A U.S. appeals court convened on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, to deliberate on the ongoing injunction against a Texas law, championed by Republicans, which grants state authorities the jurisdiction to apprehend and prosecute migrants for unlawfully crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. A three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is currently reviewing the state’s appeal of a previous ruling that halted the enactment of the law, identified as SB4, pending resolution of a legal challenge initiated by the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden and civil rights organizations.
Initially, the 5th Circuit had temporarily suspended the injunction, a decision upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, momentarily enabling Texas to implement the law. However, in an atypical move later that day, the 5th Circuit panel overturned its prior decision in a split 2-1 vote.
The contention surrounding the Texas law is part of a broader series of legal confrontations between Republican state authorities and the Biden administration regarding the state’s authority to enforce border regulations. Texas officials have attributed a surge in illegal border crossings to Biden’s policies, asserting that it depletes state resources and poses risks to public safety.
Signed into law by Republican Governor Greg Abbott in December, the statute faced legal challenge in January by the Biden administration, which argues that it contravenes the U.S. Constitution and federal statutes by impinging upon the federal government’s jurisdiction over immigration, in addition to violating a 2012 Supreme Court precedent.
Texas has initiated legal actions against several federal immigration policies, including contesting the federal government’s removal of razor-wire fencing erected by the state along the border. Conversely, the Biden administration is litigating to compel the state to dismantle a 1,000-foot-long floating barrier in the Rio Grande river.
Responding to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre criticized the Texas law, asserting that it would burden law enforcement and create disorder at the southern border. “SB4 is just another example of Republican officials politicizing the border while blocking real solutions,” she remarked.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision in a statement on Tuesday, prior to the 5th Circuit’s decision to block enforcement of the law. Paxton expressed his commitment “to defend Texas and its sovereignty.”
SB4 criminalizes illegal entry or re-entry into Texas from a foreign country, granting state and local law enforcement the authority to arrest and prosecute violators. It also empowers state judges to mandate individuals to leave the country, imposing prison terms of up to 20 years for non-compliance. U.S. District Judge David Ezra, in a ruling last month spanning 114 pages, upheld the injunction against the law, citing a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that invalidated key provisions of an Arizona immigration law.
The arguments presented before the 5th Circuit on Wednesday will center on whether the Biden administration has demonstrated the necessity for a temporary injunction against the law. This necessitates establishing that enforcement of the law would cause irreparable harm and that the administration is likely to prevail in its lawsuit.
The panel of the 5th Circuit comprises Judge Priscilla Richman, appointed by Republican former President George W. Bush; Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez, appointed by President Biden; and Judge Andrew Oldham, appointed by Republican former President Donald Trump.
(Reuters)
