Migrant advocacy organizations are praising a federal judge’s decision to block Texas Senate Bill 4, which would have given state police the ability to arrest and deport people suspected of unlawfully crossing from the Mexican border.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the Texas Civil Rights Project filed a lawsuit late December, which was consolidated into a suit with the Department of Justice, stating the law was unconstitutional and contradicted federal immigration policy. A judge on Thursday issued an injunction that will prevent enforcement of SB 4 while legal procedures continue.

Signed December 2023 by Gov. Greg Abbott, the law was expected to take effect on March 5.

“The federal court’s decision confirms over a century of Supreme Court precedent, affirming that immigration enforcement is squarely within the federal government’s authority,” Anand Balakrishnan, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in a statement. “S.B. 4 is a blatantly unconstitutional attempt to bypass federal law. We must ensure this harmful law is struck down altogether.”

The County of El Paso, Texas; Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and nonprofit American Gateways also challenged the legislation, with many opponents calling it one of the “most extreme anti-immigrant” laws ever passed by a state government.

The law would create new state crimes, ranging from misdemeanor to felony, in an attempt to regulate immigration. These charges include: illegal entry from a foreign nation, illegal reentry by certain noncitizens and refusal to comply with an order to leave the country. Penalties for these offenses include a fine of up to $2,000 and imprisonment for up to 180 days. Judges could also immediately deport arrested undocumented people “in lieu of continuing the prosecution.”

Federal penalties already exist for noncitizens who enter the country, and the U.S. has measures in place to remove those without authorization. Advocates have warned that SB 4 would separate families and lead to racial profiling of Black and brown people.

“The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) strongly urges our serious elected officials to get down to the important business of addressing immigration reform in the interest of our country and millions of immigrants contributing to its well-being,” said Domingo Garcia, the LULAC National President, in a statement. “Meanwhile, LULAC will not allow Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and his supporters, or any other state, to prey on the defenseless asylum seekers ahead of the election and use them as political piñatas.”

During his ruling on Thursday, U.S. District Judge David Ezra said disagreeing with federal immigration policy does not justify violating the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. He added that deporting immigrants eligible for asylum would also violate treaties and undermine human rights laws.

“I haven’t seen, and the state of Texas can’t point me to any type of military invasion in Texas. I don’t see evidence that Texas is at war,” Ezra said.

Jennifer Babaie, the director of advocacy and legal services at Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, said the injunction is a win worth celebrating.

“With today’s decision, the court sent a clear message to Texas: SB 4 is unconstitutional and criminalizing Black, brown, indigenous, and immigrant communities will not be tolerated,” she said in a statement. “We must continue to be vigilant against Texas’ politics of fear and hatred.”

Texas is expected to appeal the ruling.