A coalition of left-wing legal groups has filed a new lawsuit seeking to block key provisions of Senate Bill 4, Texas’ landmark border enforcement law, just weeks after a federal appeals court cleared the way for the measure to take effect.
The class-action suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas, and the Texas Civil Rights Project, asks a federal court to issue emergency relief before SB 4 goes into effect on May 15. The plaintiffs are targeting several core provisions of the 2023 law, including the power of Texas magistrates to issue deportation orders and penalties tied to illegal aliens who fail to comply with those orders.
The filing marks the latest attempt to derail one of the strongest state-level immigration enforcement laws in the country. Passed by the Texas Legislature in 2023, SB 4 makes it a state crime to enter Texas illegally from a foreign country outside an official port of entry and gives state and local law enforcement authority to arrest those accused of doing so.
The law had been tied up in court since its passage until the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a district court injunction last month. That ruling did not settle the underlying constitutional issues, but instead found that the original plaintiffs lacked standing, prompting activists to refile with a new legal strategy.
