Frequently Asked Questions: Texas SB4(s)

Q: What is SB-4?
A: SB = Senate Bill, and it’s from the Texas State Senate; there’s actually 2 bills called “SB 4” that were passed in special legislative sessions that Texas’ Governor Abbott called last year to address immigration issues in Texas.

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

Q: Can you help me understand the SB4 you mentioned that’s directed at migrants?
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)

Q: Okay, how about the SB4 that is directed at people who work with migrants? The humanitarian aid and shelter workers?
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.

Q: What are voices in El Paso saying?
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.