Judge blocks controversial SB 4 law that would let Texas detain and deport immigrants

"Police officers and judges in Texas will not be able to arrest, detain and deport immigrants who have crossed the southern border into Texas without authorization. A district judge has blocked key provisions of SB 4, the law that granted them these powers and which will not take effect this Friday as planned. It is expected that the decision will be appealed to a higher court."

"SB 4 conflicts with key provisions of federal immigration law, to the detriment of the United States' foreign relations and treaty obligations, wrote Judge David Alan Ezra of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in his 78-page opinion. Ezra's decision to grant a motion for preliminary injunction was not unexpected. At a hearing on Wednesday, he had already asserted that four provisions of the law were unconstitutional and problematic."

"On Thursday, he insisted that allowing SB 4 to advance could open the door for each state to pass its own version of immigration laws. 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 justice argued."

"SB 4 threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice. Along with Florida, Texas is one of the states most committed to President Donald Trump's policy of mass detentions and deportations. According to records from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), nearly 400 state police officers have cooperation agreements with the federal agency to hand over custody of individuals without legal i"

A federal district judge issued a preliminary injunction stopping key provisions of Texas SB 4 from taking effect as scheduled. The blocked provisions would have allowed Texas police officers and judges to arrest, detain, and deport immigrants who crossed the southern border into Texas without authorization. The judge found SB 4 conflicts with federal immigration law and could harm U.S. foreign relations and treaty obligations. The judge also warned that allowing SB 4 to proceed could enable other states to create their own immigration laws, undermining uniform federal regulation and forcing the federal government to manage a patchwork of inconsistent rules. The ruling is expected to be appealed.

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