Today is
Thursday June 11, 2026
McALLEN (AP) — Texas faced skeptical questioning at an appeals court hearing Wednesday as the state pushed to enforce a strict new immigration law that would allow it to arrest and deport people who enter the U.S. illegally.
The one-hour hearing before a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ended without a ruling, leaving Texas’ new law on hold for now. A flurry of court activity, including a decision Tuesday from the U.S. Supreme Court that allowed the law to take effect for several hours, has caused uncertainty at the border.
Chief Judge Priscilla Richman raised a series of questions about how the state law would be carried out, including how Texas would respond if federal authorities don’t cooperate with a state judge’s order to deport someone. No arrests were reported during the hours the law was in effect Tuesday.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said it would not have authority to deport under the state law.
“This is uncharted because we don’t have any cases on it,†said Texas Solicitor General Aaron Nielson.
The Justice Department has argued that Texas’ law is a clear violation of federal authority and will create chaos at the border. Lawyers for the department faced a grilling from Judge Andrew Oldham, who was appointed by Republican President Donald Trump. The third judge on the panel, Judge Irma Ramirez, did not ask questions during the hearing but has previously voted to keep the law on hold.
Richman challenged Texas’ assertion that it is exercising a “core police power,†getting Nielsen to acknowledge that deporting people has been a federal responsibility. But Nielsen denied that Texas is “trying to take over the field†on border enforcement and said the state wants to cooperate with the federal government on what is widely acknowledged to be a crisis.
Nielsen also said he did not know how the law would affect someone who entered the country illegally but came to Texas from another state.
Regardless of how this three-judge panel rules, the legal fight will hardly be over. The 5th Circuit has been considering the state’s appeal of a scathing injunction from a lower-court judge that put the law on hold.
The 5th Circuit issued a decision earlier this month that would have allowed the law to take effect, and the Supreme Court essentially declined to intervene Tuesday. But hours after the law took effect, the 5th Circuit reinstated the lower court injunction, pausing the law again.
The Supreme Court did not rule on the merits of the law. It instead kicked back to the lower appeals court a challenge led by the Justice Department.
Under the Texas law, once defendants are in custody on illegal entry charges, they can agree to a judge’s order to leave the U.S. or face prosecution. However, Mexico has said it would refuse to take anyone back who is ordered to cross the border.
The impact extends far beyond the Texas border. Republican legislators wrote the law so that it applies in all of the state’s 254 counties, although Steve McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, has said he expects it will mostly be enforced near the border.
Other GOP-led states are already looking to follow Texas’ path. In Iowa, the state House gave final approval Tuesday to a bill that would also give its state law enforcement the power to arrest people who are in the U.S. illegally and have previously been denied entry into the country.
It now goes to Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. If signed, it would take effect in July.
“The federal government has abdicated its responsibilities and states can and must act,†Republican Iowa state Rep. Steven Holt said.
In Texas, El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego, the top county executive, said immigration enforcement should remain a federal, not state, responsibility, echoing the Biden administration’s view. He said heightened law enforcement presence in the city of El Paso during a previous migrant surge brought high-speed chases and traffic stops based on assumptions that passengers were in the country illegally.
“We had accidents, we had injuries, we got a little glimpse of what would happen if the state begins to control what happens in respect to immigration,†Samaniego said.
Arrests for illegal crossings fell by half in January from a record-high of 250,000 in December, with sharp declines in Texas. Arrests in the Border Patrol’s Del Rio sector, the focus of Abbott’s enforcement, fell 76% from December. Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings for much of the past decade, recorded its fewest arrests since June 2020.
Tucson, Arizona, has been the busiest corridor in recent months, followed by San Diego in January, but reasons for sudden shifts are often complicated and are dictated by smuggling organizations.
When Biden visited the Rio Grande Valley for his second trip to the border as president last month, administration officials credited Mexico for heightened enforcement on that part of the border for the drop in arrests. They said conditions were more challenging for Mexican law enforcement in Sonora, the state that lies south of Arizona.
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LONGVIEW – A 50 year prison sentence was given to a man after a guilty plea in the 2022 murder of a Longview teenager. According to our news partner KETK, 30-year-old Laderrion Johnson pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and murder. Johnson was arrested in November 2022 due to multiple incidents at the Preserve Apartments. At this time, Johnson shot and killed 14-year-old Rahsaan Jefferson. After a standoff with Longview Police, Johnson surrendered, was indicted, before eventually pleading guilty.
TYLER – An accident involving a car and a pedestrian Monday morning has killed one person. According to our news partner KETK, Evencio Arellano, 79, was struck by a car on Front Street, near the Rose Garden. Tyler Police said Arellano was taken to local hospital, where he later died. Authorities said the accident did not occur at a crosswalk or intersection.
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TYLER — A man has been sentenced to 32 years in prison after pleading guilty to a 2022 shoot out in Tyler. According to our news partner KETK, 60-year-old Fredrick Leon Harvey of Tyler pleaded guilty Friday of murdering 57-year-old Horatio Williams, also of Tyler. Authorities say on Aug. 8, 2022, Tyler PD was called to the scene of a shooting mid-afternoon. When they arrived, they found Williams with a gunshot wound. He died of those injuries later at a local hospital.
A witness told police, leading to the shooting, the two men were inside a pool hall and “everyone was giving everyone a hard time and joking with each other.†The report continues saying the two men started to argue outside. Williams pulled a shotgun from his van, displayed the gun and then put it back in the van. Around 30 minutes later, Harvey allegedly came back with a handgun in each hand. The witness said, Williams retrieved his shotgun and both men began exchanging shots.
Frederick Harvey was arrested that same day and was charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and murder.
SMITH COUNTY – 
The Smith County District Attorney’s Office said a Tyler man was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Thursday for abusing a minor, according to our news partners at KETK. According to a release, Camron Bowens, 38 of Tyler, was found guilty of abusing a nine-year-old girl for six years. “The victim testified and was able to confront the defendant with the abuse she endured,†the district attorney’s office said. A detective also testified about his investigation into the abuse and arrest of Bowens. Bowens was sentenced by the 241st District Court to serve his sentence without the possibility of parole.
TYLER – Aaron D. Williams was sworn into office as the 45th Postmaster of Tyler on Thursday. According to our news partner KETK, Williams will supervise delivery and retail operations for three stations and one financial unit. A release from the postal service said The Tyler Post Office has 240 employees, serving 52 city routes and 66 rural routes. Williams has also served for the postal service in Waco, DeSoto, Waxahachie, Lancaster and Rockwall.
VAN – The Van Police Department arrested a man suspected of running into a gas station fuel pump, causing a fire and leaving the scene. According to our news partner KETK, officers booked Trevion Bowie late Tuesday afternoon in Northeastern Smith County. Investigators found a vehicle matching the one involved in the crash that happened last Friday. Bowie confessed to the incident at the time of his arrest. He was taken to the Van Zandt County Jail and charged with criminal mischief.
TYLER – A man was arrested following a shooting at an apartment complex in Tyler on Wednesday morning that has put a 3-year-old in the hospital. According to our news partner KETK, Tyler Police Public Information Officer Andy Erbaugh said officers responded to a shooting at the Liberty Arms apartments on North Broadway, EMS also arrived on the scene. Officials said a toddler had been shot in the buttocks and was transferred to a local hospital, and their current condition is unknown. Tyler PD said that they located the suspect, identified as Darius Davis, 30, across the street and arrested him. Davis was reportedly booked into Smith County Jail and was charged with aggravated assault and is facing other charges.
TEXARKANA — 
The Texarkana Police Department said a man has been arrested for child grooming after reportedly sending sexually suggestive messages and videos to several underage girls according to our news partners at KETK. According to a release, Matthew Riddle, 35 of Texarkana, had access to the underage girls “through their involvement in youth sports activities in the community.†Texarkana PD said while they cannot provide details of the case due to the age of the victims. The police department said this type of behavior is used by pedophiles to manipulate and gain the trust of minors in small steps towards sexual contact. Read the rest of this entry »
PANOLA COUNTY — 
The Panola County Sheriff’s Office said three people were arrested on Monday after a search warrant revealed 29 firearms and suspected methamphetamine. According to our news partner KETK, a special response team alongside two constables conducted a search warrant on Jasmine and Smith streets in the city of Beckville. During the search, authorities reportedly recovered 29 firearms and “suspected methamphetamine related paraphernalia, including measurement and packaging implement.†Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – 
The Humane Society of the United States partnered with an Oklahoma sheriff’s office as part of a large scale alleged cruelty case involving two puppy breeding operations that advertised selling at ‘Dog Alley’ in Canton according to our colleagues at KETK. According to a release, the Humane Society assisted in the rescue of over 150 dogs and puppies from two puppy breeding operations in Milburn, Oklahoma. “It’s a bleak existence for these dogs, no one would want to live like this,†said Cynthia Armstrong, Oklahoma state director for the Humane Society of the United States. “We are grateful to the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office for intervening on behalf of these animals and getting them the care they need.†Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – 
Our news partners at KETK report that a man was sentenced to 20 years in prison last month after pleading guilty to two charges of aggravated robbery in connection to a fatal shooting at a Tyler apartment complex in March 2023. Nicholas Hudson, 19 of Malakoff, was arrested after, according to his arrest warrant, he met with another man at the Royal Crest Apartments where a gun trade had been planned. Read the rest of this entry »