Case: United States v. State of Texas

1:24-cv-00008 | U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

Filed Date: Jan. 3, 2024

Case Ongoing

Clearinghouse coding complete

Case Summary

This is a case about state and federal authority to control immigration. On January 3, 2024, during the Biden Administration, the United States brought this suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas against the State of Texas, the governor of Texas in his official capacity, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the head of DPS in his official capacity. The United States claimed that Texas’s Senate Bill 4 (SB4) violated the Supremacy Clause and the Foreign Comm…

This is a case about state and federal authority to control immigration.

On January 3, 2024, during the Biden Administration, the United States brought this suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas against the State of Texas, the governor of Texas in his official capacity, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the head of DPS in his official capacity. The United States claimed that Texas’s Senate Bill 4 (SB4) violated the Supremacy Clause and the Foreign Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Represented by government attorneys, the U.S. sought declaratory relief, injunctive relief, and attorneys fees. The complaint asked the court to declare that SB4 violated the Supremacy Clause and Foreign Commerce Clause and was therefore invalid, and to preliminarily and permanently enjoin the defendants and their predecessors from enforcing SB4. The case was assigned to District Judge Robert Pitman and later reassigned to District Judge David A. Ezra.

Texas lawmakers passed SB4 in 2023 to create state-level immigration offenses relating to unlawful entry and reentry into Texas. The bill was set to go into effect in March 2024, and empowered state and local law enforcement to arrest those suspected of illegal entry. The U.S.'s position was that SB4 would encroach upon federal jurisdiction over immigration matters, disrupt U.S. immigration operations and proceedings, and potentially harm U.S. foreign relations. The U.S. asserted that Congress has vested the sole power to regulate immigration with the federal government, supported by the Supremacy Clause and the Foreign Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Furthermore, according to the U.S., the bill criminalized actions that were already addressed under federal law, allowed Texas state judges to order the removal of noncitizens, and require state officials to carry out such orders—all in conflict with the INA (Immigration and Nationality Act) and other federal immigration laws. Finally, the U.S. argued the law would undermine not only the existing federal immigration system but also international relations, particularly with Mexico, and could result in the improper removal of noncitizens in violation of the United States' humanitarian treaty obligations.

On January 12, 2024, the U.S. filed a motion for preliminary and permanent injunctions before the law could go into effect. On January 31, 2024, the court consolidated this case with another suit challenging SB4 filed by Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, American Gateways, and El Paso County on December 19, 2023 (Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center v. Martin), and ordered this case to be the lead with all filings to be made in this case's docket. On February 29, 2024, the District Court granted the motion for preliminary injunction, enjoining defendants from enforcing SB4. 719 F.Supp.3d 640. That same day, the defendants appealed the motion, and on March 2, 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a temporary administrative stay on the preliminary injunction. On March 4, 2024, the U.S. appealed to the United States Supreme Court to vacate the stay of the preliminary injunction, but on March 19, 2024, the Supreme Court denied the application to vacate the stay. 144 S.Ct. 797. This allowed the law to take effect that day, but the Fifth Circuit changed course and dissolved its March 2 stay, reinstating the district court’s injunction. On March 26, 2024, the Fifth Circuit denied Texas’s motion for a stay pending appeal.

Both parties filed a joint motion to stay the case proceedings pending the appeal of the preliminary injunction, and the district court granted the stay on April 24, 2024. However, on March 18, 2025, the United States moved to voluntarily dismiss its appeal and the case in the district court. Following the dismissal, the district court ordered Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center v. Martin, 1:23-cv-01537, to become the lead case, and filings after April 9, 2025, are reflected on that docket. The district court also consolidated a third challenge to Texas's law, La Union Del Pueblo Entero v. Abbott, with the lead case. Clearinghouse updates for all three consolidated cases are reflected here.

On July 3, 2025, the Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's preliminary injunction order. 144 F.4th 632. The court agreed with the district court that Congress had preempted the field of immigration law since "the federal government has both a dominant interest and a pervasive regulatory framework to control immigration into the United States, precluding state regulation in the area," and "[f]or nearly 150 years, the Supreme Court has recognized that the power to control immigration—the entry, admission, and removal of aliens— is exclusively a federal power." Since the Texas law at issue attempted to provide a separate system from that provided for by federal law, the court held that it was preempted. The court also held that the Texas law was preempted because it was in conflict with federal immigration law, since the Texas laws "rob every administration of the very discretion in alien removal matters that Congress granted to the federal executive and not to the States." Given these findings, the court of appeals affirmed the preliminary injunction. 2025 WL 1836640.

Meanwhile, back in the district court, the defendants filed separate motions to dismiss on May 5 and June 17. However, on June 23, the district court denied the motion, subject to refiling after the Court of Appeals issued its opinion (which it did on July 3). Rather than refile the motion after the Court of Appeals ruled, the defendants appealed the denial of the motion to dismiss on July 21.

On July 9, the defendant filed an unopposed motion to extend the time to file a petition for rehearing en banc before the court of appeal, which was granted on July 15. The defendants filed the motion for en banc rehearing on July 31, which was granted on August 29 and the opinion of July 3 was vacated. The case is tentatively calendared for en banc hearing for January 1, 2026.

	Document
1 23-cv-01537	Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center v. McCraw	Dec. 19, 2023	Dec. 19, 2023 Complaint
1 1:24-cv-00008	Complaint	Jan. 3, 2024	Jan. 3, 2024 Complaint
42 1:24-cv-00008	Order Granting Preliminary Injunction	Feb. 29, 2024	Feb. 29, 2024 Order/Opinion
49 1:24-cv-00008	USCA Order U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit	March 2, 2024	March 2, 2024 Order/Opinion
1 1:24-cv-00270	Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief of Plaintiffs La Union Del Pueblo Entero, et al. La Union Del Pueblo Entero v. Abbott	March 12, 2024	March 12, 2024 Complaint
163-1 24-50149	Published Opinion U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit	March 26, 2024	March 26, 2024 Order/Opinion 97 F.4th 268
280-1 24-50149	Published Opinion U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit	July 3, 2025	July 3, 2025 Order/Opinion 144 F.4th 632

ECF Number	Description	Date	Link Date / Link
2	REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS by American Gateways, County of El Paso, Texas, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. (Donatti, David) (Entered: 12/19/2023)	Dec. 19, 2023	Dec. 19, 2023
3	Summons Issued as to Bill D. Hicks and Steven C. McCraw. (so) (Entered: 12/19/2023)	Dec. 19, 2023	Dec. 19, 2023
	Case assigned to Judge Docket II - Austin. CM WILL NOW REFLECT THE JUDGE INITIALS AS PART OF THE CASE NUMBER. PLEASE APPEND THESE JUDGE INITIALS TO THE CASE NUMBER ON EACH DOCUMENT THAT YOU FILE IN THIS CASE. (so)	Dec. 19, 2023	Dec. 19, 2023
	If ordered by the court, all referrals and consents in this case will be assigned to Magistrate Judge Susan Hightower (so)	Dec. 19, 2023	Dec. 19, 2023
4	NOTICE of Attorney Appearance by Cody Wofsy on behalf of American Gateways, County of El Paso, Texas, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center (Wofsy, Cody) (Entered: 12/21/2023)	Dec. 21, 2023	Dec. 21, 2023
5	NOTICE of Attorney Appearance by Spencer Amdur on behalf of American Gateways, County of El Paso, Texas, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center (Amdur, Spencer) (Entered: 12/21/2023)	Dec. 21, 2023	Dec. 21, 2023
6	NOTICE of Attorney Appearance by Omar C. Jadwat on behalf of American Gateways, County of El Paso, Texas, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center (Jadwat, Omar) (Entered: 12/21/2023)	Dec. 21, 2023	Dec. 21, 2023
11	FILED IN ERROR USING WRONG EVENT. To be refiled using the correct Motion to Appear Pro Hac Vice event. NOTICE of Attorney Appearance by Cody Wofsy on behalf of American Gateways, County of El Paso, Texas, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center (Wofsy, Cody) Modified on 1/2/2024 (jv2). (Entered: 01/02/2024)	Jan. 2, 2024	Jan. 2, 2024
12	MOTION to Appear Pro Hac Vice by Cody Wofsy for Lee Gelernt ( Filing fee $ 100 receipt number ATXWDC-18255686) by on behalf of American Gateways, County of El Paso, Texas, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. (Wofsy, Cody) (Entered: 01/02/2024)	Jan. 2, 2024	Jan. 2, 2024
13	MOTION to Appear Pro Hac Vice by Cody Wofsy for Anand Balakrishnan ( Filing fee $ 100 receipt number ATXWDC-18255705) by on behalf of American Gateways, County of El Paso, Texas, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. (Wofsy, Cody) (Entered: 01/02/2024)	Jan. 2, 2024	Jan. 2, 2024
14	MOTION to Appear Pro Hac Vice by Cody Wofsy for Morgan Russell ( Filing fee $ 100 receipt number ATXWDC-18255712) by on behalf of American Gateways, County of El Paso, Texas, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. (Wofsy, Cody) (Entered: 01/02/2024)	Jan. 2, 2024	Jan. 2, 2024
15	MOTION to Appear Pro Hac Vice by Cody Wofsy for Wafa Junaid ( Filing fee $ 100 receipt number ATXWDC-18255725) by on behalf of American Gateways, County of El Paso, Texas, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. (Wofsy, Cody) (Entered: 01/02/2024)	Jan. 2, 2024	Jan. 2, 2024
16	MOTION to Appear Pro Hac Vice by Cody Wofsy for Hannah Schoen ( Filing fee $ 100 receipt number ATXWDC-18255732) by on behalf of American Gateways, County of El Paso, Texas, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. (Wofsy, Cody) (Entered: 01/02/2024)	Jan. 2, 2024	Jan. 2, 2024
7	FILED IN ERROR USING WRONG EVENT. To be refiled using the correct Motion to Appear Pro Hac Vice event. NOTICE of Attorney Appearance by Cody Wofsy on behalf of American Gateways, County of El Paso, Texas, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. Attorney Cody Wofsy added to party American Gateways(pty:pla), Attorney Cody Wofsy added to party County of El Paso, Texas(pty:pla), Attorney Cody Wofsy added to party Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center(pty:pla) (Wofsy, Cody) Modified on 1/2/2024 (jv2). (Entered: 01/02/2024)	Jan. 2, 2024	Jan. 2, 2024
8	FILED IN ERROR USING WRONG EVENT. To be refiled using the correct Motion to Appear Pro Hac Vice event. NOTICE of Attorney Appearance by Cody Wofsy on behalf of American Gateways, County of El Paso, Texas, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center (Wofsy, Cody) Modified on 1/2/2024 (jv2). (Entered: 01/02/2024)	Jan. 2, 2024	Jan. 2, 2024
9	FILED IN ERROR USING WRONG EVENT. To be refiled using the correct Motion to Appear Pro Hac Vice event. NOTICE of Attorney Appearance by Cody Wofsy on behalf of American Gateways, County of El Paso, Texas, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center (Wofsy, Cody) Modified on 1/2/2024 (jv2). (Entered: 01/02/2024)	Jan. 2, 2024	Jan. 2, 2024
1	COMPLAINT (Filing fee waived), filed by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1: DOJ Letter, # 2 Civil Cover Sheet)(Ehrlich, Stephen) Modified on 1/5/2024 to correct fee status (cr5). (Entered: 01/03/2024) 2 View on RECAP	Jan. 3, 2024	Jan. 3, 2024 Clearinghouse
2	REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. (Ehrlich, Stephen) (Entered: 01/03/2024)	Jan. 3, 2024	Jan. 3, 2024
3	NOTICE of Attorney Appearance by Jean Lin on behalf of UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Attorney Jean Lin added to party UNITED STATES OF AMERICA(pty:pla) (Lin, Jean) (Entered: 01/03/2024)	Jan. 3, 2024	Jan. 3, 2024
	Case assigned to Judge Robert Pitman. CM WILL NOW REFLECT THE JUDGE INITIALS AS PART OF THE CASE NUMBER. PLEASE APPEND THESE JUDGE INITIALS TO THE CASE NUMBER ON EACH DOCUMENT THAT YOU FILE IN THIS CASE. (cr5)	Jan. 3, 2024	Jan. 3, 2024
	If ordered by the court, all referrals and consents in this case will be assigned to Magistrate Judge Lane. (cr5)	Jan. 3, 2024	Jan. 3, 2024
17	ORDER GRANTING 12 Motion to Appear Pro Hac Vice for Attorney Lee Gelernt for American Gateways,Lee Gelernt for County of El Paso, Texas,Lee Gelernt for Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. Pursuant to our Administrative Policies and Procedures for Electronic Filing, the attorney hereby granted to practice pro hac vice in this case must register for electronic filing with our court within 10 days of this order. Registration is managed by the PACER Service Center. Signed by Judge Robert Pitman. (jv2) (Entered: 01/05/2024)	Jan. 5, 2024	Jan. 5, 2024
18	ORDER GRANTING 13 Motion to Appear Pro Hac Vice for Attorney Anand Balakrishnan for American Gateways,Anand Balakrishnan for County of El Paso, Texas,Anand Balakrishnan for Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. Pursuant to our Administrative Policies and Procedures for Electronic Filing, the attorney hereby granted to practice pro hac vice in this case must register for electronic filing with our court within 10 days of this order. Registration is managed by the PACER Service Center. Signed by Judge Robert Pitman. (jv2) (Entered: 01/05/2024)	Jan. 5, 2024	Jan. 5, 2024
19	ORDER GRANTING 14 Motion to Appear Pro Hac Vice for Attorney Morgan Russell for American Gateways,Morgan Russell for County of El Paso, Texas,Morgan Russell for Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. Pursuant to our Administrative Policies and Procedures for Electronic Filing, the attorney hereby granted to practice pro hac vice in this case must register for electronic filing with our court within 10 days of this order. Registration is managed by the PACER Service Center. Signed by Judge Robert Pitman. (jv2) (Entered: 01/05/2024)	Jan. 5, 2024	Jan. 5, 2024
20	ORDER GRANTING 15 Motion to Appear Pro Hac Vice for Attorney Wafa Junaid for American Gateways,Wafa Junaid for County of El Paso, Texas,Wafa Junaid for Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. Pursuant to our Administrative Policies and Procedures for Electronic Filing, the attorney hereby granted to practice pro hac vice in this case must register for electronic filing with our court within 10 days of this order. Registration is managed by the PACER Service Center. Signed by Judge Robert Pitman. (jv2) (Entered: 01/05/2024)	Jan. 5, 2024	Jan. 5, 2024
21	ORDER GRANTING 16 Motion to Appear Pro Hac Vice for Attorney Hannah Schoen for American Gateways,Hannah Schoen for County of El Paso, Texas,Hannah Schoen for Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. Pursuant to our Administrative Policies and Procedures for Electronic Filing, the attorney hereby granted to practice pro hac vice in this case must register for electronic filing with our court within 10 days of this order. Registration is managed by the PACER Service Center. Signed by Judge Robert Pitman. (jv2) (Entered: 01/05/2024)	Jan. 5, 2024	Jan. 5, 2024
28	MOTION for Leave to File Motion to Intervene by Carl Starr. (Attachments: # 1 Motion to Intervene, # 2 Carl Starr's Complaint in Intervention)(pg) (Entered: 01/10/2024)	Jan. 5, 2024	Jan. 5, 2024
4	Summons Issued as to Greg Abbott, Steven C. McCraw, State of Texas, Texas Department of Public Safety. (cr5) (Entered: 01/05/2024)	Jan. 5, 2024	Jan. 5, 2024 RECAP
5	NOTICE of Attorney Appearance by Samuel M. Shapiro on behalf of United States of America. Attorney Samuel M. Shapiro added to party United States of America(pty:pla) (Shapiro, Samuel) (Entered: 01/05/2024)	Jan. 5, 2024	Jan. 5, 2024
	To be Referred to AU Mag Judge	Jan. 5, 2024	Jan. 5, 2024
	Case Assigned/Reassigned	Jan. 5, 2024	Jan. 5, 2024
22	MOTION to Appear Pro Hac Vice by David A. Donatti for Bernardo Rafael Cruz ( Filing fee $ 100 receipt number ATXWDC-18278085) by on behalf of County of El Paso, Texas. (Donatti, David) (Entered: 01/08/2024)	Jan. 8, 2024	Jan. 8, 2024
23	SUMMONS Returned Executed by Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, County of El Paso, Texas, American Gateways. Steven C. McCraw served on 1/5/2024, answer due 1/26/2024. (Donatti, David) (Entered: 01/08/2024)	Jan. 8, 2024	Jan. 8, 2024
24	NOTICE of Attorney Appearance by Ryan Daniel Walters on behalf of Steven C. McCraw. Attorney Ryan Daniel Walters added to party Steven C. McCraw(pty:dft) (Walters, Ryan) (Entered: 01/09/2024)	Jan. 9, 2024	Jan. 9, 2024
25	NOTICE of Attorney Appearance by Monroe David Bryant, Jr on behalf of Steven C. McCraw. Attorney Monroe David Bryant, Jr added to party Steven C. McCraw(pty:dft) (Bryant, Monroe) (Entered: 01/09/2024)	Jan. 9, 2024	Jan. 9, 2024
26	NOTICE of Attorney Appearance by Munera Al-Fuhaid on behalf of Steven C. McCraw. Attorney Munera Al-Fuhaid added to party Steven C. McCraw(pty:dft) (Al-Fuhaid, Munera) (Entered: 01/09/2024)	Jan. 9, 2024	Jan. 9, 2024
27	NOTICE of Attorney Appearance by Jacob Edward Przada on behalf of Steven C. McCraw. Attorney Jacob Edward Przada added to party Steven C. McCraw(pty:dft) (Przada, Jacob) (Entered: 01/09/2024)	Jan. 9, 2024	Jan. 9, 2024
6	SUMMONS Returned Executed by United States of America. All Defendants. (Ehrlich, Stephen) (Entered: 01/10/2024)	Jan. 10, 2024	Jan. 10, 2024
10	NOTICE of Attorney Appearance by Jacob Edward Przada on behalf of Greg Abbott, Steven C. McCraw, State of Texas, Texas Department of Public Safety. Attorney Jacob Edward Przada added to party Greg Abbott(pty:dft), Attorney Jacob Edward Przada added to party Steven C. McCraw(pty:dft), Attorney Jacob Edward Przada added to party State of Texas(pty:dft), Attorney Jacob Edward Przada added to party Texas Department of Public Safety(pty:dft) (Przada, Jacob) (Entered: 01/11/2024)	Jan. 11, 2024	Jan. 11, 2024
11	Joint MOTION for Briefing Schedule by United States of America. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order)(Ehrlich, Stephen) (Entered: 01/11/2024) 1 Proposed Order View on PACER	Jan. 11, 2024	Jan. 11, 2024 RECAP

Case: United States v. State of Texas

1:24-cv-00008 | U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

Case Summary

People

Documents in the Clearinghouse

Docket

Case Details