Texas appeals federal court ruling on anti-immigration law

AUSTIN, Texas - Texas is appealing a federal court ruling that blocked provisions of the state's anti-immigration bill a day before it was set to take effect.

A federal judge blocked four provisions of Senate Bill 4 earlier this month, saying the law would open the door for other states to implement their own immigration laws and essentially override the uniform federal laws already in place.

What they're saying:

"S.B. 4 could open the door to each state passing its own version of immigration laws. The effect would moot the uniform regulation of immigration throughout the country and force the federal government to navigate a patchwork of inconsistent regulations," Judge David Alan Ezra said in his May 14 order.

Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed the decision Friday asking the court to allow the law to go into effect fully while the appeal process is navigated.

The other side:

"I am appealing to fully uphold SB 4 and protect Texas's sovereignty," Paxton said. "Under Texas law, SB 4 criminalizes illegal entry and that portion of the law remains fully in effect. My appeal seeks to ensure that the prohibitions on illegal reentry can also be enforced. Texas has the right to defend its border. I will never stop fighting for that right."

The state argues that the law doesn't seek to override federal immigration laws and instead compliments them.

"S.B.4 does not conflict with, but instead mirrors and complements, federal immigration law. As the United States explains, ‘far from conflicting with the INA’s objectives, state-level penalties like those in Senate Bill 4 advance those objectives, further combatting and disincentivizing the very conduct that Congress has sought to eliminate in full,’" the filing states.

What provisions of S.B. 4 are currently blocked?

The backstory:

The following provisions were blocked:

• The reentry crime that would apply to anyone living in or traveling through Texas who reentered the United States — even if the person had federal permission to reenter or has since obtained lawful immigration status such as a green card.
• The power given to magistrates — who don’t know the intricacies of immigration law — to issue deportation orders.
• The crime of failing to comply with the magistrate’s removal orders.
• The requirement that magistrates continue a prosecution even when a person has a pending immigration case under federal law.

Senate Bill 4

SB 4 would allow for state and local law enforcement officers to arrest people they suspect may have crossed the border illegally. It also enhances such crossings to a state crime, and requires state judges to expel people convicted of illegal entry. 

Critics of the law, like the ACLU of Texas, call it "extreme," and have filed recent lawsuits to prevent it from going into effect.