Immigration is a key topic of the day.
In the Texas Legislature, the so-called sanctuary cities bill first passed just after midnight, but not without additional debate.
The House of Representatives debated the bill again, and made its final approval Tuesday afternoon.
The bill would give police the authority to question people about their legal status.
It's aimed at preventing so called 'sanctuary cities,' or areas where police are not required to provide officials with information about undocumented immigrants.
In essence, allowing people to live in the states illegally, but critics say House Bill 12 will ignite racial profiling.
"I think it's going to cause a lot of problems, said Rudy Rivera. "I think in the future there's going to be stereotyping and there's going to be picking on certain individuals."
Aaron Salinas also opposes the bill.
"I believe it's beyond their jurisdiction to question somebody about their illegal status," said Salinas.
Martha Sosa thinks the bill, if passed and enforced, could prevent illegal immigration.
"If they have a suspicion on a certain person, they should have the right to question anybody," said Sosa.
State Representative Veronica Gonzales called it 'overkill.'
"When people are arrested, and they are booked into jail, they're run through a system to determine if they are legal or illegal, and if they are illegal, a hold is put on them so that that way they could be ultimately deported," said Gonzales.
She said a bill like this could be a major problem in Rio Grande Valley.
"I know we have a lot of people in the Valley that spanish is their first language," said Gonzales. "We have people that speak broken English...Are they going to be targeted by this bill?"
Gonzales said it doesn't stop there.
HB 12 would allow the District Attorney's office, the county, utility districts and schools to question a person's legal status.
"You may have kids missing school because their parents are afraid that the kids are going to be asked about their parents' status," she said.
An even bigger problem according to Gonzales, is that if these administrations don't inquire about a person's status, they could lose state funding.
The bill passed 100 to 47, and if the Senate approves the bill, then Governor Perry is expected to sign it into law.
Click here to read of full copy of House Bill 12
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