UPDATE: Judge blocks portions of Texas immigration enforcement law before Friday effective date

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 happened

In 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.