A U.S. appeals court has maintained a hold on Texas’s S.B. 4, a law permitting state authorities to arrest and prosecute individuals suspected of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.
The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Texas’s request to enforce the law while the state’s appeal of a judge’s ruling continues.
S.B. 4, a contentious issue in the Texas-Biden administration border security dispute, criminalizes illegal entry into Texas and empowers state judges to order violators to leave the U.S., with potential prison sentences up to 20 years for non-compliance.
The court’s decision marked the third rapid ruling regarding the law’s status. Despite the Supreme Court’s initial allowance, the 5th Circuit panel reinstated the injunction blocking enforcement.
Judge David Ezra cited a 2012 Supreme Court precedent, asserting that states cannot implement immigration enforcement measures conflicting with federal law. The panel is set to hear arguments on Texas’s appeal in April.
Although Judge Andrew Oldham, a Trump appointee, dissented, predicting the panel would uphold the injunction, dissenting that the law challenges federal immigration authority, the decision maintains that Texas’s measure interferes with federal immigration regulation and contravenes the Constitution.
Biden’s administration and civil rights groups welcomed the ruling, asserting that immigration falls within federal jurisdiction and that S.B. 4 disrupts established deportation procedures and asylum applications.
State law enforcement officials expressed skepticism about the law’s impact, given limited enforcement resources. Skylor Hearn of the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas noted minimal changes at the border, suggesting that federal efforts suffice.
The legal clash underscores broader immigration policy debates as the U.S. election approaches, with Governor Greg Abbott defending S.B. 4 to address surging illegal crossings, while critics argue that existing federal laws already address border security.
