Southwest
Trump DOJ drops Biden-era legal challenge to Texas border security law
The Trump administration is moving to drop a Biden-era legal challenge to a Texas immigration law that allows state and local police to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the U.S. border into Texas.
The Justice Department filed a voluntary dismissal of the federal government’s challenge to the Texas law, known as SB 4, on Tuesday, though legal challenges by two immigrants’ rights groups, American Gateways and Las America Immigrant Advocate Center, are set to continue with a July trial, according to a report from Fox 7.
At issue is Texas’ controversial 2023 bill making it a state crime to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border into Texas, with the state granting local law enforcement officers the power to arrest individuals they observe illegally crossing the border as well as providing for criminal penalties for those who admitted to illegally crossing the border.
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President Donald Trump has reversed several Biden-era immigration policies. (Donald Trump 2024 campaign)
The law also allows for a judge to step in and drop the charges against a migrant who agrees to return to Mexico.
While state lawmakers reasoned that the law was made necessary by former President Joe Biden’s lax policies on border security, the Biden administration pushed back against the state with legal challenges. Most notably, the Biden administration argued that the Texas law violated the constitution, which grants only the federal government the power to regulate immigration.
President Joe Biden speaks with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers as he visits the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on Jan. 8, 2023. (Jim Watson/AFP)
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“Because SB 4 is unconstitutional and will disrupt the federal government’s operations, we request that Texas forbear in its enforcement,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton wrote in a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, as the Republican governor weighed signing the bill, adding that “the United States intends to file suit to enjoin the enforcement of SB 4,” according to a CBS News report.
Abbott would go on to sign the legislation, sparking the current legal challenges.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed SB 4 into law in 2023. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
Meanwhile, the border has fallen eerily silent in the weeks since President Donald Trump took office, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents recording record-low numbers of encounters with illegal migrants at the southwest border.
According to CBP data, the agency encountered just over 8,000 migrants at the southwest border in February 2025, down over 90% from the totals seen the prior year.
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A woman was hospitalized with serious injuries after she was violently attacked by a robber in downtown Long Beach. On June 18, Jennifer Silva, 34, was attending a World Cup watch party at a Hooters restaurant at 90 Aquarium Way. After the game ended, she left the restaurant just before 11 p.m. As she walked […]
Jurors deliberating the fate of the man accused of starting the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history, failed to reach a verdict Thursday afternoon, telling the judge they were deadlocked.
A spokesperson from the United States Attorney’s Office told KTLA that jurors will continue to deliberate until they reach a verdict or give up.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, a former Uber driver and one-time Pacific Palisades resident, is accused of starting the Lachman Fire on New Year’s Eve. The fire continued to smolder underground for about a week, even after Los Angeles firefighters believed it had been extinguished.
Flames reignited on Jan. 7, erupting into the deadly Palisades Fire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes in the upscale community, authorities said.
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A courtroom sketch of Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, during his initial court appearance on Oct. 23, 2025. (Bill Robles) -
The U.S. Dept. of Justice booking photo of Jonathan Rinderknecht over the Palisades Fire devastation in Malibu, California in January 2025 (AP).
Prosecutors argued that Rinderknecht deliberately set the fire, claiming he had grown increasingly resentful of wealthy residents and viewed Pacific Palisades as a symbol of that frustration.
“Their case, though circumstantial, is strong,” KTLA legal analyst Alison Triessl said. “The defense is relying on, can they (prosecutors) show beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Rinderknecht actually started this fire and it wasn’t the result of fireworks or some intervening cause.”
The defense argued there is no direct physical evidence tying Rinderknecht to the fire and said the prosecution’s case relies entirely on circumstantial evidence. Rinderknecht did not testify during the trial.
Defense attorney Steve Haney spoke outside the courthouse Wednesday about why he believes it will be difficult for prosecutors to prove how the fire started.
“The lack of scene preservation. The fact that they got there after a lot of the evidence was missing. Not a lot of direct evidence. This is a circumstantial case, which is always difficult as a prosecutor to prove,” Haney said.
Rinderknecht, who was arrested and indicted last October, faces up to 45 years in prison if found guilty of three arson counts, including destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire.
Tony Kurzweil contributed to this report
Los Angeles, Ca
Boyle Heights warehouse cleanup begins as crews face 85 million pounds of spoiled food
Cleanup efforts are underway Thursday at the Boyle Heights cold-storage warehouse that burned for eight days after firefighters officially declared the massive blaze knocked down Wednesday evening. Los Angeles Fire Department crews remain at the Lineage warehouse near Union Pacific Avenue and South La Puente Street as they transition into the overhaul phase, searching for […]
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