Texas Immigration Laws Blocked—Again

An appeals court blocked a new Texas law on illegal immigration on Wednesday, just hours after the Supreme Court allowed it to be enforced. This was not the first time the law has been blocked.

Law blocking: Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 4 into law in December 2023. SB4 allows state law enforcement to arrest and prosecute migrants who attempt to cross the border illegally and gives judges the power to order migrants out of the country. Penalties for refusing to comply include up to 20 years of prison time.

The law was due to come into effect in March. But several roadblocks have stopped it from moving forward:

• District Judge David Ezra in Austin blocked the law, arguing that it “threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice.”
• The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals later reversed Ezra’s ruling.
• The Biden administration appealed to the Supreme Court to block the law, temporarily suspending its effect until March 18.
• In December, multiple human rights organizations sued Texas on behalf of El Paso County and two immigrant rights organizations.
• In January, the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Texas.

Border confrontations: This is not the only time Texas has confronted the federal government about its border. The state has fought to prevent the federal government from tearing down 30 miles of razor-wire fencing along its border with Mexico, as well as a 305-meter floating barrier along the Rio Grande River.

The president has a constitutional responsibility to uphold federal laws protecting U.S. citizens from foreign invaders. Yet the Biden administration is not only ignoring the border crisis but worsening it.

Why this illogical attempt to dismantle America’s border?

Calculated: In our latest Trumpet magazine, we wrote, “It is not that the Biden administration is too lazy or incompetent to do its job. Rather, the Biden administration is on the side of the illegal aliens!” Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry’s book America Under Attack explains why.

Learn more: Read “The International Border Crisis.”