Senate Bill 3, which was filed by state Sen. Joan Huffman, a Houston Republican, calls for $1.54 billion to be spent on more border barriers and to fund more state troopers to patrol a housing development near Houston called Colony Ridge. Senate Bill 4, which was filed by state Sen. Charles Perry, a Lubbock Republican, would make it a state misdemeanor to illegally cross the Texas-Mexico border.
SB 4 is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, where he’s likely to sign it. SB 3 is going back to the Senate for members to vote on an amended version of the bill.
Under SB 4, if an undocumented immigrant is arrested, they’ll be ordered by a judge to leave the U.S. in lieu of prosecution. If they’re accused of other crimes or they violate the judge’s order, they could get charged with a felony.
One of the bill’s sponsors, state Rep. David Spiller, a Republican from Jacksboro, called SB 4 the strongest border security bill in the nation. “I’m proud to lead the charge on this landmark legislation as it will be sent to Governor [Greg Abbott’s] desk,” Spiller wrote on X.
Meanwhile, the Texas ACLU is threatening to sue the state if SB 4 is signed into law. Oni K. Blair, executive director at the ACLU of Texas, said in a statement that politicians in the state have pushed through some of the most radical anti-immigration bills ever passed in the country. “This legislation is completely out of touch with our values and who we aspire to be as Texans,” Blair said.
She said SB 4 overrides federal immigration law, fuels racial profiling and harassment and gives state officials the unconstitutional ability to deport people without due process or regard for their eligibility for various humanitarian protections. “If signed into law, these bills will directly harm people seeking asylum, Black and Brown communities, and the core principles of our democracy,” Blair said. “It’s shameful that the governor and his allies are wasting taxpayer money on this unlawful cruelty instead of addressing our real needs: keeping the lights on, our schools open, and our teachers paid.”
She added: “Texans across the state have resoundingly opposed these bills from the beginning and we’re not backing down. If Gov. Abbott signs SB 4 (88-4) into law, we will sue.”“This legislation is completely out of touch with our values and who we aspire to be as Texans." – Oni K. Blair, ACLU of Texas
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David Donatti, senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Texas, told the Observer it’s important to recognize that lawmakers from both parties have acknowledged SB 4 is unconstitutional. There are a few reasons for that, he said. One of the most important ones is that immigration enforcement is a federal job. “As long as immigration controls have existed, since the 19th century, the Supreme Court has said over and over again that immigration regulation and enforcement is exclusively a federal prerogative,” Donatti said. “This law directly contradicts that mandate.”
He later noted: “It’s going to be a fight not just in court but outside of it to keep people safe in what is increasingly a dangerous environment for all of us, especially people of color in the state of Texas.”
Donatti said there have been similar bills filed in the past. About a decade ago Senate Bill 1070 in Arizona was passed, making it illegal to not carry immigration papers. It also required police to investigate the immigration status of whoever they came in contact with. According to The Texas Tribune, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that local police didn’t have the authority to arrest people on the basis of their immigration status and that this responsibility lied in the hands of the federal government.
“Texas’ bill goes beyond what Arizona passed,” Donatti said.
If Gov. Greg Abbott’s X account is any indication, the controversial bill will get signed. “I look forward to signing Senate Bill 4, which creates penalties for illegal entry into Texas and authorizes the removal of illegal immigrants apprehended at the border.” He congratulated Sen. Perry and House Rep. Spiller for what he called “historic progress for border security.”
State Rep. Venton Jones, a Dallas Democrat, told the Observer he was disappointed by SB 4’s passage on the House floor. “This legislation makes Black and Brown Texans less safe, codifies racial profiling, and will cost taxpayers and local governments millions in unfunded mandates,” he said. “I will continue fighting for Texans, ALL Texans, to feel safe in their homes and in their own skin.”
Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa shared a similar view. “This is nothing short of codified hate, all so Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick can tout DPS and Operation Lone Star soundbites for Fox News,” Hinojosa said in a statement.
“This will not fix the real security issues along the southern border,” Hinojosa said. “This will not keep Texans safe. This will do nothing but rip families apart and overcrowd our prisons – which is what Texas Republicans do best.”
Denisse Molina, humanitarian outreach coordinator for the Beyond Borders Program at the Texas Civil Rights Project, told the Observer the motivation behind SB 4 is clear. It’s to “create an entirely new, separate, and unequal state immigration system in the United State,” Molina said. She said it’s a clear attempt to challenge the Supreme Court case regarding Arizona's SB 1070.
Molina explained that if SB 4 is allowed to be implemented, it could set a precedent for other states. “This bill could cause a ripple effect for other states to try the same tactics Texas did, which will only create harm and confusion,” she said.
To her, bills like SB 4 are meant to sow fear and anxiety among immigrant and mixed-status communities. But she thinks the law won’t impact only immigrant communities. She said the organization anticipates the impacts of the bill will be devastating, with massive human and civil rights violations, increased racial profiling and fear throughout communities of color.
"The impact is on everyone that does not look white,” Molina said.
“There will be disruptions in people’s lives as they learn how to navigate the law and the criminal system the law aims to trap them in,” Molina said. “This law is an attack on everyone including U.S. citizens and that is why this legislation is so dangerous.”
