Texas Law SB 4: Judge Grants Petition to Suspend Anti-Immigrant Law

Austin, Texas. A district judge granted a request to suspend the implementation of SB 4, a Texas law that allowed state authorities to make arrests against immigrants, according to documents in their possession. Univision Austin.

Originally, the law was supposed to go into effect on March 5, 2024, and was approved by the Texas Capitol in 2023.

Texas is expected to appeal the decision and the case will be elevated to the US Fifth Circuit, where there are disputed cases on the border between the Lone Star State and the federal government, such as Boise’s floating ‘wall’.

After passing through the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, it is possible that the law will reach the Supreme Court, Judge David Ezra speculated during a hearing on February 15.

In challenging SB 4, the Justice Department and civic organizations argued that the federal government had exclusive authority to regulate the admission and deportation of noncitizens.

“Immigration, foreign relations and international border control” are federal interests, says the document with which they filed a permanent application for the suspension order.

In addition, the US government maintains that the SB 4 law could harm its relations with Mexico, as it seeks to deport migrants by state judges regardless of whether the country accepts them.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has already spoken out against the move, alleging that Governor Abbott encouraged it as he seeks to become vice president for next November’s elections.

Another argument against SB 4 was that it would violate the United States’ Foreign Commerce Clause, which considers the movement of persons, and in court precedents, to be the crossing of immigrants across borders, as this affects commerce.

“Therefore, states cannot control the movement of non-citizens across international borders,” the federal government said.

SB 4 contemplates serious felonies, for which people can spend 2 to 20 years in prison.

“The state of Texas says it’s going to take people to Mexico. It’s going to leave them in Mexico. And if people refuse at that point, say, ‘I don’t want to be deported under Texas law,’ Texas says, well, we’ll give you 20 going to serve a year in prison,” explained David Donatti, an accompanying attorney. The ACLU of the state outside the February 15 hearing.

With SB 4, judges in the state of Texas can issue removal orders.

Arrests of immigrants by city police, county sheriffs or Texas Department of Public Safety officials would make these authorities act as if they were the Customs and Border Protection agency, which is federal.

Previous court cases have already determined that these functions of arresting immigrants for their status and deporting them should fall under the federal government.

The ACLU and civil rights organizations have noted that SB 4 could also lead to discrimination, as it opens the door to arresting people suspected of being immigrants.