Attorney General Ken Paxton today asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to stay last week’s district court ruling that blocked Senate Bill 4 from going into effect on September 1. In his brief, the attorney general requested emergency consideration and a ruling by the 5th Circuit within two days.
“The district court’s fundamentally flawed holding that states violate the Fourth Amendment by even voluntarily honoring federal ICE detainer requests threatens to shut down federal-local cooperation that has existed throughout the nation since the 1940s,” Attorney General Paxton told the court. “The district court’s order should be immediately stayed pending appeal, as this injunction has far reaching public safety consequences. Senate Bill 4 is wholly valid, and the state has every right to prohibit its own localities from having sanctuary city policies.”
Senate Bill 4 affirms the right and duty of law enforcement agencies throughout Texas to detain individuals pursuant to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) federal detainer program. The program enforces immigration law and helps prevent dangerous criminals from being released into Texas communities.
Despite a preliminary injunction hearing on June 26, the district court in San Antonio waited over two months to enjoin Senate Bill 4 on August 30, just two days before it was scheduled to take effect.
Attorney General Paxton filed an appeal last Thursday with the 5th Circuit to reinstate Texas’ lawsuit against the city of Austin and Travis County over the constitutionality of Senate Bill 4.