A United States federal court this Thursday temporarily blocked the Texas state law SB4what criminalizes the irregular crossing of the country’s southern border.
The federal judge’s preliminary order David Ezraof the Western District of Texas, granted a motion that pauses what is being considered by critics of the state governor Greg Abbott as the toughest anti-immigrant law in the US.
The rule, which was to come into force on March 5, would allow state and local authorities to arrest and deport people suspected of entering Texas illegally from another country.
Approved in mid-November by the state Congress – controlled by the Republican Party – and ratified a month later by Governor Abbott, the so-called Senate Bill 4 (SB4) makes it a crime for a foreign person to “enter or attempt to enter the state from a foreign nation” irregularly.
The motion was presented in December 2023 by immigrant rights groups, which argued that if the regulations came into effect, it could lead to violations of civil rights and racial discrimination. The state government opposed the demand.
The court’s decision this Thursday is temporary until the court thoroughly examines the matter and makes a decision.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office immediately appealed the federal ruling, according to a statement issued Thursday.
The court ruling rejected the Texas measures to control immigrationignoring Republican allegations about an “invasion” along the state’s southern border due to the record level of illegal crossings.
Judge Ezra held that this law “violates the supremacy clause of the Constitution, conflicts with federal immigration law, and could impede the foreign relations of the United States and its treaty obligations,” they stated. local media.
Abbott again blamed Biden for the entry of migrants into Texas and said that “this case will ultimately be decided by the United States Supreme Court.”
“Texas has a constitutional right to defend itself due to the continuous President Biden’s failure to protect our state from invasion at our southern border”, he stressed. “We will not back down in our fight to protect our state.”
