Justice Department Sues Texas Over New State Immigration Enforcement Law

The U.S. Department of Justice has followed through on its warning and filed a lawsuit against Texas over a state immigration law passed by the Legislature in November.

Senate Bill 4 makes a first unauthorized entry into Texas a misdemeanor, with penalties rising to felony charges for later offenses. It also allows a local judge or magistrate to order a person returned to Mexico, regardless of that person's nationality.

In a statement announcing the suit, the Justice Department called the law a clear violation of the U.S. Constitution, arguing that it challenges the federal government's exclusive authority over immigration. "The Constitution assigns the federal government the authority to regulate immigration and manage our international borders," the statement said. The department added that because federal law preempts SB 4 and the law violates the Constitution, it is seeking a declaration that the measure is invalid, along with preliminary and permanent orders barring the state from enforcing it.

The lawsuit was widely expected. Last week, the department said Gov. Greg Abbott and the state had until Wednesday to announce they would not enforce the legislation, which is scheduled to take effect in early May. The complaint names Abbott and Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, as defendants.

Abbott and the Republican authors of the bill have said they believe the law is legal. They argue it was needed because of President Biden's "open borders" policies, which they say have led to record numbers of unauthorized crossings during his time in office. Abbott has also said he is open to a lengthy court fight that could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The federal suit is the second challenge to the law. Last month, the ACLU of Texas and the Texas Civil Rights Project filed a case in Austin on behalf of El Paso County, the El Paso-based Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, and American Gateways, which has offices in Austin, San Antonio and Waco. That lawsuit also contends the bill is unconstitutional.

If the litigation reaches the nation's highest court, it is expected to revive debate over a 2012 ruling in an Arizona case that upheld federal authority over immigration. Although the conservative-leaning court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, the landmark 1970s decision that established a right to abortion, legal experts say immigration is a separate matter.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a social media post that his office is ready to fight both lawsuits and maintained that Texas has a right to act. "Just as I am prepared to fight the lawsuit brought by the extremist ACLU and the nonprofits that profit from the federal government's open borders doctrine, I am prepared to fight the Biden Administration, whose immigration disaster is taking our country to ruin," he wrote. "Texas has the sovereign right to protect our state."

Abbott's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.