A Texas law that would allow local police to arrest people suspected of being in the country illegally could go into effect later this week after a weekend ruling by a federal appeals court.
The law, Senate Bill 4, was passed late last year by the Texas Legislature and was initially scheduled to go into effect Tuesday, March 5. But it was temporarily blocked Thursday by U.S. District Judge David Ezra, who ruled the law is likely unconstitutional because the federal government has jurisdiction over immigration matters.
The state of Texas immediately appealed the ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which over the weekend set aside Ezra’s decision, the New York Times reported Sunday. The appeals court put its own ruling on hold for a week to allow the Biden administration to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
If the high court doesn’t intervene, the law could go into effect Saturday, March 9 pending a final resolution in the courts.
In addition to the local arrest powers it grants officers, Senate Bill 4 allows local judges to order a migrant to return to Mexico via a port of entry.
The lawsuit challenging SB 4 was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the Texas Civil Rights project on behalf of El Paso-based Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, American Gateways, and El Paso County. It names Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw and El Paso County District Attorney Bill Hicks as defendants.
A separate lawsuit was later filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, and the two were consolidated.
Attorneys for the ACLU of Texas and Las Americas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest proceedings. Gov. Greg Abbott said after the legislation was passed that Texas has a right to defend itself against what he’s called Biden open-border policies. He has anticipated that the legality of the legislation could eventually be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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