The Supreme Court of Justice (SCOTUS) temporarily suspended the Texas law that allows local and state police to detain illegal immigrants. In order to give the state time to respond to the Department of Justice's request to suspend the application of the law, the decision of the highest court in the country will be in effect until March 13.
On Monday, the DOJ filed an emergency request asking the Supreme Court to intervene in the case to stop the text signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott.
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote in the petition that "the preliminary injunction entered by the district court simply maintains the longstanding status quo while this litigation proceeds; the court of appeals' stay, on the other hand, would result in direct and irreparable harms to core federal interests."
Justice Alito has issued administrative stays of SB4 (Texas’s attempt to create a state-level deportation regime) through *next Wednesday* while #SCOTUS considers whether to prevent the law from going into effect pending resolution of DOJ’s & private plaintiffs’ challenge to it. pic.twitter.com/xvlubR3Vjk
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) March 4, 2024
As reported by POLITICO, "the federal government cited a 2012 Supreme Court ruling on an Arizona law that would have allowed police to arrest people for federal immigration violations, often referred to by opponents as the 'show me your papers' bill. The divided high court found that the impasse in Washington over immigration reform did not justify state intrusion."
The answer came on Monday from Justice Samuel Alito. The order also froze the decision of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which had allowed the law to take effect last Sunday.
The aforementioned regulation, known as SB4, allows Texas law enforcement to detain and imprison those who cross the border illegally without the need for a federal permit. After being detained, immigrants could accept a state judge's order to leave the country or face a misdemeanor illegal entry charge. After receiving the expulsion order, those who do not leave the country could be arrested again and charged with a more serious crime.
The Court froze the Court of Appeals ruling that Abbott had held
The governor of Texas celebrated the aforementioned ruling that enabled the law's implementation on Sunday.
"Federal appeals court allows Texas immigration law to take effect. Law enforcement officers in Texas are now authorized to arrest & jail any illegal immigrants crossing the border," the governor wrote Monday before hearing the decision from the Supreme Court.
Obviously this is the case unless the Supreme Court intervenes by March 9.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) March 4, 2024
