Around 20 people charged after Texas ‘sanctuary city’ sit-in

AUSTIN, Texas – About 20 people are being charged with criminal trespassing after staging an hours-long sit-in at a state building to protest a Texas bill compelling local police to enforce federal immigration law.

More than 100 protesters, many wearing T-shirts denouncing the proposal against “sanctuary cities,” marched Monday to the state capitol, then to the nearby Department of Insurance building.

They sat in the lobby, vowing to remain until Republican Gov. Greg Abbott rejects the bill, which hasn’t yet cleared the Legislature. The governor has an office in the building but wasn’t present.

The protesters spent hours chanting and blocking entrances.

Police ordered them to leave around 5 p.m. Most complied, though around 20 refused.

They were issued trespassing citations, and attorneys arriving to help them weren’t allowed inside the building.