Texas

Federal judge blocks Texas’ immigration enforcement law SB 4: Here’s what’s next

Published

2 years ago

February 29, 2024

Federal judge blocks Texas’ immigration enforcement law SB 4: Here’s what’s next

Texas cannot enforce a new set of immigration laws the state Legislature passed last year after a federal judge’s ruling Thursday.

Judge David Ezra of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas decided to enjoin Senate Bill 4 from going into effect next week. He agreed with constitutional concerns raised by federal prosecutors at a hearing earlier this month that immigration enforcement is well beyond the purview of state governments.

“Several factors warrant an injunction,” Ezra wrote in his ruling to enjoin SB 4. “First, the Supremacy Clause and Supreme Court precedent affirm that states may not exercise immigration enforcement power except as authorized by the federal government.”

Ezra similarly indicated further concerns over conflicting provisions between SB 4 and federal immigration law, which would be “to the detriment of the United States’ foreign relations and treaty obligations.”

Texas’ lawyers filed an immediate appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit shortly after Ezra’s ruling.

What is Texas Senate Bill 4?

SB 4 increased penalties for anyone suspected of crossing the U.S-Mexico border in Texas outside of a legal international port of entry.

The legislation allows state law enforcement officers to arrest, detain and deport individuals suspected of crossing the border illegally. It also mirrors the federal law that makes illegal entry at the U.S. border a misdemeanor and illegal re-entry a felony.

The bill would require people accused of illegally crossing the state’s southern border to either accept a magistrate judge’s deportation order or face a second-degree felony charge for noncompliance. The Legislature passed the bill in November during a special session and it was set to go into effect on March 5.

Judge rejects claims immigration surges are an invasion

Striking against the heart of Texas’ argument laid out Feb. 15, Ezra found that an influx of migrants and immigration surges do not invoke the meaning of an “invasion”, and Texas would not be engaging in its limited war powers by enforcing SB 4.

Additional issues with the law could frustrate the asylum processes and allow for the incarceration of noncitizens before their possible removal, making it substantially harder for those noncitizens to apply for asylum after entering the country, Ezra wrote.

Federal prosecutors filed their lawsuit against the state in January and joined previous suits filed late last year challenging SB 4 by the ACLU, ACLU of Texas, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, American Gateways, the Texas Civil Rights Project and the County of El Paso.

“El Paso County applauds the court’s clear confirmation today that immigration policies rest solely under Federal jurisdiction, and the state of Texas’ interference with the U.S. Constitution will not be tolerated,” said El Paso County Commissioner Iliana Holguin in a statement after the ruling. “A piecemeal approach from individual states on federal matters such as immigration enforcement would put an undue burden on local taxpayers, while opening the door to potential civil rights violations for border residents and immigrants alike.”

Greg Abbott says Texas will appeal ruling

Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to continue fighting to enact SB 4, adding that an immediate appeal is necessary in response to the Biden Administration’s border policies. He emphasized the need for Republicans to keep pushing the border conversation ahead of the March 5 primary election.

“Texas will immediately appeal this decision, and we will not back down in our fight to protect our state—and our nation—from President Biden’s border crisis,” Abbott said in a statement. “Texas has the right to defend itself because of President Biden’s ongoing failure to fulfill his duty to protect our state from the invasion at our southern border.”

Abbott mentioned Ezra’s acknowledgment that the case will “ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Bipartisan vote: House passes short-term deal to avert devastating partial government shutdown

Joe Biden, Donald Trump both visit Texas-Mexico border

President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump are both visiting the Texas-Mexico border Thursday.

For the second time during his presidency, Biden is visiting the state to address border security and criticize Republicans derailing a border bill this month. During his trip in Brownsville, Biden was expected to speak with federal immigration agents, law enforcement officials and local government regarding his push for Congress to quickly pass border security legislation.

Meanwhile 325 miles northwest, the GOP frontrunner was scheduled to visit Eagle Pass, where a standoff between the federal government and the states has occurred over border security. Abbott joined Trump to provide an update on the state’s unprecedented response to “President Biden’s border crisis,” he said on X (formerly Twitter).

The dueling visits come as a Pew Research Center poll released this week shows that 80% of Americans believe immigration has become the most crucial issue in the nation, for the first time since the last decade.

Contributing: Lauren Villagran

Source link

Click to comment

Texas

SMU secures commitment from Texas A&M transfer TE Theo Melin Öhrström

Published

5 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

SMU secures commitment from Texas A&M transfer TE Theo Melin Öhrström

One of the biggest questions facing Rhett Lashlee and his SMU football program this offseason is how the Mustangs will replenish the tight end position.

Not only did SMU’s tight ends coach leave, but the Mustangs are losing their top four tight ends from the 2025 roster. RJ Maryland, Matthew Hibner and Stone Eby all graduated and redshirt sophomore Adam Moore entered the transfer portal.

SMU began its rebuild of the tight ends room with a commitment from Texas A&M transfer Theo Melin Öhrström.

Melin Öhrström entered the portal on Dec. 26 after four years with the Aggies. The Stockholm, Sweden native appeared in 40 games for Texas A&M, catching 29 balls for 352 yards and three touchdowns. In 2025, the 6-foot-6, 257-pound tight end made four starts and caught 19 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown.

Melin Öhrström redshirted in 2022, so he has one year of eligibility remaining and will have a chance to secure a bigger role during his final collegiate season. He chose the Mustangs over Houston, Kansas State and Auburn

Find more college sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

Find more SMU coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

Source link

Texas

Arizona State transfer RB Raleek Brown commits to Texas

Published

17 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Arizona State transfer RB Raleek Brown commits to Texas

Recruiting a running back out of the NCAA transfer portal wasn’t clean and simple after the winter window opened last week, but the Texas Longhorns were able to land a huge commitment from Arizona State transfer Raleek Brown on Thursday.

The 5’9, 196-pounder has one season of eligibility remaining.

Texas offered Brown out of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana (Calif.) when he was a top-100 prospect in the 2022 recruiting class. A consensus four-star prospect ranked as the No. 3 running back nationally in the 247Sports Composite rankings, Brown committed to home-state USC without taking any other official visits.

Brown’s career with the Trojans didn’t go as planned, however — after flashing as a freshman with 227 yards on 42 carries (5.4 avg) with three touchdowns and 16 receptions for 175 yards (10.97 avg) and three touchdowns, Brown moved to wide receiver as a sophomore and only appeared in two games, recording three catches for 16 yards and a touchdown.

Wanting to play running back again, Brown transferred to Arizona State in 2024, but was limited by a hamstring injury to 48 yards of total offense.

In 2025, though, Brown finally had his breakout season with 186 carries for 1,141 yards and four touchdowns, adding 34 receptions for 239 yards and two touchdowns. Brown forced 53 missed tackles last season, 67 percent of the total missed tackles forced by Texas running backs, and more than half of his rushing yardage came after contact.

Brown ran a sub 4.5 40-yard dash and sub-11 100-meter dash in high school and flashed that explosiveness with runs of 75 yards and 88 yards in 2025, so Brown brings the speed that the Longhorns need with 31 yards over 10 yards, as well as proven route-running and pass-catching ability.

At Arizona State, the scheme leaned towards gap runs, but Brown has the skill set to be an excellent outsize zone back if Texas head coach Steve Sarksian decides that he wants to major in that scheme once again.

With one running back secured from the portal, the question becomes whether Sarkisian and new running backs coach Jabbar Juluke want to add a big-bodied back to the roster or are comfortable with rising redshirt sophomore Christian Clark and incoming freshman Derrek Cooper handling that role.

Source link

Texas

Texas leaders react to fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Texas leaders react to fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis

article

Texas lawmakers are lighting up social media with opinions about the fatal shooting of a woman in a car in Minneapolis by an ICE officer on Wednesday morning.

Reports from officers differ drastically from those of uninvolved eyewitnesses — the official DHS stance is self-defense against a “domestic terrorist,” while bystanders tell a story of an innocent woman trying to leave peacefully.

The political internet arena Texas is divided along party lines. Republicans generally condemn Minnesota leaders’ reactions to the shooting, while Democrats are calling for ICE to be investigated for the possible murder of a civilian by an anonymous officer.

Texas Republicans react

Among the most vocal of the Texas GOP members after Wednesday’s shooting, U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Houston) was quick to question Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s dismay at the incident. Hunt posted the following to X, formerly Twitter:

“We’ve hit a breaking point in this country when an ICE officer is rammed by a lunatic in an SUV and the Mayor of Minneapolis responds not with condemnation, but by telling federal law enforcement to “get the f*ck out!”

UNITED STATES – JANUARY 22: Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Capitol Hill Club on Wednesday, January 22, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Hunt, currently in the running for U.S. Senate, later reposted a Fox News video of Gov. Tim Walz’ reaction. Hunt compared Walz to Jefferson Davis before posting a full statement later in the evening that reads, in part, as follows:

“The radical left isn’t turning the temperature down, they’re cranking it to 450 degrees. When leaders normalize this kind of rhetoric, the outcome isn’t hypothetical. It’s dangerous. It’s reckless. And it puts lives at risk. If violence follows, responsibility doesn’t belong to the officers enforcing the law, it belongs to the politicians who lit the fuse.”

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz was more to the point with his criticism of Minnesota leaders, reposting a different video of Walz and referencing the recent fraud scandal within the state.

Walz in the video said Minnesota is “at war with the federal government.” Cruz replied, “Is that why y’all stole $9 billion?”

Texas Democrats react

The other side:

State Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin), another candidate for the same U.S. Senate seat as Hunt, rang in from the other side of the aisle.

“At our town hall last night, I called for a full investigation into ICE,” Talarico said in his post on X. “Today, an ICE agent shot and killed a civilian. We should haul these masked men before Congress so the world can see their faces.”

State Representative James Talarico, a Democrat from Texas and US Senate candidate, during a campaign event in Houston, Texas, US, on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. Talarico is jumping into the Democratic primary for US Senate in Texas, taking on a former

Former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, yet another Senate hopeful, also expressed his ire for the actions in Minneapolis.

“As a civil rights attorney, I’m outraged by today’s ICE shooting in Minnesota that took a woman’s life,” Allred said on X. “No family should lose a loved one this way. No community should live in this fear. ICE has become a rogue agency — operating recklessly, terrorizing communities, and now taking lives. To every community terrorized by these tactics: I see you. I stand with you. And I won’t stop fighting until you’re safe.”

Minneapolis fatal ICE shooting

The backstory:

An ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on Wednesday morning.

Federal officials are claiming the agent acted in self-defense, but Minnesota leaders disagree. The shooting happened around 9:30 a.m. in the area of East 34th Street and Portland Avenue. The woman died at the hospital.

Witnesses told FOX Local that a woman got into a red vehicle and there was one ICE agent on either side of the vehicle trying to get in, and a third ICE agent came and tried to yank on the driver’s side door. One of the agents on the driver’s side door backed away, and then opened fire, shooting three times through the driver’s side window, witnesses said. One witness said the vehicle wasn’t moving toward the agents. However, federal officials said ICE officers were “conducting targeted operations” when “rioters” blocked officers. One of the “rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them.”

Officials said an ICE officer who was “fearing for his life” fired “defensive shots” to save himself and his officers, killing the woman.

A video of the shooting shows a red Honda Pilot blocking the roadway as an ICE squad approaches. When agents approach the vehicle, the Pilot attempts to drive away, moving towards an agent. When that happens, the agent fires three shots at the driver. Police say the driver was struck in the head. The agent appears to mostly avoid the vehicle as it speeds past and ends up crashing into a parked vehicle.

The Source: Information in this report comes from public statements made by Texas lawmakers on social media. Background comes from FOX 9 coverage in Minneapolis.

Texas PoliticsU.S.Texas

Source link