CONTACT:
Kristi Gross, ACLU of Texas, [email protected]
Inga Sarda-Sorensen, ACLU, [email protected]
Stephanie Drenka, Texas Civil Rights Project, [email protected]
AUSTIN — The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, ACLU, and the Texas Civil Rights Project have filed a class-action lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to block several provisions of Senate Bill 4 (88-4) from going into effect May 15. The 2023 law is one of the most extreme anti-immigrant laws ever passed by any state legislature in the country.
S.B. 4 would allow local and state law enforcement to arrest, detain, and remove people they suspect to have entered Texas from another country without federal authorization. The organizations are specifically seeking to prevent four different provisions of the law from going into effect:
- The reentry crime that would apply to anyone living in or traveling through Texas who reentered the United States — even if the person had federal permission to reenter or has since obtained lawful immigration status such as a green card.
- The power given to magistrates — who don’t know the intricacies of immigration law — to issue deportation orders.
- The crime of failing to comply with the magistrate's removal orders.
- The requirement that magistrates continue a prosecution even when a person has a pending immigration case under federal law.
Advocates have warned that the law will separate families and directly lead to racial profiling, subjecting thousands of Black and Brown Texans to the state prison system, which is rife with civil rights abuses.
“S.B. 4 would transform our police and judges into immigration agents — threatening neighbors who have families here, who have lived here for years, even those who have legal status,” said Adriana Piñon (she/her), legal director at the ACLU of Texas. “Immigration enforcement is exclusively the federal government's arena, and no state has ever claimed the power Texas threatens to wield here. We are taking this back to court to defend our Texas communities.”
The individual plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit seek to represent thousands of people across the state who may be held liable for violating the reentry provision of S.B. 4. One plaintiff is a lawful permanent resident. A second plaintiff has been approved for a lawful U Visa, a step on the path toward citizenship, which she received after becoming the victim of a crime and helping law enforcement resolve the case.
“Every court to have reached the merits of laws like S.B. 4 has found them to be unconstitutional,” said Cody Wofsy (he/him), deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. “S.B. 4 is cruel and illegal, and we will keep fighting it until it is permanently struck down.”
The new filing comes shortly after the en banc 5th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a preliminary injunction in Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center et al v. Steven C. McCraw et al solely on the grounds that plaintiffs El Paso County, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, and American Gateways lacked standing — reversing its own three-judge panel decision from July 2025, which had found standing and held S.B. 4 to be preempted by federal law. This new lawsuit addresses the 5th Circuit's procedural concerns.
“Our fight against S.B. 4 isn’t over until justice wins” said Kate Gibson Kumar (she/her), Beyond Borders staff attorney at Texas Civil Rights Project. “S.B.4 is not only unconstitutional, but a vile law that uses our Texas resources to harm communities across our state. The Texas Civil Rights Project will keep fighting to protect Texas communities from the wrath of S.B. 4.”
The en banc 5th Circuit did not reach the constitutional questions at the heart of this case: whether S.B. 4 violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and unconstitutionally strips the federal government of its exclusive authority over immigration enforcement.
Access the complaint here: https://www.aclutx.org/app/uploads/2026/05/LML-v.-Martin-Complaint.pdf
Access the preliminary injunction here: https://www.aclutx.org/app/uploads/2026/05/LML-TRO.pdf
Related Content
Fifth Circuit Rules Challenge to Extreme Texas Immigration Law Must Be Dismissed on Procedural Grounds
Federal Court Blocks Extreme Texas Legislation S.B. 4 That Would Overstep Federal Immigration Law
Civil Rights Groups React to Federal Court Preliminary Injunction Hearing for Texas Senate Bill 4
Stay Informed
Sign up to be the first to hear about how to take action.
By completing this form, I agree to receive occasional emails per the terms of the ACLU’s privacy statement.
By completing this form, I agree to receive occasional emails per the terms of the ACLU’s privacy statement.