Attorney General Alan Wilson defends Texas’ right to secure its border after Biden admin's neglect

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson co-led a coalition of 21 states in supporting Texas’ state border security law, Senate Bill 4 (S.B. 4), as the case heads to the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

The states filed a legal brief arguing that the federal government is overstepping its authority and trying to block states from protecting their own citizens from the crisis at the southern border.

“Texas is doing what Washington wouldn’t do under the former administration, protect its people,” said Attorney General Wilson. “When the federal government refuses to enforce immigration laws, states have not only the right but the duty to step in. This isn’t about politics, it’s about protecting families, upholding the law, and defending state sovereignty.”

The coalition argues that S.B. 4 mirrors existing federal immigration laws and works in step with them, not against them. The brief urges the court to reject the Biden Administration’s claim that the law is “preempted” by federal authority and to reaffirm that states have broad power to act in the interests of their citizens when Washington fails to do its job.

The brief also criticizes the lower court’s ruling that struck down the law, saying it ignored long-standing constitutional principles that encourage courts to interpret state and federal laws in a way that avoids conflict whenever possible.

The amicus brief was co-led by South Carolina and Ohio, joined by Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

You can read the full brief here.