Abbott: Texas 'Sanctuary Cities' Law Won't Spark Racial Profiling

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is insisting the Lone Star State's new ban of "sanctuary cities" will not lead to racial profiling.

"If you are not someone who has committed a crime, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. There are laws against racial profiling, and those laws will be strictly enforced," Abbott said Tuesday, The Texas Tribune reports.

Abbott, who last week inked a controversial ban of sanctuary cities, said the law will not result in people being "pulled over and detained."

"As a person whose family is made up of Hispanics, I want to make sure no one who is Hispanic gets detained inappropriately," Abbott said, referring to his wife, Cecelia, the granddaughter of immigrants from Mexico, and his in-laws.

The Texas law, considered the nation's toughest, allows authorities to seek the immigration status of any detainees and requires police chiefs and sheriffs to comply with federal requests to hold criminal suspects for possible deportation.

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