The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed a Texas law to take effect that enables state law enforcement to arrest people they suspect are illegally entering the United States from Mexico.
The three liberal justices publicly dissented from the court’s order reinstating the controversial statute, SB4.
The Biden administration had urged the justices to block the law, passed by Texas’s Republican-controlled legislature last year, asserting it is an “unprecedented intrusion into federal immigration enforcement.”
“There is no ambiguity in SB4,” U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelograr wrote to the justices. “It is flatly inconsistent with federal law in all its applications, and it is therefore preempted on its face.”
Signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), the far-reaching statute makes illegal immigration a state crime, enabling state and local law enforcement the authority to arrest undocumented migrants, who could then face deportation or jail time.
In defending the law, Texas argued the state has a constitutional right to defend itself and the Biden administration was unwilling or unable to defend the border.
“Plaintiffs urge the Court to rush straight to the merits of their claims,” the state responded in court papers. “But these cases do not belong in federal court at all—even apart from the fact that no state court has yet had an opportunity to construe any provision of S.B.4.”
After the Justice Department sued, a federal district judge blocked SB4. But the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later issued a ruling that would’ve allowed the law to temporarily take effect.
The Justice Department then sought emergency relief from the Supreme Court, joined by a similar application filed by the County of El Paso, Texas, and two immigrant rights groups.
Justice Samuel Alito, who by default handles emergency applications arising from the 5th Circuit, had issued orders preventing the law from taking effect until the full court acted on Tuesday.
But the court’s newest order refuses the Justice Department’s request for a longer pause, meaning SB4 can go into effect.
The legal battle now returns to a three-judge panel on the 5th Circuit, which is hearing Texas’s appeal on the merits. The court agreed to expedite its review, scheduling oral arguments for April 3. The losing party could then appeal the case back to the Supreme Court.
Texas has proven to be one of the most aggressive states on immigration, both in terms of lobbing lawsuits challenging a suite of Biden administration policies and in rolling out their own immigration enforcement measures, all a part of Abbott’s Operation Lone Star.
Those measures have consistently pushed the Biden administration to argue the state is overstepping its authority in trying to manage an issue assigned to the federal government.
Last year the state installed buoys amid the Rio Grande, hoping to block migrants crossing the river to reach the U.S.
The move was challenged by the Justice Department, who argued it was the federal government that reserved the right to manage navigable waters. In December, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered them removed.
The state also tangled with the Biden administration again with the installation of concertina wire, something the Department of Homeland Security argued risked injury to border agents and migrants and made it more difficult for officers to carry out their jobs.
In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court initially sided with the federal government, allowing them to cut the wire while the lawsuit continues.
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