Texas state troopers arrested two men in Hidalgo County under Senate Bill 4, the new state law known as SB4. SB4 lets Texas police arrest people accused of crossing the border from Mexico without papers. The two men are Yeison Misael De Leon Perez, 27, and Josue Walter Torres Ojeda, 36.

Their arrests are part of a bigger wave. Troopers have been making SB4 arrests across Hidalgo County since the law took effect this spring. Now the county is dealing with the bill.

Hidalgo County District Attorney Toribio "Terry" Palacios says these cases will hit local taxpayers hard. His office has to process every person that state troopers bring in under SB4. The county jail already holds more inmates than it was built for.

"That's going to cost us a pretty penny," Palacios said.

The Hidalgo County Jail is over capacity by 550 inmates, Palacios said. He estimated that about 50 more people crossing the border each week could need jail beds under SB4. Every new bed means more money spent on housing and feeding inmates who are waiting on their cases.

Palacios said his office plans to move SB4 cases through court faster. He wants to cut the time each person spends behind bars.

"We're going to try and expedite these a lot faster than that so it won't cost our taxpayers money," Palacios said.

Palacios has not said whether he supports or opposes SB4. He said his job is to follow the law, not judge it.

"It's a law we're going to have to enforce, because as district attorney, we're sworn to enforce the laws of Texas, and that's what we're going to do," Palacios said.

SB4 makes it a state crime to cross into Texas from Mexico outside a legal port of entry. It also lets Texas judges order some people to leave the country. Before SB4, only federal agents could arrest people for crossing the border without papers. Now state troopers and local police can make those arrests too.

SB4 has been stuck in court fights since lawmakers passed it in 2023. Courts blocked the law, then let it restart, more than once. This spring, the full Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals threw out an order that had blocked SB4. Judges voted 10 to 7 to let the law stand, at least for now. The court did not rule on whether SB4 breaks the U.S. Constitution. It said the groups suing did not have the right to challenge the law in that case.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has praised SB4 as a way to control the border. Groups like the ACLU say SB4 lets the state do a job that belongs to the federal government. They point to a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court case, Arizona v. United States, that struck down a similar Arizona law.

The ACLU and other groups filed a new lawsuit against SB4 in May. A federal judge briefly blocked parts of the law again, one day before it was set to take effect. An appeals court quickly put that block on hold. That let SB4 arrests keep going in Hidalgo County and across the state.

As of this month, SB4 is still active in Texas. Troopers are still making arrests under the law. The court fight over SB4 is not over. Legal experts say the case could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

For Hidalgo County, the legal outcome matters less right now than the day-to-day cost. Palacios says his office will keep enforcing SB4 while pushing to move cases fast. County leaders will keep watching the jail numbers as more people get arrested under the law.

De Leon Perez and Torres Ojeda remain in the Hidalgo County Jail. Their cases are moving through the court system under SB4.