Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/23pdf/23a814_febh.pdf
Page Number: 14.0

Cite as:  601 U. S. ____ (2023) 

9 

SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

Third,  S.  B.  4  hampers  active  federal  immigration  en-
forcement efforts and places federal immigration officers in
danger.  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may
“lose the ability to pursue expedited removals, which must 
be used to remove noncitizens within 14 days of their arri-
val  into  the  country.”  Id.,  at  *39.  As  the  District  Court 
noted, “[b]y changing immigration patterns to more danger-
ous terrain, SB 4 will also risk placing DHS officers in more
danger as they mount emergency responses to individuals 
in life-threatening situations.”  Ibid.  That same “[t]errain
along  these  borders”  may  “resul[t]  in  more  immigrant
deaths.”  Ibid. 

Fourth, S. B. 4 can harm “federal agencies’ ability to de-
tect security risks . . . as Texas police disrupt DHS’s ability 
to centrally and timely monitor illicit drug trades, human 
trafficking, and imminent threats.”  Id., at *43.  For exam-
ple, “[e]ven if Texas does share all data related to noncitizen
arrests with DHS, the agency will have a diminished ability 
to detect time-sensitive threats,” which may hinder “coun-
terterrorism efforts.”  Id., at *39. 

Fifth, S. B. 4 may force El Paso County, one of the appli-
cants, to “have to pay to expand its jail, provide counsel for 
indigent  defendants,  and  hire  more  Sheriff  deputies  and
court personnel.  El Paso County may lose the ability to fo-
cus on high risk or violent criminals, harming its jail cost
containment efforts.”  Id., at *40 (citation omitted). 

Sixth, S. B. 4 “would immediately impose criminal liabil-
ity  on  thousands  of  noncitizens  who  re-entered  the  state. 
The removal of noncitizens cannot be undone, even if a stay
on  [the  District  Court’s]  injunction  is  ultimately  lifted. 
Thousands of individuals should not be arrested, incarcer-
ated, or removed prior to resolution of SB 4’s constitution-
ality.”  Id.,  at  *43.  Even  if  a  state  officer  only  “escorts  a 
noncitizen to the border” and “departs after the noncitizen 
enters the other country,” S. B. 4 still forces a noncitizen to 
“either depart into Mexico or . . . face 20 years in prison if