"Federal Judge Blocks Texas Law Allowing Police to Arrest Illegal Border Crossers"

A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction blocking Texas' Senate Bill 4, which aimed to make illegal immigration a state crime, from taking effect. The law would have allowed state authorities to arrest and jail illegal immigrants and give state judges the power to order deportations. The judge ruled that states may not exercise immigration enforcement power except as authorized by the federal government. The decision comes in response to a lawsuit by immigration and civil rights groups against Texas after Gov. Gregg Abbott signed the law in December. Opponents have characterized the measure as the most drastic attempt by a state to crack down on immigrants since a 2010 Arizona law.