The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a stay on the new Texas law designed to give the state the authority to enforce border security and arrest illegal immigrants.
In compliance with an order from conservative Justice Samuel Alito, a stay was placed on a lower court’s decision to allow the law to go into effect on Sunday. Now, the implementation of the law will have to wait until at least March 13, as the state of Texas has until March 11 to respond to complaints from the Biden administration over the law — which was Alito’s reason for the stay.
BREAKING: Senate Bill authorizing Texas law enforcement to arrest any illegal immigrants crossing the border has been BLOCKED by the Supreme Court.
Shouldn't Texas be ALLOWED to defend their borders? pic.twitter.com/JGpvZuUuh7
— TaraBull (@TaraBull808) March 5, 2024
Critics of the law include U.S. District Judge David Ezra, who had previously ruled against it. According to Ezra, the law would allow Texas to circumvent federal orders, which would lead to the “nullification of federal law and authority — a notion that is antithetical to the Constitution and has been unequivocally rejected by federal courts since the Civil War.”
Furthermore, the Justice Department itself petitioned the Supreme Court in outcry against the Texas law, saying that it would damage the United States’ relationship with Mexico and other countries, a consideration that would seem to be for the Department of State to weigh, not the Justice Department.
The Texas law would make it a criminal offense to illegally enter the state and carry a punishment of up to six months in jail. Repeat offenders could have the charge upgraded to a felony status and face up to 20 years in jail.
The law seeks to give Texas the authority to enforce its own borders, which have been over-run with hordes of illegal immigrants every year and have put a massive strain on state and federal resources.
Illegal immigration is again taking center stage in the 2024 election, as it has in numerous presidential election cycles prior. For many years, both Republicans and Democrats have failed to decisively tackle the problem. In 2016, Donald Trump promised to build a border wall, and during his presidency its construction began. However, it was faced with numerous setbacks as factions within the government sought to oppose it. Many voters are hoping for its completion in a second Trump presidential term.
The Biden administration has refused to take any significant action to remedy the crisis.
