Cases · State immigration-crime laws: Texas S.B. 4 and Iowa S.F. 2340
L.M.L. v. Martin
Latest development
Fifth Circuit stayed S.B. 4 injunction pending appeal
As of May 29, 2026, the Fifth Circuit has stayed the May 14 preliminary injunction pending appeal, allowing the challenged S.B. 4 reentry, state removal-order, refusal-to-comply, and no-abatement provisions to take effect while the appeal proceeds.
- Status as of
- May 29, 2026
- Source
- Latest order (PDF)
- Docket reviewed through
- May 29, 2026
About the case
L.M.L. v. Martin is nationally important because it is the active merits path for Texas S.B. 4 after the en banc Fifth Circuit held that the prior organizational and county plaintiffs lacked standing. The new named plaintiffs are noncitizens directly exposed to S.B. 4's state reentry and removal-order machinery. The Western District of Texas preliminarily enjoined key provisions on May 14, 2026, again finding a likely federal-preemption problem while allowing the separate entry provision to take effect; on May 29, 2026, a Fifth Circuit panel stayed that injunction pending appeal.
Relief
The plaintiffs seek classwide declaratory and injunctive relief against S.B. 4 provisions that create a state reentry crime, authorize state removal orders, criminalize noncompliance with those orders, and forbid abatement based on pending federal immigration proceedings.
What's next
The next major milestones are the merits appeal, any emergency Supreme Court stay request, and further class-certification or merits proceedings in the standing-cure case.
New on the docket, not yet reviewed
ORDER GRANTING 60 Motion to Stay Case Pending Appeal. Signed by Judge David A. Ezra. (cc3) (Entered: 06/12/2026)
L.M.L. v. Martin · W.D. Tex. No. 1:26-cv-01170, entry 61 · Docket entry
Reviewed events
Fifth Circuit stayed S.B. 4 injunction pending appeal
L.M.L. v. Martin · W.D. Tex. · Source
Western District of Texas granted preliminary injunction against key S.B. 4 provisions
L.M.L. v. Martin · W.D. Tex. · Source
Western District of Texas preliminarily enjoined key S.B. 4 provisions
L.M.L. v. Martin · W.D. Tex. · Source
Noncitizen plaintiffs filed follow-on S.B. 4 class action
L.M.L. v. Martin · W.D. Tex. · Source
En banc Fifth Circuit vacated prior S.B. 4 injunction on standing grounds
L.M.L. v. Martin · W.D. Tex. · Source
In the news
- Reuters coverage of Fifth Circuit S.B. 4 stayReuters · May 29, 2026
- Western District of Texas preliminary injunction orderWestern District of Texas · May 14, 2026
- ACLU statement on the S.B. 4 preliminary injunctionAmerican Civil Liberties Union · May 14, 2026
- Reuters coverage of S.B. 4 injunctionReuters · May 14, 2026
- Texas Tribune coverage of S.B. 4 injunctionTexas Tribune · May 14, 2026
- LML v. Martinlive-aclu-wp.pantheonsite.io · May 4, 2026