AUSTIN, Texas — The ACLU of Texas and partner organizations filed a class-action lawsuit Monday challenging provisions of Senate Bill 4 set to take effect May 15, seeking a temporary restraining order and injunction to prevent what they argue is unconstitutional enforcement that could harm people across Texas.
The organizations filed the complaint after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals took major action in Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center et al. v. Steven C. McCraw et al. during an en banc session, where all judges of the court gather to hear a case, according to Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project.
Wofsy stated that the en banc court “vacated a preliminary injunction…solely on the grounds that plaintiffs El Paso County, Las Americas, and American Gateways lacked standing.”
Wofsy outlined how legal action was initiated shortly after by the ACLU in response to the 5th Circuit litigation overturning its July 2025 ruling by a three-judge panel that “held S.B. 4 to be preempted by federal law.”
Senate Bill 4 is the 2023 law that “is one of the most extreme anti-immigrant laws ever passed by any state legislature in the country,” Wofsy stated.
He reported that the lawsuit’s request for a temporary restraining order aims to suspend enforcement of four separate provisions that would go into effect with the implementation of Senate Bill 4.
One of those four provisions would target individuals reentering the U.S. through Texas and, according to the ACLU, allow Texas police to arrest those without federal authority after May 15, “even if the person had federal permission to reenter or has since obtained lawful immigration status such as a green card.”
One plaintiff who is part of the class-action lawsuit is a lawful permanent resident and was tried for potentially violating the reentry provision of S.B. 4.
The ACLU said the other three provisions would give power to magistrates to prosecute individuals who do not comply with deportation orders in immigration cases, including people who have pending federal immigration cases.
The ACLU concluded that Senate Bill 4 gives magistrates, “who don’t know the intricacies of immigration law,” the legal authority to allow “local and state law enforcement to arrest, detain, and remove people.”
As written by Wofsy, organizations challenged the bill because they believe the law will perpetuate racial profiling and the abuse of civil and constitutional rights by “separat[ing] families…[and] subjecting thousands of Black and Brown Texans to the state prison system.”
Wofsy addressed how execution of the bill is unconstitutional, as found across all courts that have previously addressed the statutes of S.B. 4.
Adriana Piñon, legal director at the ACLU of Texas, stated that “immigration enforcement is exclusively the federal government’s arena, and no state has ever claimed the power Texas threatens to wield here.”
She continued that the law would transform the roles of law enforcement from police and judges into immigration agents.
These sentiments are shared across the board by members of organizations advocating for revocation of the bill.
Wofsy stated, “S.B. 4 is cruel and illegal and we will keep fighting it until it is permanently struck down.”
Kate Gibson Kumar, Beyond Borders staff attorney at the Texas Civil Rights Project, wrote, “Our fight against S.B. 4 isn’t over until justice wins. S.B. 4 is not only unconstitutional, but a vile law that uses our Texas resources to harm communities across the state. The Texas Civil Rights Project will keep fighting to protect Texas communities from the wrath of S.B. 4.”
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