Court Blocks Key Provisions of S.B. 4, Texas’ Extreme Anti-Immigration Law
From a Press Release from the ACLU Texas:
"The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas granted provisional class certification and a motion for preliminary injunction Thursday blocking four key provisions of Texas Senate Bill 4 (88-4).
In his order, the judge states that `S.B. 4 could open the door to each state passing its own version of immigration laws. The effect would moot the uniform regulation of immigration throughout the country and force the federal government to navigate a patchwork of inconsistent regulations.'
The 2023 law is one of the most extreme anti-immigrant laws ever passed by any state legislature in the country. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, ACLU, and the Texas Civil Rights Project filed the class-action lawsuit on May 4. The following provisions remain blocked:
- The reentry crime that would apply to anyone living in or traveling through Texas who reentered the United States — even if the person had federal permission to reenter or has since obtained lawful immigration status such as a green card.
- The power given to magistrates — who don’t know the intricacies of immigration law — to issue deportation orders.
- The crime of failing to comply with the magistrate’s removal orders.
- The requirement that magistrates continue a prosecution even when a person has a pending immigration case under federal law.
The illegal entry provision will go into effect May 15. While not a formal part of this suit, the provision suffers from the same constitutional problems as the rest of the law."
Access the court order here.
