The US Supreme Court has temporarily blocked Texas’ strict immigration legislation, known as Senate Bill (SB) 4. This law made various immigration offenses a criminal act. This move from the Supreme Court was in response to an administrative stay granted by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Saturday, which ultimately allowed the law to come into force.
The applicants consisting of El Paso County and two civil rights groups protested to the Supreme Court questioning the stay ordered by the Fifth Circuit. As per their application to the Supreme Court, they maintained that the main aim of SB 4 is to regulate immigration, which is a power exclusively reserved for the federal government. They argued that the balance of equities at play leans towards their favor considering the harmful impacts of SB 4.
“SB 4 will cause enormous harm from the first day it goes into effect, as it would throw the federal immigration system into confusion, disrupt the plaintiffs’ operations, and make it possible for Texas to fuzz out the federal rights of thousands of noncitizens who may ultimately have the right to stay in the United States under laws implemented by Congress.”
The applicants concluded, Texas “faces no comparable harm” and presents “no reason the status quo must be upended right now”.
This action from the Fifth Circuit put a stay on a preliminary injunction issued last week by a Texas district court. Judge David Alan Ezra of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, in his order suspending the enforcement of SB 4, mentioned that the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution preempts any state law attempting to control immigration.
In line with this application, the ACLU of Texas, through a joint statement, expressed their long-standing concerns that “this law will separate families, lead to racial profiling across the state, and harm people across the state as Governor Abbott continues his relentless campaign against people who are immigrants.” Governor Abbott recently asserted that Texas has a constitutional right to defend itself from an “invasion” allegedly caused by “President Biden’s lawless border policies.”
SB 4 was signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in December 2023. This law particularly criminalizes illegal entry into Texas from any location other than an official entry port. Essentially, SB 4 provides permissions to the Texas law enforcement agencies to enforce immigration laws – a power usually held by federal authorities.
Source: JURIST – News