TYLER, Texas (KETK) – Senate Bill 4, an immigration bill that would give Texas law enforcement the ability to arrest anyone suspected of illegally crossing the southern border, is temporarily on hold by the U.S. Supreme Court until March 18.
“We deal with this every day, and this is nothing new. It’s just finally been actually addressed,” Rusk County Sheriff, Johnwayne Valdez said.
Co-author of the bill, Texas State Senator Bryan Hughes of Mineola, said he is optimistic the high court will rule in the state’s favor.
Immigration advocacy groups and Supreme court justices said the bill is unconstitutional.
“This Texas state law is really not the answer. I understand the reaction, but it’s really not the answer,” Belinda Arroyo, an immigration attorney, said.
In contrast, Hughes said the bill was carefully written.
“We looked at supreme court precedent, we looked at federal law, the U.S. constitution, of course, the Texas constitution and Texas laws. We believe this goes right down the line of what the states are allowed to do,” Hughes said.
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Valdez said for decades, he has seen and felt the negative effects of illegal border crossings and it has to be stopped.
“This country cannot sustain the amount of people just coming over that border every single day. We just simply cannot,” Valdez said.
Arroyo said if this bill becomes law, racial profiling will become apparent in our communities.
“I think for people coming in initially, that fear is not as great as for those who have been in our communities for 20, 25, 30 years. That’s where I’ve seen the greatest amount of fear with the announcement of this law,” Arroyo said.
Valdez said until the bill becomes law, they are patrolling like normal.
“The state of Texas is a pretty big book. This is only just one addition to it, we don’t racial profile. We will not racial profile,” Valdez said.
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Senate Bill 4 centers around defending Texas at the border.
The crisis at the southern border is an issue Republican lawmakers said the Biden administration has consistently ignored.
“We’re not just going to wait around, so we hope to get a good ruling from the Supreme Court. If they go the other way, then we’ll come back with another bill,” Hughes said.
Hughes said right now, when immigrants are arrested, they are processed federally and released into the country, and many do not show up for court. With the proposed bill, it will keep migrants who are arrested in the Texas judicial system and then deported.
The court is set to have a decision by March 18th.
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