Communitarian localism vs. proprietary localism: Sanctuary Cities and the State-City Dynamic in Texas by Sabah Athar

14 November 2023, 5-6pm. Click here to join the session. 

This seminar is co-hosted by the College of Law, Social and Criminal Justice Research Seminar Series and the Centre for American Legal Studies. Our series offers exciting insights into ongoing research projects within the law school and conducted by our external research partners. We often feature work from our research centres. Join us for invigorating discussion!

In this session, we hear from Sabah Athar. Sabah is a Lecturer in Law, joining BCU as a member of staff in 2022. Prior to this, she has also been at BCU since 2019 for her PhD in the Law School’s Centre for American Legal Studies.

Sabah’s PhD addresses localism in Texas through the lens of the sanctuary cities phenomenon. Her research is an archival study of the history of Texas to trace the constitutional recognition of municipalities, aiming to challenge the claim by Governor Greg Abbott that the assertion of power by local governments conflicts with the Texas model.

Sabah has demonstrated a strong interest in the political and legal history of the United States that she channels through teaching primarily on the LLB with American Legal Studies course. Outside of her PhD and teaching, Sabah has recently been assisting Judge Greenaway with research for his bi-ennial lecture series as part of the Centre for American Legal Studies.

In this session, Sabah will give the following presentation, followed by an interactive Q&A.

Title: Communitarian localism vs. proprietary localism: Sanctuary Cities and the State-City Dynamic in Texas

Abstract:

In recent years, the assertion of localism in the United States has been unprecedented, resulting in a number of locally initiated movements that reject the state and/or federal government position on any particular policy issue. This has resulted in pushback from state governments who have imposed pre-emptive measures on local governments to prevent subordinance by what have been termed “creatures of the state.” The state’s pre-emptive authority over local regulation is bolstered by the absence from the US Constitution of the mention of local governments, thereby leaving them at the mercy of the state which has the power to establish and delegate powers to local government.

Through the lens of the sanctuary city movement, this presentation addresses how local governments in Texas assert their constitutionally derived powers and how this is met with resistance from the state. This presentation is part of an archival study of the history of local power in the context of the state of Texas.

It considers the assertion of local power with reference to ideas of collectivism, inclusion and pluralism, or “communitarian localism,” which is starkly contrasted with the state’s preemption law, Senate Bill 4, that strikes down local sanctuary policy with financial and political consequences for public officials and their jurisdictions. These punishments are considered “hyper preemption” and are considered through theories of individualism and elitism, or “proprietary localism.”

This presentation particularly addresses this dynamic with reference to the sanctuary city movement initiated by “rebel cities” and the response by the state of Texas to protect itself not only against immigrants but also against the threat of local regulations which, the state claims, threaten the “Texas model.”

This seminar has now concluded but it is available on demand. If you have any questions, contact Mitchell Longan, the Research Seminar Series leader, at mitchell.longan@bcu.ac.uk.