Texas Official Sends Border Message to Supreme Court

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick sent a message about the U.S.-Mexico border to the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday during an appearance on Fox News' Fox & Friends.

Patrick noted the Court will decide on Monday if Senate Bill 4 (S.B. 4) can go into effect while it's being discussed in courts or if a pause will remain in place. The legislation would make it a crime to cross the border between Texas and Mexico between ports of entry and allow police officers to arrest those who they suspect have illegally entered into the country.

"To the Supreme Court justices who are watching Fox I'm sure this morning as they get up early, we are being attacked...by land, by sea, by air, literally millions coming across the border, many armed, many criminals, terrorists," Patrick said.

The lieutenant governor added that boats of immigrants have been traveling to Florida over the past several years and noted that Texas has recently noticed a rise in drones across the border, "spying on us, to help send drugs and illegal immigrants across the border."

"So, by land, by sea, by air, I call that an invasion," Patrick said.

The Context:

On Monday, the Supreme Court is set to make a decision on a pause of Texas' S.B. 4, as the current extension on the pause will end today.

S.B. 4 was approved by a special Texas legislative session in November, providing a green light for local and state law enforcement to arrest, detain and remove individuals suspected of entering the state illegally from other countries.

What We Know:

Judge David Ezra previously blocked S.B. 4 from going into law following criticism from many civil rights groups.

"Surges in immigration do not constitute an 'invasion' within the meaning of the Constitution, nor is Texas engaging in war by enforcing S.B. 4," Ezra wrote in his 114-page ruling.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) also filed a lawsuit against the bill saying that it violates the U.S. Constitution.

"Under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution and longstanding Supreme Court precedent, states cannot adopt immigration laws that interfere with the framework enacted by Congress. The Justice Department will continue to fulfill its responsibility to uphold the Constitution and enforce federal law," Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a press release in January.

Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Supreme Court via email for comment.

Views:

Abbott and other Texas officials have repeatedly criticized the Biden administration's handling of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott vowed last month to appeal the decision that paused S.B. 4 from going into effect and said, "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."

He added: "The President of the United States has a constitutional duty to enforce federal laws protecting States, including laws already on the books that mandate the detention of illegal immigrants."

Meanwhile, the ACLU of Texas referred to S.B. 4 as "one of the most extreme pieces of anti-immigrant legislation any state legislature has ever enacted."

If it is implemented, the ACLU said that Black and brown communities and those traveling through the state are at a higher risk of racial profiling and over-policing.

"We are pleased that S.B. 4 remains on hold and will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that this law is struck down once and for all," Anand Balakrishnan, senior staff attorney at the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, said in a statement previously shared with Newsweek.

What's Next?

As Patrick noted on Monday, the decision by the Supreme Court will focus on if the law can remain in effect while it continues to be argued in the court on if it is Constitutional.

Update, 3/18/24, 8:28 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with further information.

Update, 3/18/24, 9:04 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with further information.