cities.

But the city of Austin fought hard against it, passing "freedom city" resolutions, identifying legal loopholes in SB 4. For example, while state law allows officers to question someone on their immigration status, the city instructed police to inform people of their right not to answer that question, NBC News reported.

"I was the lawyer who represented the city as we challenged some of the anti-immigration laws of 2017, and so I'm acutely aware of what we're allowed to do and what we're not allowed to do," Siegel said.

Since then, state lawmakers have passed a bill that allows local law enforcement to arrest people they believe are in the U.S. illegally. That one came in 2023 and has been tied up in federal court since. Just like the previous council, Austin addressed that one with a resolution, too.

“We really want our police officers focused on investigating violent crime. That’s where their time and resources should be spent. Not carrying out this policy that we know leads to racial profiling, that will separate families and could potentially lead to deportations," Austin City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes said after that resolution passed.

But between state and federal rules, the city of Austin's hands are largely tied on what more it can do in broad brush strokes. That is, if it doesn't want to lose massive chunks of funding or face legal penalties.

"So that's where you can't, quote, unquote, be a sanctuary city. You know, we can't use our police officers to disrupt ICE enforcement, things of that nature. Or, you know, frankly, our chief of police could lose her law enforcement license. We could have funding taken away from our city," Siegel said. "And so that's kind of the balance, you know, SB 4 and other state legislative efforts that constrain our local control. We have to stay within those parameters and still do as much as we can."

There have been dozens more bills filed this legislative session tied to immigration. One would require large counties in Texas to work more closely with ICE on immigration enforcement.

"We declare ourselves a welcoming city, and that includes for all immigrants, right? And so we really try to live up to that, but we don't want to do anything that will jeopardize our funding or our autonomy," Siegel said.

KXAN Graphic Artist Wendy Gonzalez, Director of Investigations & Innovation Josh Hinkle, Digital Special Projects Developer Robert Sims and Digital Director Kate Winkle contributed to this report.