A federal appeals court has allowed Texas to begin enforcing Senate Bill 4, the state’s far-reaching immigration law that gives state and local authorities new power to arrest people accused of illegally entering Texas from Mexico.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday stayed a lower court order that had blocked key parts of the law earlier this month. The ruling does not decide whether SB 4 is constitutional, but it allows the law to take effect while the legal challenge continues.
SB 4, passed by Texas lawmakers in 2023, makes it a state crime to enter Texas from another country outside a legal port of entry. It also gives Texas magistrates authority to order certain people returned to the country from which they entered.
Gov. Greg Abbott praised the ruling in a public post, calling it a “major border security victory.”
“SB 4 makes it a state crime to illegally cross the border from a foreign nation,” Abbott wrote.
The ruling marks the latest turn in a legal fight that has moved through federal courts for more than two years. Supporters of the law argue Texas needs greater enforcement authority because of illegal border crossings and pressure on state resources. Opponents argue immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and that SB 4 creates an unconstitutional state immigration system.
Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge David Ezra blocked several provisions of the law from taking effect while the case continued. Ezra wrote that the state’s removal process “threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice.”
The 5th Circuit’s Friday order stayed Ezra’s ruling. The court did not issue a detailed explanation with the order.
Civil rights groups challenging the law criticized the decision.
“The court’s decision is disappointing and out of step with the Constitution and the unbroken practice of other courts,” the Texas Civil Rights Project said in a public statement. “S.B. 4 will devastate our communities and families by turning our state’s legal system into an unconstitutional weapon to surveil, harass, and harm Texans based on their perceived immigration status.”
The current lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas and Texas Civil Rights Project on behalf of plaintiffs who argue they could face arrest, detention or removal under the law. The groups have challenged four major parts of SB 4, including the creation of a state crime for reentry, the authority of magistrates to issue removal orders, the creation of a crime for failing to comply with those orders and requirements that prosecutions continue even if a person has pending federal immigration proceedings.
The law’s legal future remains unsettled. The 5th Circuit ruling allows enforcement for now, but the underlying constitutional challenge is still active and could continue through further appeals.
The case centers on a question that has long shaped immigration law in the United States. States have authority over policing and public safety, but the federal government has broad power over immigration, foreign relations and removal proceedings. Critics say SB 4 crosses that line by allowing Texas courts to take on immigration functions normally handled by federal agencies and immigration courts.
Texas officials have argued the law does not conflict with federal law because it mirrors existing federal immigration offenses and gives the state a way to respond to illegal crossings. Opponents say the law does more than assist federal authorities and instead creates a parallel enforcement system.
SB 4 was signed as part of Abbott’s broader border security push, which has included Operation Lone Star, the deployment of state troopers and National Guard members, border barriers and state arrests of migrants on other charges.
The timing of the ruling also comes under a different federal administration than when the law was passed. SB 4 was approved during former President Joe Biden’s administration, when Abbott and other Texas Republicans frequently accused Washington of failing to secure the border. With President Donald Trump back in office, Texas officers are now operating in a different federal enforcement environment.
It remains unclear how quickly SB 4 will be enforced statewide. The law could apply to state troopers, local police officers and sheriff’s deputies, but enforcement may depend on guidance, training and local decisions by individual agencies.
For immigrant communities, law enforcement agencies and local governments, the ruling creates a period of uncertainty. SB 4 can now be enforced while the courts continue to weigh whether Texas went beyond its constitutional authority.
