Texas immigration law back on hold after a federal appeals court pauses SC decision

A US federal appeals court late Tuesday (Mar 19) put back on hold a controversiallaw in Texas that would have allowed the state’s law enforcement officials to detain and deport migrants on charges of illegally entering the country from the US-Mexico border.

The Republican-backed law was frozen just hours afterthe US Supreme Court lifted the pause.

Texas ‘controversial’ law back on hold

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Earlier in the day,the SCOTUS had decided to lift the pause on Texas' controversial immigration law.

But a three-judge panel at the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to overturn a previous ruling from a different panel which hadput the law into effect.

The appeals court has alsoscheduled oral arguments over whether to block the law for Wednesday (Mar 20) morning, as the justices considerthe legal challenges to it.

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The apex court, with a six-to-three conservative majority, had rejected President Joe Biden administration’s bid to block the law.

The lift of the pause on the Texas Senate Bill 4 (SB4) would have immediately taken effect.

The conservative judges voting in favour of the bill did not immediately explain their arguments, but two of the three liberal justices – Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson – who opposed the decision said their rightwing colleagues had invited “further chaos and crisis in immigration enforcement”.

A report by the Associated Press, hours after the pause was lifted, reported no immediate effect as sheriffs and police chiefs who would put the law into effect were unsure about when, where and how migrants may be arrested.

White House, Mexico respond

Mexico’s foreign ministry in a sharply worded statement said that it would not “under any circumstances” accept anyone back who is ordered to leave the country under the state law and “categorically rejects” any state or local government enforcement of immigration laws.

The Mexican government also called the law “anti migrant” and said that it would lead to “family separation, discrimination and racial profiling.”

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The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre said that the Texas law will cause chaos and confusion at the border.

“We fundamentally disagree with the Supreme Court’s order allowing Texas’s harmful and unconstitutional law to go into effect,” said Jean-Pierre.

She added, “SB4 will not only make communities in Texas less safe, it will also burden law enforcement and sow chaos and confusion at our southern border.”

Texas border enforcement law

Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the SCOTUSdecision “a positive development".

SB4, signed by Abbott in December, makes illegal entry or re-entry into Texas a state crime, the violation of which can lead to penalties ranging from 180 days to 20 years in prison.

The law requires Texas magistrate judges to order migrants to return to Mexico who can be sentenced to 20 years in prison if they refuse to comply.

Also Read |Texas sued by US Justice Department over immigration law to deport illegal immigrants

State officials thereby have the powerto arrest, process and imprison people, a role which had long been reserved for federal authorities.

The Justice Department, back in January, sued the state of Texas and its governorto block the law which was supposed to take effect on March 5.

The DOJ argued that the law not only violates the Constitution and federal law which gives the government the power to regulate immigration, but also goes against the precedent set by a 2012 Supreme Court ruling.

(With inputs from agencies)