Civil rights groups sue to block Texas law letting police arrest migrants at border

A coalition of civil rights groups filed a new lawsuit Monday seeking to stop parts of a Texas law that allows police officers in the Lone Star State to detain immigrants suspected of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

The law will go into effect next week after a federal appeals court last week struck down a lower court decision that blocked its implementation through 2024. In that decision, the appellate court vacated the preliminary injunction blocking the law, finding that the plaintiffs had no right to sue.

Senate Bill 4 made entering the country illegally a state-level crime and gave state judges the authority to order certain people to leave the country if convicted.

Courts have long held that immigration enforcement has historically been viewed as the responsibility of the federal government, but Texas Republicans sought to challenge that precedent by approving SB 4.

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The Texas Civil Liberties Project, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Texas argued that the law was unconstitutional, stating that immigration law was the sole responsibility of the federal government and that federal law should preempt state law.

The groups are trying to block four provisions of SB 4: Making it a crime to re-enter the country illegally even if the person has since obtained legal status such as a green card; giving state judges the authority to issue deportation orders; creating an offense for failure to comply with magistrate’s deportation orders; and the requirement that magistrates continue to prosecute even if a person has an immigration case pending under federal law, such as a request for asylum.

“Our fight against SB 4 is not over until justice is won,” Texas Civil Rights Project attorney Kate Gibson Kumar said in a statement. “SB 4 is not only unconstitutional, it is a despicable law that uses our Texas resources to harm communities across our state. The Texas Civil Rights Project will continue to fight to protect Texas communities from the wrath of SB 4.”

Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrant Rights Project, argued that SB 4 is “cruel and illegal,” adding that groups “will continue to fight it until it is permanently struck down.”

The Texas Civil Rights Project, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Texas argued that the law was unconstitutional. (Getty Images)

“Every court that has reached the merits of laws like SB 4 has found them to be unconstitutional,” he said.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The law is scheduled to go into effect on May 15 unless another court takes action.

“SB 4 would turn our police and judges into immigration officers who threaten neighbors who have families here, who have lived here for years, even those with legal status,” said Adriana Piñon, legal director of the ACLU of Texas. “Immigration enforcement is the sole purview of the federal government, and no state has ever claimed the power Texas has threatened to use here. We are taking this back to court to defend our Texas communities.”

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Courts have long held that immigration enforcement is the sole responsibility of the federal government. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Monday’s lawsuit is the latest legal challenge to a Texas law passed by state lawmakers at a time when migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border have increased during the Biden administration.

Another lawsuit was filed Monday by some of the same advocacy groups that filed the objection. The Biden administration also initially sought to halt the legislation in 2024 before the Trump administration ended the Justice Department’s involvement in the case last year as part of the president’s mass deportation agenda.