Texas Immigration Policy: SB 4, Smuggling, and Sanctuary Ban

Texas immigration laws make up one of the most aggressive state-level enforcement frameworks in the country. The state has created new criminal offenses for unauthorized border crossing, banned local sanctuary policies, imposed mandatory minimum prison sentences for human smuggling, and spent billions on National Guard deployments and a state-funded border wall. Some of these laws are being enforced right now. Others sit on the books but are blocked by federal courts while litigation continues.

Here is what each law actually says, who it affects, and which pieces are currently in force as of mid-2026.

What Is Actually Being Enforced Right Now

Senate Bill 4, passed in the 88th Legislature’s 4th Special Session, created the state’s most sweeping immigration-crime provisions. It has been in court almost from the day it was signed.

In May 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction blocking four provisions of SB 4:

The illegal reentry offense (Penal Code Section 51.03)
The refusal-to-comply offense (Penal Code Section 51.04)
The judicial return-order procedures (Code of Criminal Procedure Articles 5B.002 and 5B.003)

The court reasoned that letting each state write its own immigration laws would undermine the federal government’s exclusive authority over the field.

One provision survived the injunction: the illegal entry offense in Penal Code Section 51.02. That one remains enforceable while appeals continue.¹ The sections below describe each provision as written, with the current enforcement status flagged.

The State Crime of Unauthorized Entry

Under Penal Code Section 51.02, a noncitizen who enters or attempts to enter Texas directly from a foreign country at any location other than a lawful port of entry commits a Class B misdemeanor.² A Class B misdemeanor carries up to 180 days in county jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both.³

This is the one SB 4 criminal provision currently in force.

The statute carves out several locations where peace officers cannot arrest or detain anyone under Chapter 51. Those include:

Public or private schools, when the person is there for educational purposes
Churches and other established places of worship
Healthcare facilities, when the person is seeking treatment
SAFE-ready facilities for sexual assault survivors²

Illegal Reentry and Judicial Return Orders (Currently Blocked)

Penal Code Section 51.03 targets noncitizens who re-enter or are found in Texas after previously being denied admission, deported, or removed from the United States. The base offense is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000.⁴

The charge escalates with the person’s prior record. It becomes a third-degree felony (2 to 10 years) if the earlier removal followed convictions for two or more misdemeanors involving drugs or crimes against a person, if the person was excluded on national security grounds, or if removal happened under certain federal deportation provisions. It becomes a second-degree felony (2 to 20 years) if the earlier removal followed a felony conviction.⁴

The federal district court blocked this entire section in May 2026. The court noted that the offense could reach people who have since obtained lawful status, such as a green card, which the court found particularly difficult to square with federal preemption doctrine.

SB 4 also created a procedure allowing state magistrates to dismiss a criminal charge and instead issue a written order requiring the person to leave through a port of entry. Under Article 5B.002, the person must agree to the order; a judge cannot force departure without consent.² Refusing to comply after agreeing is a separate second-degree felony under Section 51.04, carrying 2 to 20 years.⁵

Both the return-order procedure and the refusal-to-comply offense are also blocked by the May 2026 injunction. The court held that giving state magistrates the power to issue what amount to deportation orders intrudes on exclusively federal authority.

Human Smuggling and Stash House Penalties

These are the provisions with the highest stakes for Texans who are not themselves noncitizens, because they can reach drivers, landlords, and anyone who transports or houses another person. The penalties are among the harshest in the country.

Under Penal Code Section 20.05, a person commits an offense by knowingly using a vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft to transport someone with the intent to hide them from law enforcement, or by harboring or shielding someone from detection to help them remain in the country illegally.⁶

The base offense is a third-degree felony carrying a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison. The charge rises to a second-degree felony with the same 10-year minimum if the smuggled person is under 18, the offense created a substantial likelihood of serious injury or death, it was committed for financial gain, a firearm was present, or the actor fled from a peace officer. It becomes a first-degree felony with a 10-year minimum if the smuggled person suffered serious bodily injury, died, or was sexually assaulted as a direct result.⁶

A narrow exception lets the minimum drop to five years for the base third-degree offense if the defendant provided significant cooperation with law enforcement and the prosecuting attorney certifies that cooperation in writing.⁶

Sentences increase by one felony degree when the offense happens in an area under a declared state of disaster, whether declared by the president, the governor, or a local official. Under that enhancement, the minimum jumps to 15 years.⁷

Operating a stash house is a separate offense under Penal Code Section 20.07. Using property to conceal people from law enforcement or to facilitate smuggling is a third-degree felony with a mandatory minimum of five years. The charge rises to a second-degree felony, keeping the five-year minimum, if the property was used to facilitate kidnapping, trafficking, or prostitution, or if someone suffered serious bodily injury, death, or sexual assault during the offense.⁸

Sanctuary City Ban and ICE Cooperation

Separately from the SB 4 border provisions, Texas prohibits local governments from adopting sanctuary policies. Under Government Code Section 752.053, no local entity may adopt, enforce, or endorse any policy that prohibits or materially limits enforcement of immigration laws. Local police, corrections officers, magistrates, and prosecutors cannot be stopped from asking about immigration status during a lawful detention, sharing that information with federal agencies, or allowing ICE officers to enter jails and conduct enforcement.⁹

The practical effect most people encounter involves ICE detainers. When ICE identifies someone in local custody as potentially removable, it issues a detainer asking the jail to hold the person for up to 48 hours past their scheduled release, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, so federal agents can take custody.¹⁰ Texas law requires local jails to honor these requests. The only statutory carve-out lets local entities prohibit cooperation at places of worship.⁹

Penalties for Local Governments and Officials

A local government found by a court to have intentionally violated the sanctuary ban faces civil penalties of $1,000 to $1,500 for a first violation and $25,000 to $25,500 for each subsequent violation. Each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense.¹¹

Elected or appointed officials face something harder than a fine. Under Government Code Section 752.0565, the attorney general must file a removal petition when presented with evidence establishing probable grounds that a public officer violated the law. If the court finds the official guilty, it enters a judgment removing them from office.¹²

Border Operations and the Migrant Busing Program

The statutes above are backed by a physical operation called Operation Lone Star, launched in 2021. The state has deployed thousands of National Guard members and Department of Public Safety troopers to the border, along with aerial surveillance, ground patrols, concertina wire along the Rio Grande, and large marine buoys at certain crossing points. The Texas Facilities Commission has also built an 82.2-mile state-funded border wall on land obtained through voluntary easements, since the legislature prohibited using eminent domain for the project.¹³

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal Border Patrol agents may cut or remove the state’s razor wire when needed to carry out their duties, though the ruling did not stop Texas from installing new wire or maintaining the river buoys.

Texas also runs a voluntary busing program that transports migrants from border communities to cities in other states. The Texas Division of Emergency Management coordinates the effort. Each migrant must show documentation of release from the Department of Homeland Security and sign a consent form listing the departure location, destination city, and personal information before boarding.¹⁴ The program has been running since April 2022 and has transported thousands of people, primarily to Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, and Denver.

If You Are Charged Under These Laws

Anyone charged under these state laws has the right to appointed counsel if they cannot afford an attorney. The Texas Indigent Defense Commission runs a dedicated office for border-related cases called the Lone Star Defender’s Office, which handles appointments and compensation for defense attorneys in Operation Lone Star prosecutions. The same office funds immigration-consequence advisals through a program called myPadilla, which ensures defendants are told how a criminal conviction might affect their immigration status, a right recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in Padilla v. Kentucky.¹⁵

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid also provides free legal services across 68 counties in central and southwest Texas, though capacity for border-related cases varies.

1
Office of the Texas Attorney General. Attorney General Ken Paxton Secures Major Victory Defending Senate Bill 4 En Banc Fifth Circuit
2
Texas Legislature Online. Texas Senate Bill 4 – 88th Legislature 4th Called Session
3
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Chapter 12 – Punishments
4
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 51.03
5
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 51.04
6
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 20.05 – Smuggling of Persons
7
LegiScan. Texas Senate Bill 4 – 88th Legislature 3rd Called Session
8
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 20.07 – Operation of Stash House
9
State of Texas. Texas Government Code 752.053 – Policies and Actions Regarding Immigration Enforcement
10
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration Detainers
11
State of Texas. Texas Government Code 752.056 – Civil Penalty
12
State of Texas. Texas Government Code 752.0565
13
Texas Facilities Commission. Texas Border Wall Construction Status
14
Office of the Texas Governor. Governor Abbott Deploys More Buses to Border Amid Migrant Surge
15
Texas Indigent Defense Commission. Operation Lone Star