"Undoubtedly, there will be those who will ... continue to push for 'sanctuary cities' legislation here in Texas," said state Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth. "We will continue to fight against unconstitutional attempts to use the state's police powers to target members of our communities based on their race, ethnicity, or national origin."

Congressional response

Several Texas congressional leaders said they were encouraged that the bulk of the Arizona law was rejected.

"When three out of four provisions of a state's law are struck down, it obviously can't be viewed as a victory for the state," said U.S. Rep. Charles Gonzalez, D-San Antonio. "Nor can an unconstitutional law be used a model for the nation, as Governor Romney suggested. The fact the Romney has said that as president he would not even challenge Arizona's law, shows what a sad direction our country's immigration laws would go under his administration."

But he and others say the "show me your papers" rule is troubling.

"Its implementation should be reevaluated because of racial profiling," said U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin. "(Monday's) decision only underlines the need for prompt, comprehensive immigration reform - write the DREAM Act into law for youth and let those immigrants, who have been longstanding, law abiding, tax paying residents, pay a penalty and get in line to become citizens.

"Even Rick Perry said the Arizona law was not right for Texas," Doggett said. "Thankfully the Court said it was wrong for America."

U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, said Arizona's anti-immigration law "does not go far enough in preventing the unjust harassment of anyone who looks Latino or sounds 'foreign.'"

"Letting stand a provision that requires police to check someone's status because they 'suspect' them of coming into the country illegally is preposterous," he said. "Your grandmother or little brother can be walking to the corner grocery store and be stopped and detained if they look 'suspicious.'"

But U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, said he doesn't believe the ruling settles anything.

"I don't think that today's mixed ruling by the Supreme Court ends the debate; in fact it may only intensify the battle over immigration reform," he said..

Eroding freedoms

Frustrated by a lack of congressional action, cities such as Farmers Branch created their own reforms.

In 2006, then-Councilman Tim O'Hare drew national attention by proposing measures to make it harder for illegal immigrants to live and work in the city. O'Hare - who eventually became the city's mayor - proposed rules such as fining landlords who rent to illegal immigrants, requiring English to be the city's official language and penalizing businesses that hire people in this country illegally - many proposals challenged in court.

He has since left office, but said Monday's ruling seems unfair.

"This shows why it is important for conservatives to vote in every election ...especially when it comes to the presidency ... so the president can appoint conservative Supreme Court Justices," he said. "Otherwise, we will continue to see our freedoms eroded, our values eroded and a federal government in chaos."