SCOTUS Extends Block on Controversial Texas Migrant Arrest Law

The US Supreme Court ruled to continue the temporary block imposed on a Texas law that would give police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of illegally entering the United States from Mexico while the legal battle it sparked over immigration authority continues.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito signed a one-page order on Monday (Mar. 18) indefinitely preventing the state from enforcing what was reported to be a sweeping state immigration enforcement law that had been set to take effect this month.

The Associated Press reported that the order's language strongly suggested that the court would take additional action but fell short of providing a timeline or date.

Monday's order - which came a few minutes after a 17:00 ET (21:00 UTC) deadline the court had set for itself and created a momentary confusion about the measure's status - marked the second time Alito extended a pause on what Texas called as Senate Bill 4, which the Justice Department has argued would step on the federal government's immigration powers.

Fighting Over Jurisdiction on Immigration

On the other hand, opponents of the law called it the most dramatic attempt by a state to police immigration since an Arizona law in 2012, portions of which were struck down by the Supreme Court. The legal battle regarding the law and immigration, in general, is gradually becoming a key issue in the 2024 presidential race.

In court papers, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said that the Texas law was "flatly inconsistent" with the Supreme Court precedent dating back 100 years.

The office of Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton insisted that 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."

However, the Biden administration sued to strike down the Texas measure in January, arguing that it was a clear violation of federal authority on immigration that would damage international relations and create chaos in administering immigration law. Critics have also said that that law could lead to civil rights violations and racial profiling.

The battle over the Texas immigration law became one of multiple legal issues between the state and federal officials over how far the state could go to patrol the Texas-Mexico border and prevent illegal border crossings. The issue also involved several Republican governors who have backed Texas Governor Greg Abbott's efforts, saying that the federal government is not doing enough to enforce existing immigration laws.

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.