A three-judge panel in Austin ruled in favor of Texas over an immigration enforcement dispute at the southern border with the Biden administration.
The 5th Circuit judges from Texas' Western District granted a seven-day administrative stay on a lower court's ruling intended to block Texas Senate Bill 4 (SB 4). SB 4 empowers Texas authorities to arrest and jail illegal immigrants and give state judges the power to authorize deportations. (RELATED: Texas Forces Cross Rio Grande, Cartel Members Flee)
It remains to be seen if the Biden administration will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
The law will go into effect on March 9 unless the Supreme Court intervenes.
NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth reports:
Last week U.S. District Judge David Ezra blocked the Texas law that was supposed to take effect March 5, dealing a victory to the Biden administration in its feud with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott over immigration enforcement.
Abbott signed SB4 in December, testing the limits of how far Texas can go to keep migrants out of the U.S.
The lawsuit is among several legal battles between Texas and Biden's administration over the state's effort to keep people from crossing the border.
The measure would allow state law enforcement officers to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally. Once in custody, they could agree to a Texas judge's order to leave the country or face a misdemeanor charge for entering the U.S. illegally. Migrants who don't leave after being ordered to do so could be arrested again and charged with a more serious felony.
State officials have repeatedly argued in court that the federal government has allowed or even facilitated a migrant “invasion.”
SB 4 supporters say the law is a measured approach that doesn't target immigrants who already live in the United States due to the two-year statute of limitations on the illegal entry charge.
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