US Supreme Court extends block on Texas anti-immigrant law

With a last-minute motion, the Supreme Court has extended its block of the toughest anti-immigrant law in the United States. Conservative Judge Samuel Alito published Monday afternoon, just minutes before the deadline expired, an order that lengthens the process to study the controversial law, which allows state security officials to request papers from anyone suspected of having arrived in the country irregularly. The most controversial aspect of the law, known as SB4, is that it would allow state authorities to issue deportation orders to Mexico, a power exclusive to the federal government for now. Alito’s decision has not set a new deadline for SB4 to take effect, meaning it is blocked indefinitely.

At the beginning of March, the Supreme Court issued an initial hold on the contentious law, which contemplates penalties of up to 20 years in prison for those who cross the border irregularly. Judge Alito announced the pause on March 4, hours before the law was set to take effect. It was a temporary decision that was intended to give the Supreme Court additional time to determine the next steps. The judge extended the deadline to March 13 and then pushed it back again to Monday, March 18. If the Supreme Court had not made a decision, the law would have gone into effect at 4:00 p.m. (Texas time) in all 254 of the state’s counties. Alito’s motion came just minutes before the deadline.

SB4 was signed into law in December by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who is a vocal campaigner for tough measures against illegal immigration. Abbott signed the law in the Rio Grande Valley, an area on the U.S.-Mexico border that has recorded a sharp increase in the migratory flow. That December, migrant arrests hit an all-time high. According to Homeland Security, around 5,000 people were processed daily at the border. Republicans say some 3.3 million people have entered the United States under Biden. The number of arrests decreased at the start of 2024.

A federal district judge argued that the law signed by Abbott is unconstitutional, arguing that the legislation grants state authorities powers over immigration that fall to the federal executive. The Texas attorney general appealed the decision, claiming that SB4 mirrored federal laws to “address the ongoing crisis at the southern border.” SB4 would allow Texas police to arrest anyone practically anywhere, except for schools, churches, hospitals and health centers.

The 5th Circuit of Appeals ruled in favor of the Texas government. The judges gave the federal government seven days to appeal the decision, which was filed soon after. It came as no surprise that the fate of the law would fall to the Supreme Court in Washington. Governor Abbott himself announced this as soon as a district judge considered it unconstitutional.

The Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court to hear the case, arguing that SB4 could alter “the status quo that has existed between the United States and the States in the context of immigration for almost 150 years.” In its lawsuit, President Biden’s administration draws similarities between SB4 and another famous anti-immigrant law, SB1070, which was enacted by Arizona in 2010.

SB1070 allowed Arizona security forces to ask almost anyone suspected of having entered the country illegally for their papers. The rule, approved by a Republican-controlled House, was in the courts for two years. In June 2012, the Supreme Court struck down several aspects of the law and allowed others to remain in force. In its verdict, the court ruled that only the federal government has the power to make laws against illegal immigration.

SB4 may not have gone into effect, but the text of the law has already put migrant communities on alert. Mexico’s consular network in Texas, made up of 11 offices in several cities, started information sessions this week on the potential scope of the regulations. The Mexican government has categorically rejected the law, claiming that it will be used to persecute people of color.

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