A federal appeals court has permitted Texas to enforce parts of a state law that allows officials to arrest and deport individuals suspected of illegal border crossings, sparking renewed legal and political debates.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 on Monday to lift an injunction issued earlier this month by U.S. District Judge David Ezra, who argued the law undermined federal authority over immigration.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) appealed Judge Ezra’s decision, securing a 2-1 ruling from the appellate court. Pro-illegal immigrant groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Texas Civil Rights Project, condemned the decision and vowed to continue challenging the law. These groups seek to block state-level penalties for reentering the country after deportation and grant powers for Texas magistrates to issue deportation orders.
The latest legal challenge follows an earlier appeals court ruling that cleared the way for Senate Bill 4 (SB4) to take effect after the Trump administration withdrew a federal lawsuit originally filed during the former Biden regime.
The ruling is expected to intensify debates over state versus federal authority on immigration enforcement. Supporters of SB4 argue it helps address illegal immigration, while opponents—largely Democrats who hope a future Democrat-led federal government will adopt a more lenient approach to enforcing federal immigration law—claim it undermines federal jurisdiction.
In an earlier development, the former Biden administration had challenged SB4, but the Trump administration dropped the case. Legal disputes over the law have continued as pro-illegal immigrant groups press lawsuits on behalf of individuals affected by its provisions.
