Legal Battle Over Texas Law Could Provide States a Blueprint for Protecting Themselves
Texas has borne the brunt of the illegal immigration crisis touched off by the Biden administration’s de facto open-borders policies. Millions of illegal aliens have streamed across the state’s 1,254-mile border with Mexico, imposing enormous burdens, disrupting the lives of Texans and endangering the security of communities across the state.
In the face of obstinate refusal on the part of the Biden administration to secure the border and deter mass illegal immigration, Texas began taking steps on its own to address the crisis. Texas has erected its own barrier at the Rio Grande River to make it more difficult for illegal aliens to enter the state, and in December Gov. Greg Abbott signed SB 4 into law. Among other things, SB 4 gives Texas officials the authority to arrest, detain and prosecute people for entering illegally.
Demonstrating, once again, that not only does the Biden administration refuse to secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws, but it also opposes anyone else attempting to do so. The Department of Justice (DOJ) immediately filed a lawsuit to prevent Texas from implementing SB 4. “The United States brings this action to preserve its exclusive authority under federal law to regulate the entry and removal of noncitizens,” the lawsuit contended, even though the administration has steadfastly refused to exercise those authorities.
The DOJ lawsuit has had more twists and turns than a roller coaster, with a federal judge, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court all involved in determining whether the law can go into effect, while the courts determine if SB 4 is constitutional. (As of completion of this edition of the FAIR newsletter, SB 4 was being blocked from being implemented by the Fifth Circuit, even after the Supreme Court said it could earlier that same day.) FAIR’s legal affiliate, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), filed a brief in the Fifth Circuit arguing that Texas’ efforts to protect its people against mass illegal immigration is indeed constitutional.
Even before SB 4 took effect, the steps taken by Texas to deter illegal immigration were having a positive effect on the state. As FAIR documented during a visit to the Eagle Pass and Del Rio sectors of the U.S.-Mexico border in early February, illegal entries in those areas had declined considerably from the record-setting pace of last fall. Texas’ efforts have included erection of physical barriers such as placing shipping containers topped with razor wire along the banks of the Rio Grande and even building its own border wall. The declines in illegal entries in Texas, however, have been largely offset by increases in illegal entries in Arizona and California, where state officials are making little or no effort to deter illegal aliens from entering.
Other states are following the legal battle over SB 4 closely, as is FAIR’s State and Local Engagement Department, which works with state legislators around the country. Eight states have already introduced bills that are substantially similar to Texas’ SB 4. The bills in Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma have been introduced and are awaiting action in the Legislatures. In Iowa, the legislature passed a bill similar to Texas’ SB 4 on March 19 and it is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds. While Arizona’s legislature approved a similar bill, it was vetoed by Gov. Katie Hobbs in early March. Lastly, in both Mississippi and West Virginia, legislation similar to Texas’ SB 4 has already failed.