A Texas law giving state law enforcement officers expanded power to arrest people who illegally cross the southern border was blocked by a federal judge on Thursday — less than a week before the law was slated to go into effect.
U.S. District Judge David Ezra granted a preliminary injunction that will block the Texas law, which made crossing the border illegally a state crime, as record numbers of migrants cross into the U.S. under President Joe Biden, The Texas Tribune reported. Ezra, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, wrote in his ruling that states “may not exercise immigration enforcement power except as authorized by the federal government.”
Ezra added that the Texas law conflicts with the Constitution “to the detriment of the United States’ foreign relations and treaty obligations.” The law will be put on hold as the legal battle between Texas and the Biden administration continues.
The new immigration enforcement powers for police, which were proposed as Texas Senate Bill 4 and signed by Republican Governor Gregg Abbott, allow law enforcement officers to arrest and jail illegal immigrants and also grant state judges the power to order deportations. The law drew harsh criticism from the Biden administration, which argued that the state law interfered with federal immigration law.
In December, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Texas over the law, arguing that is discriminatory and will target minorities, and a month later, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the state. The Biden administration’s and ACLU’s lawsuits have since been combined.
A lawyer for the state of Texas argued in court that the massive influx of illegal immigrants crossing from Mexico into the state constitutes an invasion, adding that under Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution, Texas has a right to defend itself. Judge Ezra, however, disagreed that Texas was under any sort of “military invasion.”
“I haven’t seen, and the state of Texas can’t point me to any type of military invasion in Texas,” Ezra said. “I don’t see evidence that Texas is at war.”
Abbott pledged in December that the state would fight to enforce the law all the way up to the Supreme Court. He said the law was necessary because of President Biden’s border policies, adding that “Texas has the constitutional authority to secure our border through historic laws like SB 4.”
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The Texas governor said he wasn’t surprised by the judge’s ruling on Thursday, adding that his administration “will not back down in our fight to protect Texas.”
“Texas has the constitutional right to defend itself because of President Biden’s ongoing failure to fulfill his duty. We will not back down in our fight to protect Texas,” Abbott wrote in a post on X. “This case will ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Texas has the constitutional right to defend itself because of President Biden's ongoing failure to fulfill his duty.
We will not back down in our fight to protect Texas.
This case will ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. pic.twitter.com/o7ugwxViMU
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) February 29, 2024