The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided to continue blocking a Texas law providing law enforcement with powers to arrest suspected illegal immigrants entering the U.S.
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito signed a one-page order prohibiting Texas officials from imposing a state immigration enforcement law scheduled to take effect in March 2024. The Associated Press (AP) pointed out that the order’s language could signal that the High Court will take additional action.
BREAKING: Supreme Court extends block on Texas law that would allow police to arrest migrants https://t.co/MpPflW3Its
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 18, 2024
This marks the second time Alito has ordered a pause on Texas’ anti-illegal immigration measures. The law cited in the order, Senate Bill 4, has been targeted by the Department of Justice (DOJ), which argued that the legislation would crush the federal government’s powers.
Individuals opposed to the law called it the most radical attempt by a state to control immigration since an Arizona law more than 10 years ago, of which portions were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The AP noted that Alito’s order comes as illegal immigration emerges as a crucial issue ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office released a statement regarding the law, saying it mirrors federal law and “was adopted to address the ongoing crisis at the southern border, which hurts Texans more than anyone else.”
In December 2023, arrests of foreign nationals at the southern border reached a record high.
Despite illegal immigration growing across America, the Biden administration has done nothing to address the life-threatening issue, instead choosing to pick a fight with Texas for choosing to secure the southern border.
In January 2024, the Biden administration filed a lawsuit against Texas, arguing that the state’s approach toward illegal immigration violates federal authority and could damage international relations and create chaos.
A month later, a federal judge in Texas struck down the state’s laws fighting unlawful immigration, but the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the measure, prompting the federal government to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 2012, the High Court struck down portions of an Arizona law allowing police to arrest individuals violating federal immigration. At the time, the divided court found that the deadlock in Congress over immigration reform did not justify state intrusion.
