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
The May 29 appellate order stays the preliminary injunction pending appeal. Separately, the June 12 district order stays district proceedings until further order or 30 days after issuance of the appellate mandate; any party may move to lift that litigation stay.
- Status as of
- June 12, 2026
- Source
- Latest order (PDF)
- Docket reviewed through
- November 9, 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. On June 12, ECF 61 stayed district proceedings pending appeal, subject to further order or expiration 30 days after the appellate mandate.
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
Disposition of Fifth Circuit appeal 26-50418, any motion to lift the district litigation stay, and subsequent district proceedings.
New on the docket, not yet reviewed
Nothing new since the last review.
Reviewed events
District court stayed proceedings pending the S.B. 4 appeal
L.M.L. v. Martin · W.D. Tex. · Source
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