Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect a May 14 court ruling halting some, but not all, of Senate Bill 4.
Updated 7:25 p.m. May 14
Two major provisions of Texas' immigration enforcement law were blocked by a federal judge May 14, extending a yearslong legal battle over state and federal authority to remove undocumented migrants from the country.
Siding with two Honduran immigrants who sued the state, U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra struck down two components of Senate Bill 4 hours before the 2023 law was set to take effect. An unchallenged portion of SB 4 will become law May 15.
Ezra heard oral arguments from lawyers representing the Honduran citizens—both of whom live in Austin—and the state May 13. The following day, he issued a 78-page order declaring portions of SB 4 "patently unconstitutional."
Zooming in
In a May 4 lawsuit, the Honduran immigrants challenged a section of the law that would allow Texas police to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the Texas-Mexico border multiple times. They also objected to a section that would authorize state judges to issue deportation orders after migrants are arrested for illegal entry.
Ezra granted a preliminary injunction against those parts of the law May 14, writing that only the federal government, not states, has the authority to enforce immigration restrictions.
"If allowed to proceed, SB 4 could open the door to each state passing its own version of immigration laws," he wrote. "The effect would moot the uniform regulation of immigration throughout the country and force the federal government to navigate a patchwork of inconsistent regulations."
While Ezra's order blocks the "illegal reentry" section of SB 4, it does not prohibit arrests for "illegal entry" on a first offense, meaning some migrants could still be arrested for crossing the Texas-Mexico border without authorization. The illegal entry provision of SB 4 is set to take effect May 15, although state agencies have not detailed how they plan to enforce the law.
More context
Ezra previously blocked the entirety of SB 4 more than two years prior. His May 14 order deals directly with parts of the law that were challenged in a May 4 suit.
The state is expected to appeal Ezra's ruling. The Texas Attorney General's Office did not respond to a request for comment before press time.
Originally posted 8:17 p.m. May 13
A 2023 Texas law allowing state and local police to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally is scheduled to take effect May 15.
The big picture
Texas legislators passed Senate Bill 4, a state immigration enforcement law, in late 2023. The law was originally set to take effect in March 2024, but has been tied up in court for more than two years.
If SB 4 takes effect May 15, it will make it a state crime to cross the Texas-Mexico border without proper documentation or authorization. Texas officials would have the unprecedented authority to arrest and order the removal of migrants suspected of crossing the border illegally.
Currently, only the federal government can deport migrants, although law enforcement agencies across Texas have been assisting federal immigration officers under a separate state law.
Immigrant advocacy groups have argued that SB 4 undermines the federal government’s ability to enforce immigration laws and could lead to racial profiling. State officials have contested that the law is in line with federal immigration restrictions, asserting that Texas has “a right to defend itself” against illegal border crossings.
The Biden administration was among the plaintiffs that initially challenged the law in 2024, but the U.S. Department of Justice pulled out of the case after President Donald Trump took office. A federal appeals court dismissed that lawsuit last month, ruling that the remaining plaintiffs lacked standing to sue.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the Texas arm of the ACLU and the Texas Civil Rights Project filed a new suit on May 4, seeking to block the law on behalf of two immigrants living in Texas. According to court documents, both plaintiffs live in Texas and previously entered the U.S. “without inspection.” One plaintiff is a legal permanent resident of the U.S. while the other has been approved for a visa given to certain crime victims, and both said they fear they will be “arrested, detained and deported” under SB 4.
On May 13, U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra—who previously deemed SB 4 unconstitutional—heard arguments in the secondary lawsuit, although he did not issue a ruling before press time May 13.
What happenedIn a 10-7 ruling April 24, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined that El Paso County and two immigrant rights organizations did not have legal standing to challenge SB 4. The Fifth Circuit lifted a lower court ruling that had blocked SB 4 for over two years, allowing the measure to become law on May 15.
A three-judge panel from the Fifth Circuit previously prevented SB 4 from taking effect amid a 2024 legal battle. The full court ruled April 24 that the law is “enforceable only against aliens illegally present in Texas, not against advocacy organizations or Texas counties” and dismissed the original suit, but did not address the constitutionality of SB 4.
State Attorney General Ken Paxton celebrated the April 24 ruling, calling it a “major victory” for Texas officials. Plaintiffs in that case called the decision “a setback, not the final word.”
“We are alarmed by the Fifth Circuit’s decision to allow SB 4 to move forward, leaving immigrant families across Texas to live in fear of a law that a prior panel rightly found unconstitutional. ... We remain committed to fighting this dangerous law at every turn,” Edna Yang, co-executive director of plaintiff American Gateways, said in an April 24 statement.
Breaking down the bill
SB 4 creates new state crimes for:
- “Illegal entry,” which refers to noncitizens who cross the Texas-Mexico border between designated border crossings or ports of entry
- “Illegal reentry,” which refers to noncitizens who were previously denied admission to or removed from the U.S. and later “enter, attempt to enter, or [are] at any time found” in Texas
For the first time, the law would allow Texas police to arrest migrants they suspect entered the country illegally and authorize judges to order migrants’ removal if they are found guilty of one of the above offenses. People who do not comply with removal orders could face felony charges of 2-20 years in a state prison,
according to the Texas Penal Code.
State agencies have not detailed their plans to arrest, detain or deport migrants if SB 4 takes effect.
“Texas will not publicly reveal operational details to the cartels attempting to smuggle illegal immigrants, drugs, and weapons into our country, but it is fully prepared to enforce the law,” a spokesperson for Gov. Greg Abbott said in a May 13 statement. “Texas will not back down from its constitutional right to self-defense.”
One more thing
A separate state law passed in 2025 requires most Texas sheriff’s offices to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to help enforce federal immigration restrictions. Senate Bill 8 took effect in January, giving any Texas sheriff’s office that operates a county jail until Dec. 1 to enter a 287(g) agreement with ICE.
Sheriffs can choose from three types of agreements listed on the ICE website to identify certain undocumented migrants. As of May 12, 383 Texas cities, counties and state agencies had signed agreements with ICE, according to data from the federal agency.
