Austin, TX

Justice Department sues Texas over law that would let police arrest migrants who enter US illegally

Published

2 years ago

January 4, 2024

Justice Department sues Texas over law that would let police arrest migrants who enter US illegally

By PAUL J. WEBER and ACACIA CORONADO (Associated Press)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Justice Department on Wednesday sued Texas over a new law that would allow police to arrest migrants who enter the U.S. illegally, taking Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to court again over his escalating response to border crossers arriving from Mexico.

The lawsuit draws Texas into another clash over immigration at a time when New York and Chicago are pushing back on buses and planes carrying migrants sent by Abbott to Democrat-led cities nationwide. Texas is also fighting separate court battles to keep razor wire on the border and a floating barrier in the Rio Grande.

But a law Abbott signed last month poses a broader and bigger challenge to the U.S. government’s authority over immigration. In addition to allowing police anywhere in Texas to arrest migrants on charges of illegal entry, the law — known as Senate Bill 4 — also gives judges the authority to order migrants to leave the country.

The lawsuit asks a federal court in Austin to declare the Texas law unconstitutional. It calls the measure a violation of the Supremacy Clause, which establishes that federal laws in most cases supersede state law.

“Texas cannot run its own immigration system,” the Justice Department states in the lawsuit. “Its efforts, through SB 4, intrude on the federal government’s exclusive authority to regulate the entry and removal of noncitizens, frustrate the United States’ immigration operations and proceedings, and interfere with U.S. foreign relations.”

Abbott’s office did not respond to an email seeking comment.

“Biden sued me today because I signed a law making it illegal for an illegal immigrant to enter or attempt to enter Texas directly from a foreign nation.” Abbott said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “I like my chances.”

The law is scheduled to take effect in March. Civil rights organizations and officials in El Paso County, Texas, filed a lawsuit last month that similarly described the new law as unconstitutional overreach.

The Justice Department sent Abbott a letter last week threatening legal action unless Texas reversed course. In response, Abbott posted on X that the Biden administration “not only refuses to enforce current U.S. immigration laws, they now want to stop Texas from enforcing laws against illegal immigration.”

On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson and about 60 fellow Republicans visited the Texas border city of Eagle Pass, which has been the center of Abbott’s $10 billion border initiative known as Operation Lone Star. Johnson suggested he could use a looming government funding deadline as further leverage for hard-line border policies.

President Joe Biden has expressed willingness to make policy compromises because the number of migrants crossing the border is an increasing challenge for his 2024 reelection campaign. Johnson praised Abbott, who was not in Eagle Pass, and slammed the lawsuits that seek to undo Texas’ aggressive border measures.

“It’s absolute insanity,” Johnson said.

Illegal crossings along the southern U.S. border topped 10,000 on several days in December, a number that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Troy Miller called “unprecedented.” U.S. authorities closed cargo rail crossings in Eagle Pass and El Paso for five days last month, calling it a response to a large number of migrants riding freight trains through Mexico to the border.

Authorities this week also resumed full operations at a bridge in Eagle Pass and other crossings in San Diego and Arizona that had been temporarily closed.

Legal experts and opponents say Texas’ new law is the most far-reaching attempt by a state to police immigration since a 2010 Arizona law that was partially struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. That law had made it a state crime to be in the U.S. without legal status and gave police some immigration enforcement powers. A Supreme Court ruling in 2012 affirmed that immigration enforcement is solely within the authority of the federal government.

Under the Texas law, migrants could either agree to a Texas judge’s order to leave the U.S. or be prosecuted on misdemeanor charges of illegal entry. Migrants who don’t leave could face arrest again under more serious felony charges.

Those ordered to leave would be sent to ports of entry along the border with Mexico, even if they are not Mexican citizens. The law can be enforced anywhere in Texas but some places are off-limits, including schools and churches.

For more than two years, Texas has run a smaller-scale operation on the border to arrest migrants on misdemeanor charges of trespassing. Although that was also intended to stem illegal crossings, there is little indication that it has done so.

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Associated Press reporter Jake Bleiberg in Dallas contributed to this report.

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Austin, TX

Element hotel opens in Austin, Texas' growing tech corridor

Published

4 hours ago

April 2, 2026

Press Room

Element hotel opens in Austin, Texas' growing tech corridor

Element North Austin (Texas) Tech Ridge has opened in one of the city’s emerging technology and business hubs. The 124-room hotel is managed by Raleigh, N.C.-based Concord Hospitality. | The 124-room hotel is managed by Concord Hospitality.

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Austin, TX

Austin restaurateur to open a taquería on Hoover’s Cooking property

Published

16 hours ago

April 1, 2026

Press Room

Austin restaurateur to open a taquería on Hoover’s Cooking property

AUSTIN, Texas — The owner of two renowned Mexican restaurants in Austin has purchased local southern food institution Hoover’s Cooking, and plans to open a taquería on the property are in the works.

According to a report from the Austin American-Statesman, Este and Suerte owner Sam Hellman-Mass finalized the purchase of the Manor Road staple this week.

Hoover Alexander has operated Hoover’s Cooking for nearly 30 years, bringing comfort food classics to North Austin. The chef and Austin native recently announced his retirement, with the restaurant set to close May 31.

While there are popular taco dishes on the menu at both Este and Suerte, Hellman-Mass and executive chef Fermín Núñez plan to build an outpost devoted to tacos at the east end of the Hoover’s lot.

Plans for the building that was home to Hoover’s have not yet been determined.

As for Hoover’s legacy, Hellman-Mass told the Statesman he plans to work with Hoover to commemorate him as he retires, calling him “a paragon of character and hospitality.”

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Austin, TX

Beach Volleyball: Florida Atlantic goes winless in Austin at the Texas Invitational

Published

1 day ago

March 31, 2026

Press Room

Beach Volleyball: Florida Atlantic goes winless in Austin at the Texas Invitational

No. 16 Florida Atlantic beach volleyball (13-11, 2-0 CUSA) was put to the test during the Texas Invitational this past weekend at the Wright-Whitaker Sports Complex in Austin, where they competed in what is widely considered one of the most competitive regular-season events in NCAA beach volleyball.

FAU entered the tournament coming off a 2-2 showing at the North Florida Invitational, dropping from No. 14 to No. 16 in the rankings.

The Owls opened the tournament against No. 3 University of Southern California (21-4) and No. 10 Long Beach State (18-6). On day two, they faced No. 2 Stanford (21-2) and No. 3 UCLA (18-3). After four hard-fought matches, the Owls finished the weekend 0-4.

Despite the challenging weekend, Head Coach Steve Grotowski had many positive takeaways. Especially when looking ahead to the postseason.

“Yeah, it’s huge for our experience. One of the big focuses this year is winning our conference, getting back to the NCAA tournament, and advancing as far as we can. So I think this weekend there were a lot of really good things, stuff that we’ve been working on at practice that I saw the girls starting to implement, and it got us really close in a few matches,” said Grotowski.

“Even if we didn’t get any wins, at the end of the day it’s about playing our best volleyball at the end of the year, and that’s always the goal.”

The highlight of the weekend came on day two when Mia Scanlon and Klaire VanDeusen, a former USC Trojan, earned a win over UCLA.

Friday, March 27th

On courts four and five, the Trojans got off to a fast start. Cameron Knifton and Allison Spittal were defeated in straight sets, 21-11, 21-14, followed by a 21-16, 21-19 loss for Reese Edwards and Kendall Mignerey, putting USC up 2-0 over Florida Atlantic.

In the second spot, Olivia Strandberg and Ava Koehl lost 21-14, 21-14, securing USC a dual victory.

On court one, Shantel Starling and Denisse Morgenstern won their first set 21-18. The Trojans responded with a 21-18 in the second set, sending the match into a third set, where USC secured the victory 15-10.

Meanwhile, in the third flight, VanDeusen and Scanlon took the opening set 17-21, before falling in a reverse sweep 21-15, 15-9. The Owls would fall again in their next matchup against Long Beach State.

In the afternoon matches, FAU took on Long Beach State and, once again, gave up an early lead as courts four and five opened the dual.

Knifton and Spittal were the first to fall in the fifth flight, dropping a straight-set match 21-18, 21-11.

On court four, Edwards and Mignerey opened the match with a 21-16 win, but The Beach responded with an 18-21, 15-11 three-set victory.

Clinching the match for Long Beach State on court two, Koehl and Strandberg fell 21-19, 21-13. On courts three and one, the pairs were also defeated in straight sets.

To cap the day, the Owls were defeated by USC and Long Beach, moving them to 0-2 for the tournament.

Saturday, March 28th

After a tough test on Friday, the competition on Saturday only got stronger as the Sandy Owls took on the top two nationally ranked teams.

The action began on court three, where Scanlon and VanDeusen fell 21-19, 21-13, followed by another straight-set loss on court four, where Edwards and Mignerey were defeated 21-14, 21-15.

Starling and Morgenstern opened with a 21-16 win before falling to the Cardinals in a close 18-21, 15-12 match on court one. Knifton and Wolf won the first set 21-14; however, Stanford bounced back with a 21-10, 15-12 win.

Wrapping up the dual in the second flight, Koehl and Strandberg dropped another three-set match.

In the weekend’s finale, the Owls faced No. 1 UCLA, who have been ranked as the top team in the country for three consecutive weeks.

The Bruins took an early lead after taking straight-set victories on courts two and one. However, Scanlon and VanDeusen cut the deficit with their straight-set sweep on court three. The pair beat Harper Cooper and Alexa Fernandez. Cooper had been undefeated at 16-0 with five different partners on the season entering the tournament. She concluded the weekend 19-1.

With their win over the Bruins, VanDeusen and Scanlon improved to a season-best 13-10 record as a pair.

UCLA secured the match with a two-set court four win, then closed the match with a three-set win at the court to end the battle 4-1.

The Owls have a bye week and will return on April 10-11, hosting their Capri Classic for senior weekend at the Florida Atlantic Beach Volleyball Complex. FAU will face Jacksonville University, Stephen F. Austin, North Florida, and Florida Gulf Coast.

Ella Haas is a Staff Writer for the University Press. Email her at [email protected] or contact her on Instagram @ella_hs7 for information regarding this or other stories.

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