Texas Scorecard by Luca Cacciatore March 18, 2024
The law was supposed to finally take effect, but the court issued an extension as the clock ran out.This article has been updated with a response from the governor that was posted to social media.
The United States Supreme Court has indefinitely extended a pause on the implementation of Texas’ new border security law.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 4 of the 88th Legislature’s fourth special session in December. The measure made it a state crime to enter Texas illegally and empowered local law enforcement to administer the new rule. It was slated to take effect on March 5.
However, after the federal government challenged the measure in a lawsuit, the U.S. District Court in Western Texas blocked it from taking effect on February 29.
Judge David Alan Ezra—who is from the U.S. District Court in Hawaii but was assigned to Western Texas due to a backlog of cases—argued the law “threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice.”
He also consolidated the federal government’s lawsuit with a similar one filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas, and Texas Civil Rights Project in December on behalf of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, American Gateways, and El Paso County.
More:
https://texasscorecard.com/state/us-supreme-courts-pause-on-texas-border-security-law-could-expire-today/
