A: SB = Senate Bill, and it’s from the Texas State Senate; there are actually two bills called “SB 4” that were passed in special legislative sessions that Texas’ Governor Abbott called last year (2023) to address immigration issues in Texas.

A: The difference between these two SB 4’s is who they are targeting.
1) One aims to penalize migrants for how they entered into the state of Texas.
2) The other intends to disrupt and instill fear into those who work or live with undocumented folks.

A: That SB4, passed in the fourth legislative session, is to directly penalize migrants and folks in our community who are undocumented. This law would make it a misdemeanor in the state of Texas to illegally cross from Mexico into Texas between ports of entry, and it allows peace officers to detain whoever they see as “suspicious individuals” and ask them for their documents. Texas judges can then order someone removable and decide they have to leave the country.

Notably, not everyone who makes unauthorized entry into the U.S. does it purposefully. Many migrants walk up to Border Patrol to turn themselves in and seek asylum, and may not realize that they have made an unauthorized entry into the U.S. The US-MX boundary line is not the wall/fence, but actually in the middle of the Rio Grande River.

What is especially concerning about this law is that someone can be prosecuted for illegal entry and deported even if they have “lawful presence” in the U.S. For example, let’s say someone has DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) or has a pending asylum case going in the federal courts. This person can still be prosecuted for illegal entry/reentry even if they have an application pending to adjust their immigration status.

This SB4 was set to go into effect on Tuesday, March 6th, but on Thursday, February 29th, “U.S. District Judge David Ezra issued a preliminary injunction that will keep it from being enforced while a court battle continues playing out. Texas is being sued by the federal government and several immigration advocacy organizations. Texas appealed the ruling to the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.” (The Texas Tribune)

A: Passed in the third legislative session, the other SB4 increases the penalty for smuggling and operating stash houses. Our main concern about this one is how broadly smuggling is defined. The way the law is written, smuggling includes using any kind of vehicle to transport someone with the “intent to conceal them from law enforcement.”

For nonprofit organizations like Abara (and Annunciation House, who is being directly targeted by the Texas Attorney General), churches, shelters, and other service providers on the border, the major concern is to be arrested or penalized for doing the humanitarian work.

Important to note, there’s a state/federal discrepancy about the meaning of undocumented.

Let’s say someone entered into the U.S. by crossing the rever and presenting themselves to Border Patrol. They were then processed and released to their sponsor on the conditions that they will go to their court hearings and check-in with ICE. The federal government recognizes them as documented, but Texas doesn’t think this person should be allowed to be in Texas because they didn’t enter into the U.S. through a Port of Entry or using the “CBP One” app. So service providers who house asylum seekers with that sort of document could be penalized or detained for doing that work.

A: In El Paso, the County Commissioners Court is against both SB 4s, and has joined Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and the ACLU of Texas to sue the state over the constitutionality of these bills. The El Paso Sheriff's office has said SB4 would not be an enforcement priority, citing that don’t have the resources to detain and house people arrested .Many nonprofits and humanitarian aid organizations/shelters have come out strongly against the implementation of both of these bills. The following quote is very poignant and summarizes well what many voices are saying:

“Racial profiling is a pervasive problem that extends beyond the borders of any particular region in this country. People of color are daily singled out and targeted due to their skin color, accent, or religious affiliation. If SB 4 is implemented, countless U.S. citizens, mixed status households, and undocumented immigrants will be subjected to unlawful interrogations, searches, seizures, and arrests in violation of the Fourth Amendment based on how “foreign” they look and how they behave,” said Marisa Limón Garza Executive Director at Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso, Texas, New Mexico and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

“Let’s be clear: SB 4 is discriminatory and unconstitutional and must not take effect. Now is the time for our communities to come together and stop Texas from becoming an unbearably hostile environment for BIPOC communities. Organizations on the ground are ready to use every tool at their disposal to protect Texas families from SB 4’s inherent civil rights violations.”

A: The other SB 4 targeting humanitarian aid workers and Texans for smuggling or operating a stash house is still in effect. However, the law allowing Texas peace officers to arrest people who illegally crossed into Texas is not in effect due to a court-ordered injunction. A U.S. District Judge in Austin blocked the SB 4 that penalizing the manner in which migrants are entering into Texas from Mexico, stating that the law “threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice.”

However, a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling shortly after reversed this lower court’s ruling that had blocked the new state law from coming into effect. The Supreme Court then stepped in. On March 4, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily halted this SB 4 from coming into effect until March 13 while it considered whether it would allow the state to enforce it. On March 19, the Supreme Court let SB 4 go into effect but did not rule on the law’s merits or constitutionality.

The Supreme Court urged the appellate court to issue a ruling soon about the case’s merits. Before hearing oral arguments, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals court on March 19 issued an order to let the lower court’s earlier injunction stand. Oral arguments continue to take place in April, but as of now there is an injunction on the law and it is not in effect.

Hope Border Institute: SB 4 Explainer LAS AMERICAS - KNOW YOUR RIGHTS WEBSITE

SB 4 Texas Toolkit (About Illegal Entry/Reentry into Texas)

How Will SB 4 Impact Me? Know Your Rights from ACLU

Texas Tribune: Texas’ new immigration law is blocked again

A note from our Training and Advocacy Specialist, Nancy Lam:

“These bills criminalize those who seek safety for themselves and their families, and they also criminalize those who want to accompany migrants on this journey. These bills seek to instill fear into families on the border and interior of Texas. But what happens in Texas doesn’t stay here - states influence each other in the laws they pass. We need comprehensive and humane federal immigration reform. We cannot keep letting states dictate their own immigration policies, nor can our federal laws be the punitive, dehumanizing ones we currently have. They need to recognize the dignity and humanity of each person and imbue our youth not with desperation, but with hope and dreams for their futures.”