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A controversial Texas law that allows state authorities to arrest and detain people suspected of entering the country illegally will remain blocked pending legal challenges, federal officials say. The Court of Appeals made the announcement Tuesday.
In a 2-1 vote, the court said the law, known as SB 4, will remain blocked while the court considers the larger question of whether it violates the U.S. Constitution. Immigration enforcement is typically the responsibility of the federal government.
The court's decision not to allow the law to go into effect comes as SB 4 reached a legal impasse after the Supreme Court briefly allowed the law to go into effect, only for a panel of the Court of Appeals to remand it. This brought an end to several chaotic days. On hold after a few hours.
In a majority opinion written by Chief Justice Priscilla Richman, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law was likely unconstitutional, but that “lack of funding combined with a lack of political will” “That leaves a problem.” Texas is trying to fill what some might call a noble and honorable state, but there is a gaping hole in immigration.
“However, it is unlikely that Texas would have the status of a sovereign state under our Constitution and laws,” she wrote, adding that “Texas's removal clause would probably give Texas powers reserved to the United States.” I’m giving it to myself,” he added.
Richman was joined by Circuit Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez, who was appointed by President Joe Biden.
Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham, who was appointed to the court by former President Donald Trump, wrote in a lengthy dissent that he would have let Texas enforce the law. He said it was “very worrying” that his colleagues were “ready to repeal” the law.
“The states are powerless forever. Texas can't do anything. Congress seems to have done everything, but federal non-enforcement means Congress is all for nothing,” Oldham wrote. “And secondly, although the conflict before us is purely hypothetical, the consequences of today's decisions will be very real.”
SB4, signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in December, makes illegal entry into Texas a state crime and allows state judges to order immigrants' deportation. U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra blocked the bill in late February before it went into effect, ruling that it “could pave the way for states to pass their own versions of immigration laws.” Was.
“SB 4 directly challenges the federal government's long-held authority to control immigration, naturalization, and deportation,” Ezra wrote in the preliminary injunction. “As applied to the area of immigration, the federal government has both dominant interests and an extensive regulatory framework that precludes state regulation in this area.”
Texas immediately appealed this decision. The appeals court will hear arguments on whether to uphold the injunction on April 3. Doing so would be a devastating blow to the law.
Texas could appeal Tuesday's decision to the Supreme Court or ask the entire 5th Circuit to reconsider the law enforcement request for the time being, given the impending hearing next week. Neither option seems likely.
Challengers to SB 4 include El Paso County, as well as the Biden administration and two immigrant advocacy groups.
This story has been updated with additional details.
