Even the Texas attorney tasked with representing the Lone Star State in federal court is having a difficult time defending Senate Bill 4 — his state's hardline new immigration law.
CNN reported that Texas Solicitor General Aaron Nielson, who is tasked with defending SB 4 before the 5th Circuit US Court of Appeals this week, admitted that some of the law's stricter provisions may run afoul of federal immigration law. Nielson said SB 4 was designed to go "up to the line" of what was legal at the state level.
"Now, to be fair, maybe Texas went too far," Nielson said.
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Under SB 4, entering Texas illegally is a state-level misdemeanor offense, and allows state-level judges to issue deportation orders to undocumented migrants. Nielson added that, according to the Texas Attorney General's office, while the law gives state judges the power to authorize deportation, the actual process of deporting migrants would still be done by federal immigration authorities after migrants are turned over to the feds at ports of entry.
Refusing deportation orders is a felony offense under the new law. Additionally, SB 4 makes it illegal for anyone who has been deported in the past – either by state or federal authorities — to ever reenter Texas. This ignores the reality of many migrants who are deported but then later legally reenter the country.
So far, the federal judiciary has paused the law from going into effect as it conducts a review of whether it conflicts with existing federal laws governing immigration. US District Judge Alan Ezra — a Ronald Reagan appointee — previously granted a temporary injunction in February to prevent SB 4 from going into effect.
"In the final analysis, it is clear that the Plaintiffs, particularly the United States, will suffer grave irreparable harm were SB 4 to take effect, especially where Texas has other aspects of Operation Lone Star in full force," Ezra wrote. "The balance of equities unequivocally weighs in favor of denying the stay pending appeal."
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been engaging in a months-long standoff with federal authorities over his state's border crossing in Eagle Pass. While Abbott initially ordered a razor wire barrier to be constructed at the border crossing, the Supreme Court demanded he take it down, as international borders are considered to be under federal — not state — jurisdiction.
After federal officials cut the razor wire, Abbott defied the Court and rebuilt the barrier, and then sent national guardsmen to Eagle Pass a show of force against the federal government. Former President Donald Trump encouraged Republican governors across the US to also send their own national guard troops to Texas to show solidarity with Abbott.
A three-judge panel for the 5th Circuit — considered by legal observers to be by far the most conservative of all 13 federal judicial circuits — previously issued a 2-1 decision preventing SB 4 from going into effect. The full 5th Circuit is now considering Texas' appeal, in what's known as an en banc motion. Should Texas fail to overturn the panel's decision, their only remaining option would be the Supreme Court.
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