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Federal Blocks Texas Immigration Law

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A federal judge has temporarily blocked a new Texas law aimed at deporting migrants and making unauthorized border crossing a state crime, ruling it unconstitutional and in violation of the federal government’s exclusive authority over immigration matters. The judge described the law as “antithetical to the Constitution,” effectively preventing it from being implemented temporarily.

Texas’ Senate Bill 4 (SB4), a key legislative priority for Republican Governor Greg Abbott, passed by the state legislature last year, criminalized unauthorized individuals entering Texas from outside a designated port of entry. It granted state authorities the power to detain and deport those in violation. The law was scheduled to become effective in March.

U.S. District Court Judge David Alan Ezra ruled in favor of the Justice Department and immigration rights advocates, approving their requests to prevent Texas from implementing SB4. In his detailed 114-page order for the preliminary injunction, Judge Ezra outlined four key reasons for halting the enforcement of the bill.

The judge stated, “Initially, the Supremacy Clause alongside Supreme Court precedent confirms that states are not permitted to enforce immigration laws unless specifically authorized by the federal government. Furthermore, SB4 is at odds with crucial aspects of federal immigration legislation, adversely affecting the United States’ international relations and commitments under various treaties.”

“To allow Texas to permanently supersede federal directives on the basis of an invasion would amount to nullification of federal law and authority—a notion that is antithetical to the Constitution and has been unequivocally rejected by federal courts since the Civil War,” the ruling stated.

Ezra’s further reasoning dismissed Governor Greg Abbott’s assertion that Texas is facing an invasion through migrant influxes across the southern border, justifying the state’s constitutional authority to enact protective legislation. The judge clarified, stating that “increases in immigration do not equate to an ‘invasion.'”

Moreover, Ezra explained that permitting the state to implement its law under the guise of self-protection from an invasion would essentially undermine the federal government’s exclusive power over immigration regulation.

The Republican-majority Texas legislature approved SB 4, and Governor Greg Abbott, also a Republican, signed it into law in December.

At the preliminary injunction hearing on February 15, Judge Ezra questioned the state’s claims that SB 4 neither violated nor overrode any federal immigration laws. He highlighted the risk that permitting Texas to enact its immigration legislation might lead other states to do the same, effectively transforming the United States into a confederacy of states.

“What a nightmare,” Judge Ezra said at the injunction hearing.

“It would not surprise me at all that this case should make its way to the Supreme Court,” Judge Ezra said.

Hours after the order was issued, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton declared the state had filed an appeal.

“Not worried—this was fully expected,” Texas Governor Abbott stated on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Texas has solid legal grounds to defend against an invasion.”

Governor Abbott further stated, “The President of the United States has a constitutional duty to enforce federal laws protecting States, including laws already on the books that mandate the detention of illegal immigrants.”

“Texas has the right to defend itself because of President Biden’s ongoing failure to fulfill his duty to protect our state from the invasion at our southern border,” Abbott concluded.