The ACLU and other progressive activist organizations sued the state of Texas on Tuesday over a new law authorizing the arrest and deportation of illegal immigrants.
Texas governor Greg Abbott signed senate Bill 4 into law on Monday, officially making illegal immigration a state crime.
In their joint lawsuit, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas, and Texas Civil Rights Project allege the bill is unconstitutional because no state can implement its own immigration laws under the Supreme Court’s Arizona v. U.S. ruling, which reserves that responsibility for the federal government.
The immigrant-rights groups are asking a federal judge to prevent Texas from implementing SB 4 and to declare it unlawful, given the precedent set by the Court.
“S.B. 4 creates a new state system to regulate immigration that completely bypasses and conflicts with the federal system,” the lawsuit states. “It allows state officers to arrest, detain, and remove individuals from the United States and mandates removal for those who are convicted of the new state crimes of illegal entry and reentry — all without any input or involvement whatsoever from federal officials.”
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in an Austin federal court, particularly takes issue with SB 4 undermining the asylum process in the U.S., a right that the plaintiffs claim is guaranteed regardless of whether immigrants enter the country legally or illegally.
The three groups submitted the lawsuit on behalf of El Paso County, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso, and American Gateways in Austin. The plaintiffs are suing Texas Department of Public Safety executive director Steve McCraw and El Paso district attorney Bill Hicks.
SB 4 gives state and local governments in Texas the authority to arrest illegal aliens who cross its border from Mexico between officially designated ports of entry. Under the bill, those who unlawfully cross can be charged with a state misdemeanor and face up to one year in prison. A felony charge, carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years, can be leveled if illegal immigrants are charged with additional crimes or don’t comply with a judge’s orders.
The legislation also authorizes state judges to deport illegal aliens to Mexico if they see fit, rather than pursue prosecution under federal law. Last month, both the Texas senate and house passed the Republican-sponsored bill that is now being challenged.
While Democrats and immigrant-rights advocates vehemently disapprove of SB 4, Texas Republican lawmakers and the governor maintain that the ongoing border crisis necessitates state action, given the Biden administration’s failure to act.
“SB 4 is the Texas solution to a Texas problem. It is a humane, logical and efficient approach to a problem created and fostered by the Biden administration’s continued failure and refusal to secure our border,” said Republican state representative David Spiller, a sponsor of the landmark legislation.
“Biden’s deliberate inaction has left Texas to fend for itself,” Abbott said in Brownsville, where he signed the bill.
The new law is expected to escalate tensions between Abbott and the Biden administration. The Texas government has claimed that the federal government isn’t doing enough to curtail illegal immigration, while the White House and Justice Department have been actively challenging the state’s sanctioned buoy barriers and razor wire along the Rio Grande.