What is Texas Senate Bill 4? How will it work?

On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court ratified Texas Senate Bill 4. SB4 allows police officers to detain and prosecute undocumented immigrants. State judges may use it to deport individuals back to Mexico. SB4 was supposed to go into effect in early March, but it was repeatedly blocked by the US Department of Justice and immigration advocacy groups.

What is Texas Senate Bill 4?

Senate Bill 4 would make crossing the Texas-Mexico border between ports of entry a state felony. A Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in prison, may be brought against a person if a police officer has reasonable suspicion that they crossed the Rio Grande unlawfully. If the offender commits additional crimes, they may be charged with a second-degree felony and face up to 20 years in jail.

SB4 was struck down by a federal court last month at the request of the Biden administration, citing a conflict between state and federal immigration laws. The 5th Circuit then issued an administrative stay to reevaluate the decision. On Tuesday, the full court decided not to extend the suspension order issued by the Fifth Circuit. CBS News wrote, “The Court gives a green light to a law that will upend the longstanding federal-state balance of power and sow chaos, when the only court to consider the law concluded that it is likely unconstitutional,” as per Sotomayor’s dissenting opinion, joined by Jackson.

According to the bill’s author, the legislation is intended to target new border crossers rather than illegal immigrants who have been in Texas for some time. The law prohibits police officers from making arrests in a variety of locations, including schools, churches, and healthcare facilities.

Why is SB4 being opposed?

Immigration advocacy groups and the Department of Justice argue that the regulation violates the federal government’s exclusive jurisdiction over immigration and will lead to police using racial profiling. Texas officials have insisted that the state must intervene because the federal government isn’t doing enough to combat illegal immigration.

According to SB 4, immigrants who seek asylum and have their criminal history checked by federal officials may face deportation if they are charged with the new state felony and arrested by Texas police before surrendering to the Border Patrol.