Texas law allowing police to arrest illegal migrants will take effect this week — if Supreme Court doesn't intervene

Over the weekend, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a temporary stay order on a lower court's preliminary injunction that blocked a new Texas immigration law, Senate Bill 4. With the latest order, SB 4 is now slated to take effect on Saturday as long as the United States Supreme Court does not intervene.

According to the Texas Tribune, the appeals court paused the lower court's order for seven days and noted that it would schedule oral arguments on its next available date. As of Monday afternoon, a date has yet to be announced, the news outlet reported.

On Thursday, United States District Judge David Ezra granted a preliminary injunction to block Texas' law while the federal government's lawsuit against the state is still being reviewed, Blaze News previously reported.

In Ezra's ruling, he wrote that Texas failed to demonstrate that the Biden administration had "abandoned" the southern border. The judge accused Texas of "tak[ing] hyperbolic criticism literally" when "the record is replete with examples and evidence of the federal government carrying out its immigration duties."

According to Erza, if SB 4 is allowed to be signed into law, the federal government "will suffer grave irreparable harm," and it "could open the door to each state passing its own version of immigration laws."

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott responded by stating that he "fully expected" the judge's ruling and noted his plans to appeal the decision. His attempt to block the ruling was successful, with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issuing the stay on Saturday. SB 4 will take effect on March 9 unless the Supreme Court moves to keep it on hold longer.

If allowed to take effect, Texas' new law would make it a class B misdemeanor to illegally cross the southern border into the state. It has granted the authority for state and local law enforcement agencies to arrest, detain, prosecute, and deport illegal immigrants.

The Biden administration filed a lawsuit against Texas shortly after Abbott signed SB 4 into law, claiming that it "intrudes into a field that is occupied by the federal government" and "conflicts with various provisions of the [Immigration and Nationality Act]."

"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," Abbott wrote on X Monday. "Obviously this is the case unless the Supreme Court intervenes by March 9."

In a separate post on X, Abbott stated, "Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers continue to apprehend and arrest illegal immigrants crossing into our state. Texas will hold the line until President Biden does his job to secure the border."

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