The American Association of Law Schools is moving a 2018 conference from Austin to Chicago and will no longer hold meetings in Texas because of the state's new controversial immigration law and a proposed “bathroom bill” that restricts restroom access for transgender people.

Paul Marcus, president of the association, wrote to Texas lawmakers in a letter Thursday that the group's 2018 Conference on Clinical Legal Education would no longer be held in Austin because of the divisive measures. He also pledged that AALS will hold no other future meetings in the state.

Marcus said the decision was not made lightly, and that the conference relocation comes at a substantial financial cost to the organization.