Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Monday extended an order prohibiting Texas officials from detaining and jailing migrants suspected of crossing the U.S. southern border without authorization under a new state immigration law known as SB4 that the Biden administration has called unconstitutional.
Shortly after a self-imposed deadline passed, allowing the law to briefly take effect, Alito issued an order halting the enforcement of the controversial Texas law, one of Gov. Greg Abbott's key immigration policies, on an administrative basis.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit is currently reviewing the legality of the law, and the Justice Department has requested the Supreme Court to suspend the law while the legal challenge unfolds. The full court has not yet made a decision on that request.
Enacted by the Texas legislature last year, SB4 makes unauthorized migration a criminal offense at the state level, turning the act of crossing into the U.S. outside of a port of entry — which is already a federal offense — into a state crime. Additionally, the law establishes a felony charge for illegal reentry at the state level.
Following a request from the Biden administration, a federal judge last month blocked SB4, stating that the state measure contradicts federal immigration laws. The 5th Circuit later suspended that ruling, but Justice Alito has now paused the appeals court's order on administrative grounds. This administrative stay by Alito maintains the current situation while the court reviews the Justice Department's plea for urgent action.
SB4 grants Texas law enforcement officials, both at the state and local levels, the authority to detain, arrest, and prosecute migrants for illegal entry and reentry. Additionally, it enables Texas judges to mandate that migrants return to Mexico instead of facing prosecution, essentially establishing a quasi-state deportation system.
The Justice Department contends that SB4 contradicts federal law and the Constitution, emphasizing that immigration enforcement, such as arrests and deportations, falls under federal jurisdiction. The department also argues that the measure damages relations with the Mexican government, which has criticized SB4 as "anti-immigrant" and pledged to refuse migrants sent back by Texas.
Governor Abbott, positioning himself as a prominent critic of President Biden's border policies, has framed SB4 as a necessary step to dissuade migrants from crossing the Rio Grande, asserting that the federal government has not taken adequate measures to curb illegal immigration.
During the last three years, Texas has launched a bold campaign to push back against the federal government's control over immigration policy. The state has transported tens of thousands of migrants to prominent cities governed by Democrats, set up razor wire and buoys along border areas to discourage migrant entry, and initiated numerous legal actions against federal immigration initiatives.
