Attorney General Alan Wilson co-leads brief supporting state immigration laws

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced today he’s co-leading a coalition of 23 attorneys general in urging a federal appeals court to reverse a recent U.S. District Court decision that blocked Texas’s right to enforce its state immigration law.

The attorneys general say the court “diminished every state’s sovereignty” in blocking a Texas law that would make illegal immigration a state crime and authorize Texas courts to deport individuals who cross the border unlawfully. The Texas law, the court ruled, likely conflicts with the federal government’s exclusive authority over immigration policy.

“Joe Biden’s refusal to enforce federal immigration laws forced states like South Carolina to step in to protect our communities. We’re leading this effort to make sure no state is ever put in this position again. If a future president won’t defend our borders, states must have the power to do it themselves. That's why I am leading the fight on this issue,” said Attorney General Wilson.

In an amicus brief led by Attorney General Wilson and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and filed today in United States v. Texas, the attorneys general explain why states have a sovereign right to enact legislation that protects their residents’ safety.  With Southern border crossings reaching historic highs, the attorneys general argue, more needs to be done, as the impact on public safety, health care, and state resources is too severe to ignore.

The brief invokes the doctrine of constitutional avoidance, which encourages courts to interpret statutes in a way that steers clear of unnecessary constitutional conflicts. Had the lower court relied on this principle, the brief says, it would have protected the balance struck in the nation’s federalist form of government.

The coalition asks the full court of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to rehear the case and reverse the previous panel’s decision by affirming the right of states to take action when the federal response falls short.

Joining South Carolina in signing the amicus brief are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.