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The law known as Senate Bill 4, which makes it a state crime to enter Texas illegally from Mexico, has made its way swiftly through the court system. The law is currently blocked by an injunction issued in February by U.S. District Judge David Ezra after bouncing back and forth between the Supreme Court and an appellate court.
Although immigrant rights organizations braced themselves for a long legal battle, many have been surprised by the speed of the courts’ decisions. The case is expected to make it all the way up to the Supreme Court, and will have widespread implications for immigration enforcement in the State of Texas and beyond.
Here’s the latest on the legal challenge to the law and where it currently stands:
March 26
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decided late Tuesday to keep in place a ban on the implementation of SB 4, denying Texas’ petition to allow the state to implement the law while the appeals process continues. The chief judge cited past precedent that determined that immigration enforcement falls to the federal government. The court has another hearing scheduled April 3 to determine the legality of the law.
March 20
Judges for the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments to determine whether to issue a stay. They did not make a decision by the end of the day, meaning an injunction blocking the law remained in place.
March 19
The Supreme Court denied the emergency application to vacate the stays, allowing SB 4 to go into effect in Texas. The decision, which was announced in the afternoon, was based on procedural grounds, rather than the merits of the case.
In an explanation of the decision, Justice Amy Coney Barrett said that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals must make a decision first, urging the lower court to act swiftly.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a statement in response, calling the Supreme Court’s decision a victory. Gov. Greg Abbott called the decision “a positive development.” The White House said that it disagreed with the Supreme Court’s decision. “S.B. 4 will not only make communities in Texas less safe, it will also burden law enforcement, and sow chaos and confusion at our southern border,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
Within a few hours, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed its stay on the preliminary injunction, halting the law once again. It scheduled oral arguments to consider another stay on March 20 at 10 a.m.
March 18
SB 4 seemed to go into effect for a few minutes after Justice Samuel Alito’s previous stay halting its implementation expired. He then issued another stay indefinitely blocking the law from implementation.
March 12
Justice Alito extended the stay until 5 p.m. EST on March 18, keeping in place a ban on the law’s implementation.
March 4
The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to prevent SB 4 from taking effect, by vacating the stay issued on March 2 by the appeals court. Justice Samuel Alito temporarily blocked the law from going into effect until March 13 while the court further deliberated.
March 2
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay that suspended the injunction, although it gave the Supreme Court a week to intervene.
Immigrant rights groups in Houston criticized the decision as part of a “political chess game” where immigrants are the pawns.
Feb. 29
U.S. District Judge David Ezra issued an injunction blocking the law, stating that it “threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice.” He questioned the State of Texas’s argument that it was facing a foreign “invasion.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton immediately appealed, saying that the state “has a clear right to defend itself from the drug smugglers, human traffickers, cartels, and legions of illegal aliens crossing into our State as a consequence of the Biden Administration’s deliberate policy choices.”
Jan. 3, 2024
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas. “Because SB 4 is preempted by federal law and violates the U.S. Constitution, the Justice Department seeks a declaration that SB 4 is invalid and an order preliminarily and permanently enjoining the state from enforcing the law,” the statement said. The two lawsuits were then consolidated into one.
Dec. 19, 2023
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the Texas Civil Rights Project filed a lawsuit against SB 4, alleging that it is unconstitutional and will lead to racial profiling. They said in the complaint that the law violates the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution because it bypasses federal law. “The Supreme Court has routinely and very clearly determined that immigration is in the purview of the federal government,” the ACLU of Texas previously told the Houston Landing, citing a 2012 Supreme Court ruling that struck down a similar Arizona law.
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