Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released the following statement.
“Today, my office was proud to defend SB 4, Texas’s new border security law, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. As counsel explained, Texas has gone as far as Arizona v. United States allows by using the State’s sovereign police power to protect the border in a way that mirrors rather than conflicts with federal law. The OAG has also expressly explained in our briefing to both the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court that if Arizona preempts even state laws that criminalize the very border crossings that federal law also makes unlawful, Arizona should be overruled. As always, I am proud that Texas is leading the way to protect our nation’s sovereignty and security and to uphold the rule of law.”
Today before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Texas argued that the provisions of SB 4 were written to be within the scope of Arizona. Texas also explained that the federal government is not protecting the border. Indeed, a federal judge recently found that the federal government is acting “duplicitous[ly]” and has “utter[ly] fail[ed] ... to deter, prevent, and halt unlawful entry into the United States.” Texas also reiterated that the border crisis is unprecedented both in terms of the volume of unlawful crossings and the sophistication and violence of the cartels. Additionally, Texas explained how the federal government has no right to bring this lawsuit in the first place because Congress never authorized such litigation. Afterward, outlets such as CNN took phrases from the hearing out of context to mislead their audience about the arguments Texas made. Texas in no way made any concession, despite CNN’s and other dishonest reports to the contrary. These outlets did not contact the OAG for comment. The public can listen to Texas’s argument, which is made available by the Court, at this link.