AUSTIN, Texas – A panel of federal appeals court judges late Tuesday upheld the block on Texas’s arrest and imprisonment of migrants under the controversial state immigration law known as SB4. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals judges, in a 2-1 decision, denied Texas’s request to suspend the lower court order that deemed SB4 unconstitutional and conflicting with federal immigration laws.
As a result, Texas will continue to be prohibited from enforcing SB4, which aims to criminalize unauthorized immigration at the state level. The 5th Circuit is set to hold a hearing next week to determine the law’s legality and constitutionality.
SB4, passed by the Texas legislature last year, establishes state crimes for entering or reentering the state from Mexico outside of official ports of entry, duplicating actions already illegal under federal law. This law authorizes law enforcement officials at the state, county, and local levels to stop, detain, and prosecute migrants suspected of violating the new state criminal statutes.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other officials have defended SB4 as a necessary measure to address illegal immigration, especially in light of what they perceive as insufficient action by the Biden administration. Critics, however, including migrant advocates, the Biden administration, and the Mexican government, have condemned the law as anti-immigrant. The Mexican government has pledged to refuse migrants returned by the state.
The Biden administration has filed a lawsuit against SB4, arguing that the measure jeopardizes diplomatic relations with Mexico, flouts U.S. asylum law, and hampers immigration enforcement – a federal responsibility.
Chief 5th Circuit Judge Priscilla Richman noted in the majority opinion that the power to control immigration exclusively rests with the federal government. She highlighted the creation of separate state criminal offenses and procedures regarding unauthorized entry and removal of noncitizens by SB4.
The legal battle surrounding SB4 underscores the ongoing contentious debate over immigration policies and practices within the United States. It also brings into question the balance of power between state and federal authorities concerning immigration regulations and enforcement.