Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Texas Illegal Immigration Law

The U.S. Supreme Court issued an order on March 12 that extends for at least another week its temporary pause on enforcement of Texas’ immigration law, which would have allowed state police to arrest people suspected of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

Justice Alito’s March 4 order postponed implementation of SB4 until March 13, a move that gave the Supreme Court more time to review the case but, like the March 12 order extending the stay for another week, doesn’t give any indication of the court’s ultimate stance on the matter.

Texas lawmakers passed SB4 in a bid to give state and local law enforcement more power to stem the flow of illegal immigrants into the Lone Star state. The bill makes it a criminal offense for anyone who isn’t a U.S. citizen or national to enter the United States anywhere besides a lawful point of entry. It also provides a mechanism for the deportation of offenders while providing civil immunity to law enforcement and other officials who enforce its provisions.

“Four years ago, the United States had the fewest illegal border crossings in decades,” Mr. Abbott, a Republican, said during a Dec. 18 signing ceremony in Austin. “It was because of four policies put in place by the Trump Administration that led to such a low number of illegal crossings.”

Related Stories

“President Biden has eliminated all of those policies and done nothing to halt illegal immigration,” Mr. Abbott added, blaming President Joe Biden for rolling back Trump-era policies that helped stem the flow of illegal immigrants across the border, such as the “remain in Mexico” policy that required asylum applicants to wait outside of the United States until their claims were processed.

Soon after Mr. Abbott signed SB4 into law, immigration advocacy groups and El Paso County sued the Texas Department of Public Safety, arguing that the law is unconstitutional and accusing the Texas governor of trying to circumvent federal immigration enforcement authority.

“Governor Abbott’s efforts to circumvent the federal immigration system and deny people the right to due process is not only unconstitutional, but also dangerously prone to error, and will disproportionately harm Black and Brown people regardless of their immigration status,” Anand Balakrishnan, senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s Immigrant’s Rights Project, said in a statement.

Judge Ezra, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, rejected the Lone Star state’s argument that it has the authority to take action to enforce border security in the face of an “invasion” by illegal immigrants.

“To allow Texas to permanently supersede federal directives on the basis of an invasion would amount to nullification of federal law and authority—a notion that is antithetical to the Constitution and has been unequivocally rejected by federal courts since the Civil War,” he added.

Justice Alito, responding to the DOJ’s plea, paused the appeals court order until March 13, giving Texas more time to present its case. With his March 12 order, Justice Alito has extended that pause until March 18.

Should the Supreme Court ultimately side with Texas, SB4 could take effect on March 18 at 5 p.m. Eastern time.

Trump Calls Open Border a Power Grab

Tensions have been high between Texas and the Biden administration over border security, amid record levels of illegal immigrants pouring into the United States.

Some estimates put the number of illegal immigrants who entered the country since President Biden took office at about 10 million.

That’s a sharp increase from 2015 and 2019, when prior Monmouth polls found that 43 percent and 49 percent, respectively, held that view.

The poll also showed that, for the first time in the survey’s history, a majority of Americans support building a Trump-style wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Biden and his accomplices want to collapse the American system, nullify the will of the actual American voters, and establish a new base of power that gives them control for generations,” President Trump said during a March 2 rally in Greensboro, North Carolina.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on President Trump’s allegation.