A large left-leaning protest took place in Austin on Saturday morning over a Texas border security bill that would make unlawful crossings into the state a crime.
SB 4, signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in December, would allow state law enforcement officers to apprehend those suspected of violating the law, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted a temporary stay of a lower court’s ruling, pushing the date the law would go into effect to March 13 and giving the High Court until that day to determine whether Texas can enforce it, according to KVUE.
Protesters responded to this decision by flooding the streets of the state’s capital, with many claiming that the bill would allow law enforcement to target certain groups of people based on race or ethnicity.
ACLU border immigrant strategist Sarah Cruz claimed during the protest that the bill was unconstitutional, arguing that enforcement of immigration law is the sole “power of the federal government.”
Similarly, Jessie F. Fuentes of the Eagle Pass Border Coalition presented concerns that “authorities are going to be able to now stop you because of the color of your skin.”
“It upsets me that legislators in this building behind me knew what they were doing — it’s a violation of the constitution,” Fuentes continued, per CBS News.
Although some in the state are concerned about the bill’s potential repercussions, Rep. David Spiller (R-Jacksboro) said he was confident that the bill would be allowed into effect.
“I anticipate the Supreme Court will back this up. And I say that because, when you’re going to grant a temporary injunction, temporary restraining or temporary injunction, there are several requisites under the law that have to be met,” he explained, per Fox 7 Austin.
This protest comes as the state continues to deal with the ongoing crisis along the southern border, where millions of people have crossed into the United States since President Joe Biden took office in 2021.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reported more than 7.5 million encounters with unlawful migrants since the beginning of the Biden Administration, with the House Homeland Security Committee also reporting more than 1.7 million people who have entered the United States unlawfully without being apprehended.
The Lone Star State has taken multiple steps to manage the crisis, but the federal government has often clashed with the state over these measures. In addition to the fight over SB 4, Texas is currently involved in lawsuits with the federal government regarding a floating barrier in the Rio Grande and concertina wire meant to deter unlawful crossings along the border.