Civil rights organizations, led chiefly by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), initiated a legal battle on Tuesday, taking aim at a new Texas law that equips state officials with expanded powers to arrest, prosecute, and deport individuals who cross into the U.S. from Mexico unlawfully. The act, known as SB4, was signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, marking the latest move in a consistent sequence of confrontations between Texas and the federal government over illegal immigration.
The ACLU lodged the claim in the U.S. District Court in Austin, Texas, acting on behalf of advocacy groups Las Americas and American Gateways, as well as El Paso County. The case is directed against Texas officials responsible for enforcing SB4, which is slated to take effect on March 5, 2024.
In their argument, the ACLU cautioned that SB4 could potentially usher in an era of racial profiling by law enforcement, pointing to recent allegations about the connections of some politicians who backed the bill with white supremacist organizations. The plaintiff advocacy groups also contend that the new law will lower the number of non-citizens their organizations can aid in attaining asylum and other forms of immigration relief.
In support of their action, the ACLU drew upon a precedent set in the 2012 case of Arizona v. US, which found a similar Arizona immigration law to be in violation of the US Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. According to the Clause, when it comes to areas where Congress has either implicitly or explicitly asserted its authority, federal law takes precedence over state legislature. This is seen as applicable in the case of immigration, as Congress has implemented a comprehensive framework for regulation and enforcement through the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), rendering similar efforts by states a violation of the Supremacy Clause.
The ACLU posits that this new Texas law fails to offer any legal cover for individuals currently seeking asylum or, indeed, any other form of protection or relief provided under the INA. Meanwhile, Abbott defends the bill as a pragmatic response to what he deems a lack of action from the federal government. He insists that the new law equips Texas with needed measures to guard against the consequences of “open border policies”.