A panel of federal appeals court judges has blocked Texas from arresting and jailing migrants under a state immigration law known as SB4. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals judges denied Texas’ request to suspend the lower court order that found SB4 unconstitutional and in conflict with federal immigration laws. Texas will continue to be prohibited from enforcing SB4, which criminalizes unauthorized immigration at the state level, pending further court action. The 5th Circuit will have a hearing on April 3 to determine the legality and constitutionality of SB4.
SB4 was passed by the Texas legislature last year and creates state crimes for entering or reentering the state from Mexico outside an official port of entry, actions already illegal under federal law. Law enforcement officials at the state, county, and local levels would be authorized to stop, jail, and prosecute migrants suspected of violating these new state criminal statutes. SB4 would also allow state judges to order migrants to return to Mexico as an alternative to continuing their prosecution. Texas officials have defended the law as a necessary tool to combat illegal immigration, accusing the Biden administration of not doing enough to deter migrants from coming to the U.S.
Governor Greg Abbott has implemented an aggressive state border operation, busing tens of thousands of migrants to major cities and fortifying areas near the Rio Grande with razor wire, barriers, and National Guard troops. However, SB4 has faced criticism from migrant advocates, the Biden administration, and the Mexican government, which denounced the law as “anti-immigrant” and vowed to reject migrants returned by the state. The Biden administration has argued that SB4 jeopardizes diplomatic relations with Mexico, ignores U.S. asylum law, and obstructs immigration enforcement, which is a federal responsibility.
Two judges on the 5th Circuit panel appeared to agree with the Biden administration’s arguments, citing the Supreme Court’s long-standing precedent that immigration control is exclusively a federal power. Chief 5th Circuit Judge Priscilla Richman wrote in the majority opinion that SB4 creates separate, distinct state criminal offenses and related procedures regarding unauthorized entry of noncitizens into Texas from outside the country and their removal. The legal battle over SB4 continues, with the 5th Circuit poised to consider the law’s legality and constitutionality in an upcoming hearing. This case underscores the ongoing debate over immigration enforcement and federal versus state authority in the U.S. legal system.
