With the stroke of a pen, Gov. Greg Abbott has made Texas a "show me your papers" state. While our governor revels in this, let's consider what has been accomplished with the enactment of Senate Bill 4, the so-called sanctuary city bill.

We've silenced noncitizen victims of crimes. To those who would retort, "They've no right to be here, so why protect them?" I say, think again: Criminals don't ask for papers. Not the muggers. Not the burglars. Not the rapists. Victims who do not call the cops because they are afraid this will lead to their deportation leave felons at large. Those are criminals who remain free and emboldened to prey upon you, me and our children.

Criticism of SB 4 focused upon its cruel effect upon nonnative victims who must now fear the police. But the suffering of "illegals" needn't move me in the least for me to recognize that their distrustful silence endangers all of us.

It's happening already. Even before Abbott signed SB 4 into law, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo announced that in his city, rape reports by Latinos were down over 42 percent from last year. Show-me-your-papers can only accelerate this trend.

It is not just victims but witnesses whom SB 4 renders mute. By signing the law, Abbott instantly erected a wall — and not a "great" or a "beautiful" one — between police and the people they protect and serve. This wall of silence was easily constructed: The Founders left all the building materials in our Bill of Rights. Police can ask all they like whether you or I came here legally, but the Fifth Amendment spares us any obligation to answer.

Experienced criminals know this: That's why they "lawyer up" when police ask them even the simplest questions. Joining their ranks will now be immigrants, documented and undocumented alike, and anyone who might be accused of harboring them. Add them up, and easily one in 10 Texas residents now has something to hide from police.

And our Constitution lets them. The officer on the beat who asks, "Did you get the number of that car?" or, "Have you seen this man in the neighborhood?" will, more and more, hear only this in reply: "Are you detaining me, officer?"

Making local police enforce federal immigration statutes only undermines the rule of law. It hobbles officers' efforts to prevent and solve crime. The assaults, burglaries and rapes that go unreported will disguise this fact, but we are all less safe in show-me-your-papers Texas.

Paul Zoltan is a Dallas immigration attorney and co-founder of the Refugee Support Network. Website: zoltanlaw.com