Hours after the Supreme Court upheld a tough new immigration law, a federal appeals court ordered Texas to block arrests of immigrants suspected of entering the United States illegally.
The decision by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals comes weeks after a panel of the court cleared a path for Texas to enforce the law known as SB4 by suspending a lower judge’s injunction. .
But an appeals court panel lifted the suspension ahead of Wednesday’s arguments.
Texas authorities have not yet announced any arrests under the law.
As a legal battle unfolds over the measure, the Supreme Court earlier Tuesday allowed Texas to begin enforcing a law that gives police broad powers to arrest immigrants suspected of crossing the border illegally. did.
The Supreme Court’s order rejected an emergency application from the Biden administration, saying the law was a clear violation of federal authority to cause chaos.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott praised the law, which allows Texas police officers to arrest immigrants who enter the country illegally and gives judges the power to order them to leave the United States.
The Supreme Court did not say whether the law was constitutional, and the measure was sent to the Court of Appeals, which issued a ruling late Tuesday.
Earlier, the Mexican government said it would not accept the return of migrants from Texas to Mexican territory “under any circumstances.”
Mexico’s foreign secretary said in a sharply worded statement that the country “categorically refuses” to bring back anyone ordered deported under state law.
The Department of Homeland Security said the federal government will also continue court challenges to laws that “further complicate” the jobs of “already strained” workers. The agency will not cooperate in any way with efforts to enforce the law, known as Senate Bill 4 (SB4).
The Supreme Court majority did not write a detailed opinion in this case, as is common in emergency appeals. However, the decision to allow the law to take effect was met with dissent from liberal Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor.
“The court has greenlit a disruptive law that upends the long-standing balance of federal and state power,” Sotomayor wrote in a blistering dissent, joined by Jackson. .
Opponents believe the law is the most dramatic attempt by a state to crack down on immigration since the Arizona law more than a decade ago, parts of which were struck down by the Supreme Court. Critics also say the Texas law could lead to civil rights violations and racial profiling.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the law “harmful and unconstitutional” and said it would cause chaos and burden law enforcement. He called on Republicans in Congress to fix the problem with a federal border security bill.
Texas has argued that it has the right to take action against what officials are calling an ongoing crisis at its southern border.
The law would allow police in counties bordering Mexico to arrest people they see crossing illegally, according to the Texas Sheriff’s Association. It also could be enforced elsewhere in Texas if someone is arrested for another offense and fingerprints taken at the time of the jail booking are linked to the alleged re-entry violation.
Arrests for illegal border crossings along the southern border hit a record high in December, but halved in January. This is due to seasonal declines and increased enforcement. The federal government has not yet released February numbers.
