MARCH 27, 2024:
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court has refused to lift an order that blocks Texas from arresting and deporting migrants suspected of illegally crossing the border. Late Tuesday’s (March 26, 2024) ruling is the latest development in the seesaw legal battle over Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s strict new immigration law. The law was in effect for a several hours on March 19 because of a procedural order from the U.S. Supreme Court. But the court sent the case back to the appellate court for further consideration. The appellate judges blocked the law again. They’re keeping the block in place as the case proceeds.
MARCH 20, 2024:
McALLEN, Texas (AP) — A federal appeals court has again (March 20, 2024) prevented Texas from arresting and deporting migrants accused of entering the U.S. illegally, hours after the the law briefly took effect. Before a divided U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday let the state law take effect while a legal challenge plays out, some sheriffs were ready to relish an unprecedented state expansion into border enforcement, while others were reluctant. Hours later, an order by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put the law again on hold.
MARCH 19, 2024:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday (March 18, 2024) continued to block, for now, a Texas law that would give police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of illegally entering the U.S. while the legal battle it sparked over immigration authority plays out.
A one-page order signed by Justice Samuel Alito indefinitely prevents Texas from enforcing a sweeping state immigration enforcement law that had been set to take effect this month. The language of the order strongly suggests the court will take additional action, but it is unclear when.
It marks the second time Alito has extended a pause on the law, known as Senate Bill 4, which the Justice Department has argued would step on the federal government’s immigration powers. Monday’s order extending the stay came a few minutes after a 5 p.m. deadline the court had set for itself, creating momentary confusion about the measure’s status.
Opponents have called the law the most dramatic attempt by a state to police immigration since an Arizona law more than a decade ago, portions of which were struck down by the Supreme Court. The court battle is unfolding as immigration emerges as a key issue in the 2024 presidential race.
The office of Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has said the state’s law mirrored federal law and “was adopted to address the ongoing crisis at the southern border, which hurts Texans more than anyone else.”
Arrests for illegal crossings along the southern border hit record highs in December but fell by half in January, a shift attributed to seasonal declines and heightened enforcement by the U.S. and its allies. The federal government has not yet released numbers for February.
The Biden administration sued to strike down the Texas measure in January, arguing it’s a clear violation of federal authority on immigration that would hurt international relations and create chaos in administering immigration law. Critics have also said the law could lead to civil rights violations and racial profiling.
A federal judge in Texas struck down the law in late February, but the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals quickly stayed that ruling, leading the federal government to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court in 2012 struck down key parts of an Arizona law that would have allowed police to arrest people for federal immigration violations, often referred to by opponents as the “show me your papers” bill. The divided high court found then that the impasse in Washington over immigration reform did not justify state intrusion.
The battle over the Texas immigration law is one of multiple legal disputes between Texas officials and the Biden administration over how far the state can go to patrol the Texas-Mexico border and prevent illegal border crossings.
Several Republican governors have backed Gov. Greg Abbott’s efforts, saying the federal government is not doing enough to enforce existing immigration laws.
FEBRUARY 29, 2024:
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge has blocked a Texas law that would allow police to arrest migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally. The decision Thursday by U.S. District Judge David Ezra sets aside for now the law that had been set to take effect March 5, 2024. The ruling is a victory for the Justice Department. It argued that the law signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott last year was unconstitutional. The state attorney general’s office says it immediately appealed. Opponents say the measure is the most dramatic attempt from a state to police immigration since a 2010 Arizona law that was partially struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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