Texas officials can once again enforce key portions of the state’s immigration law after a federal appeals court cleared the way for arrests and removal proceedings targeting individuals that entered the country illegally.
In a significant victory for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and state Republicans, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit paused a lower court ruling that had blocked several provisions of Senate Bill 4 (SB 4), one of the toughest state-level immigration measures enacted in recent years.
The decision allows Texas law enforcement officers to begin enforcing sections of the law while legal challenges continue to work their way through the courts.
The Fifth Circuit’s order was brief and did not provide detailed legal reasoning. Judge Leslie Southwick dissented and would have denied the state’s request to revive the disputed provisions.
The ruling overturns a preliminary injunction issued in May by U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra, who sided with two Honduran immigrants challenging the law in a class-action lawsuit.
Ezra had concluded that the plaintiffs faced a credible risk of arrest and removal if the provisions were allowed to take effect and blocked enforcement while the litigation proceeded. Friday’s appeals court order places that injunction on hold.
Another provisions makes illegal reentry into the United States a state criminal offense. Critics note that the provision can apply to individuals who have since obtained lawful federal immigration status, including green cards.
The law also grants Texas magistrates the authority to issue removal orders and creates a separate criminal offense for individuals who refuse to comply with those orders. Another provision requires state courts to continue prosecutions when defendants have pending immigration proceedings before federal authorities.
Supporters argue the law gives Texas critical tools to address illegal immigration tailored to their unique challenges at the southern border.
Abbott celebrated the ruling on social media shortly after it was issued.
“We will keep fighting in the courts, working with President Trump, and doing everything necessary to secure our border and protect Texans,” the governor wrote on X.
The lawsuit was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the national ACLU and the Texas Civil Rights Project, which argue that SB 4 unlawfully intrudes on federal authority over immigration policy.
The groups have described SB 4 as one of the harshest immigration laws ever enacted by a state legislature.
The broader legal battle is far from over. The Fifth Circuit’s order only addresses whether the law can be enforced while litigation proceeds. Federal courts will still ultimately decide whether the challenged provisions are constitutional.
For now, however, Texas law enforcement agencies have been given the green light to begin exercising powers that open borders advocates have spent months trying to block.
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