The U.S. Supreme Court has intervened in a legal battle over a new Texas immigration law that allows state law enforcement officers to arrest immigrants who enter the country illegally. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has suspended an earlier order blocking enforcement of a newly enacted Texas law. SCOTUS’ latest ruling temporarily suspends enforcement of the law until March 13th.
The controversial law allows the prosecution of immigrants who enter Texas illegally and provides a mechanism to remove them from the country at sentencing. A federal appeals court issued an interim order Saturday that would allow the law to go into effect after a seven-day period if the U.S. Supreme Court decides not to intervene.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito issued his latest order temporarily blocking implementation of Texas SB4, within hours of the Justice Department asking the court to intervene.
Recent federal court battles over enforcement of Texas’ new immigration law resulted in the law being blocked, reinstated, and ultimately blocked by the Supreme Court. Senior U.S. District Judge David Ezra in Austin last week halted enforcement of Senate Bill 4, which was scheduled to take effect March 5, citing the federal government’s preponderance over immigration enforcement.
in him decisionEzra wrote, “For the past century, Texas has relied on the broad police powers granted under the Constitution to control crime within state borders. , the federal field of illegal entry and removal cannot be regulated.”
Texas has appealed Ezra’s ruling on the issue ahead of Saturday’s federal appeals court ruling, and unless the Biden administration allows the law to take effect that would allow the issue to reach the U.S. Supreme Court The suspension was granted for a few days. Based on an appeals court ruling overturning Ezra’s original order, the law would have gone into effect on March 9th had the Supreme Court not intervened.
Texas SB4 reflects current federal law under Title 8, United States Code 1325, which makes illegal entry into the United States a misdemeanor for a first offense and a felony for a second offense. Under the Biden administration, the federal law has not been pursued as much.
Under the new law, immigrants can agree to return to their home countries as part of a sentencing agreement. A similar process in federal court, known as “prescribed removal,” allows immigrants to waive their right to another administrative immigration hearing by agreeing to be removed from the United States as part of the adjudication process.
The law could face an uphill battle when reviewed by the Supreme Court. In 2010, a similar immigration bill signed by then-Arizona Governor Jan Brewer made it a misdemeanor for immigrants to be illegally present in the state and illegally employed by immigrants. Supreme Court Justice Kennedy issued a majority opinion blocking the law, saying several provisions of SB 1070 infringe on the federal government’s primacy in regulating and enforcing immigration law.
randy clark He is a 32-year veteran of the U.S. Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as Division Chief of Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol stations within the Del Rio, Texas area. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.
