Supreme Court temporarily blocks Texas law that allows police to arrest migrants

The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily blocked a Texas law that allows state law enforcement officers to arrest immigrants who enter the United States from Mexico.

In an order signed by Justice Samuel Alito, the high court blocked Texas from enacting the law until March 13, giving the state a deadline to respond to a Justice Department request to suspend enforcement of the law. It was given until March 11th.

The Justice Department on Monday filed an emergency petition asking the Supreme Court to intervene, with Attorney General Elizabeth Prelauger saying the law “changes the nearly 150-year-old status quo between the United States and the states regarding immigration. “It will happen,” he claimed. ”

Preloger was responding to order Over the weekend, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals suspended a federal district judge’s ruling that blocked the law from taking effect last week.

“The district court’s preliminary injunction merely maintains the long-standing status quo while this case proceeds. The appellate court’s stay, on the other hand, directly and reversibly harms the Commonwealth’s core interests. It will cause irreparable damage,” she wrote.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) signed a bill in December that gives Texas law enforcement officers the power to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally. Once arrested, the migrants must agree to a judge’s order to leave the United States or face a misdemeanor charge of illegal entry under the new law.

The law became a flashpoint in an immigration dispute with the Biden administration. The Justice Department sued Texas in January, arguing that the law violates the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.

Federal Judge David Ezra blocked enforcement of the law in an order issued last week. Texas immediately appealed the decision to a federal appeals court, and the state attorney general’s office on Monday praised the Fifth Circuit’s order.

“The emergency stay granted by the Fifth Circuit was itself suspended for seven days to allow the federal government to seek review by the United States Supreme Court. Additionally, the Fifth Circuit expedited this appeal and immediately He was ordered to enter a plea,” the state attorney general’s office wrote.