Appeals Court Seems Divided on Halting Texas Immigration Law 👉 Updatem News

A day after the Supreme Court denied an emergency bid by the White House to block the law, a federal appeals court is hearing arguments on the case.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard arguments on March 20 over whether to temporarily halt Texas’ controversial immigration enforcement law before the circuit tackles it more substantively at a later date.

The three-judge panel appeared somewhat divided during arguments from Texas Solicitor General Aaron Nielson, the Justice Department, and the American Civil Liberties Union. Judge Irma Carillo Ramirez, an appointee of President Joe Biden, didn’t speak.

The hearing came one day after the Supreme Court denied an emergency application by the Biden administration to block the law. Hours later, the Appeals Court reinstated the hold on Texas’s law.

Chief Judge Priscilla Richman seemed more skeptical of the Texas law than Judge Andrew Oldham. Judge Oldham, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, had dissented from a March 19 decision by Judges Richman and Ramirez to block the law.

Both Judges Richman and Oldham asked questions about how much federal law pre-empted states on immigration enforcement. The case surrounds Texas’s attempt to arrest illegal immigrants as the Biden administration faces accusations of woefully enforcing the southern border.

This is a developing story and will be updated.