Lawsuit Filed Challenging TX SB4

ACLU Texas, Dec. 19, 2023

"The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the ACLU, and the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP) filed a lawsuit today challenging Texas Senate Bill 4, which would permit local and state law enforcement to arrest and detain people they suspect to have entered Texas from another country without federal authorization. It also will authorize Texas judges — who are not trained in immigration law and have no proper authority to enforce it — to order a person’s deportation without due process and before they have an opportunity to seek humanitarian protection.  The lawsuit states that S.B. 4 is unconstitutional, arguing that the law is preempted by federal law. The plaintiffs challenging the law are Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, American Gateways, and the County of El Paso, Texas. Governor Greg Abbott signed the bill into law Monday. If it is not blocked by the courts, it will go into effect on March 5, 2024.  “We’re suing to block one of the most extreme anti-immigrant bills in the country,” said Adriana Piñon, legal director of the ACLU of Texas. “The bill overrides bedrock constitutional principles and flouts federal immigration law while harming Texans, in particular Brown and Black communities. Time and time again, elected officials in Texas have ignored their constituents and opted for white supremacist rhetoric and mass incarceration instead. The state wastes billions of taxpayer dollars on failed border policies and policing that we could spend on education, better infrastructure, and better health care. Texans deserve better and we’re holding Texas politicians accountable to make sure this law never goes into effect.” "