Federal Judge Blocks Texas Law That Allows Police To Arrest Illegal Migrants, Abbott Will Appeal

A federal judge has blocked a Texas law that gives police the power to arrest migrants suspected of illegally entering the state.

Senate Bill 4 was scheduled to take effect next week, but U.S. District Judge David Ezra issued a preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement until the courts play out.

SB 4 relates to “prohibitions on the illegal entry into or illegal presence in this state by a person who is an alien, the enforcement of those prohibitions and certain related orders, including immunity from liability and indemnification for enforcement actions, and authorizing or requiring under certain circumstances the removal of persons who violate those prohibitions; creating criminal offenses.”

Ezra’s ruling says that states “may not exercise immigration enforcement power except as authorized by the federal government.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott plans to appeal the decision.

“Texas will immediately appeal this decision, and we will not back down in our fight to protect our state – and our nation – from President Biden’s border crisis,” Abbott said in a statement.

“Texas has the constitutional right to defend itself because of President Biden’s ongoing failure to fulfill his duty. We will not back down in our fight to protect Texas. This case will ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court,” Abbott wrote on X.

Texas has the constitutional right to defend itself because of President Biden’s ongoing failure to fulfill his duty.

We will not back down in our fight to protect Texas.

This case will ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. pic.twitter.com/o7ugwxViMU

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) February 29, 2024

WATCH:

Federal Judge Blocks New Texas Law to Arrest Illegal Immigrants pic.twitter.com/ldcQBhtP2m

— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) February 29, 2024

The Texas Tribune reports:

Texas is being sued by the federal government and several immigration advocacy organizations. Texas appealed the ruling to the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ezra said in his order Thursday that the federal government “will suffer grave irreparable harm” if the law took effect because it could inspire other states to pass their own immigration laws, creating an inconsistent patchwork of rules about immigration, which has historically been upheld as being solely within the jurisdiction of the federal government.

“SB 4 threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice,” Ezra wrote.

Ezra also wrote that if the state arrested and deported migrants who may be eligible for political asylum, that would violate the Constitution and also be “in violation of U.S. treaty obligations.”

“Finally, the Court does not doubt the risk that cartels and drug trafficking pose to many people in Texas,” Ezra wrote in his ruling. “But as explained, Texas can and does already criminalize those activities. Nothing in this Order stops those enforcement efforts. No matter how emphatic Texas’s criticism of the Federal Governments handling of immigration on the border may be to some, disagreement with the federal government’s immigration policy does not justify a violation of the Supremacy Clause.”

Federal Judge Blocks New Texas Law To Arrest Illegal Immigrants https://t.co/S4d7Eco2Ar

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 29, 2024

“Under the law, a migrant in Texas custody could either agree to a judge’s order to leave the U.S. or be prosecuted on misdemeanor charges of illegal entry. Migrants who don’t comply could face arrest again under more serious felony charges,” Fox News writes.

Texas will appeal ruling to block law allowing police to arrest illegal immigrants, Abbott says https://t.co/1Z0LA35wbU

— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 29, 2024

Per Fox News:

The law is a dramatic step by Texas to police immigration. Abbott, a Republican, has repeatedly slammed the Biden administration for not doing enough to address the border crisis. Texas has bussed more than 65,000 migrants to cities across America and installed razor wire along the banks of the Rio Grande.

Opponents have characterized the measure as the most drastic attempt by a state to crack down on immigrants since a 2010 Arizona law — which detractors called the “Show Me Your Papers” bill — was mostly struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Thirty former U.S. immigration judges, who served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, signed a letter this month condemning the measure as unconstitutional.

Ezra, a Reagan appointee who previously served as Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, said the Texas law conflicts with the U.S. Constitution and federal immigration law, “to the detriment of the United States’ foreign relations and treaty obligations.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Department of Justice and other groups sued Texas arguing the law is unconstitutional.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.

View the original article here.