A controversial state immigration law being pushed by Texas officials has been put on hold by the Supreme Court after the U.S. Justice Department called for an intervention.
Texas State vs The White House
The state of Texas has been slammed by record-high waves of illegal immigration via the U.S.-Mexico border over the last year.
While state officials have decided to take matters into their own hands, the Biden administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in to stop them.
New State Immigration Law
Texas has attempted to enact a controversial new state immigration law that allows state authorities to arrest migrants entering the country and send them back across the border, a law that has been put on temporary hold by the Supreme Court.
A Request to End It
But the Biden administration, which has been at odds with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other Republican state officials over the last year, has asked the highest court in the land to block the law entirely.
It Could “Create Chaos”
The justice department has claimed that allowing such a law to take effect would cause “significant and immediate adverse effects” and “create chaos” at the border and in international politics.
Temporary Suspension
The request was met with some success. On Monday, Justice Samuel Alito placed a temporary block on the new law, which will be on hold until March 13.
One Week to Decide
This will give the nine justices of the Supreme Court an extra week to decide whether they will nullify the law, allow it to go forward, or find a middle ground of some kind.
Set for This Saturday
The disputed law, Senate Bill 4, was set to take effect this Saturday, judged by a panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. It was originally signed into law by Governor Abbott in December.
Immigrant Arrests
Not only would Senate Bill 4 allow Texan authorities to arrest people who are found at the border, but also people who are already living in the state and are suspected of residing there illegally.
Return Home or Face Charges
Arrested undocumented persons would then be given the option of returning to their home country or facing misdemeanor charges for illegal entry.
A “Flatly Inconsistent” Law
In the emergency filing by the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote that the new law is “flatly inconsistent” with Supreme Court rulings that recognize the removal of “noncitizens” as a right of the federal government.
“Core Responsibility of National Government”
“Those decisions recognize that the authority to admit and remove noncitizens is a core responsibility of the national government, and that where Congress has enacted a law addressing those issues, state law is preempted,” she continued.
Texas Claims “Border Invasion”
Texas lawmakers have argued that the state is confronting a “border invasion” under the State War Clause of the Constitution, which gives the state the right to protect itself from a “hostile force,” a claim that U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra dismissed.
District Judge Disagrees
Ezra attempted to bar the law in the U.S. District Court on Thursday, stating that “states may not exercise immigration enforcement power except as authorized by the federal government,” and “Surges in immigration do not constitute an ‘invasion’ within the meaning of the Constitution, nor is Texas engaging in war by enforcing SB4.”
Texas AG Office Defends the Law
The Texas Attorney General’s office also issued a statement defending the law, which it claimed “was adopted to address the ongoing crisis at the southern border, which hurts Texans more than anyone else.”
The Latest Dispute
This is just the latest dispute between Texas and the federal government over border immigration, as Texas border towns have had to deal with the brunt of illegal migration encounters.
Record-High Immigration
The southern border has seen record-high numbers of border crossings. In December, they reached an all-time high, with border authorities recording 249,785 arrests at the border in a single month.
Abbott Speaks Out
Abbott has criticized President Biden and his administration, which he claims are not doing their job by targeting the mass migration issue.
Resorting to Extremes
The Governor has taken the border migration problem into his own hands, employing a number of controversial strategies such as paying to bus tens of thousands of migrants out of state and approving razor wire fencing across the Rio Grande River.
Not Just Politicians
Politicians are far from the only ones decrying the current administration for a perceived lack of action on illegal immigration.
Top Concern for Voters
According to the most recent poll by global research group Gallup, 28% of Americans see immigration as the top concern for the U.S., meaning that more citizens are worried about immigration than any other issue, including the economy, government, and inflation.
Low Approval Rates for Immigration Policies
A new CNN survey also shows that just 30% of voters approve of the Biden administration’s handling of immigration and border issues. This will likely be a central topic for the 2024 presidential elections.
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