Federal Appeals Court Sides with Texas Over Controversial Immigration Law
A federal appeals court upheld a Texas law permitting local state enforcement to arrest undocumented immigrants who illegally cross over the southern border.
In a ruling handed down Monday, the New Orleans-located 5th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Texas in a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) over a state law, Senate Bill 4, granting state law enforcement officers the ability to arrest individuals who they believe to be in the United States illegally.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed SB 4 into law in December 2023, believing that it would
“help stop the tidal wave of illegal entry into Texas,” however the DOJ responded promptly by filing the suit against the state, alleging that the law is “preempted by federal law and violates the U.S. Constitution.” The law additionally grants local judges the authority to order anyone arrested by law enforcement and in the U.S. illegally to leave the country.
The law was originally scheduled to go into effect on March 5, although, it was prevented from taking effect by a lower court judge who granted the DOJ’s request for a temporary stay. The federal appeals court also granted a temporary administrative stay for seven days following its ruling, allowing the DOJ to escalate its claims to the Supreme Court, however, excluding a U.S. Supreme Court intervention, the law will now go into effect on March 9.
In January, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers arrested several illegal immigrants at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, a point of contention between federal and state jurisdiction along the U.S.-Mexico border. According to Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson with Texas’ DPS, the troopers arrested migrants for criminal trespass under the authority granted to them under Governor Abbott’s Border Disaster Declaration. “[Texas] will maintain a proactive posture in curbing illegal border crossings between the ports of entry,” Olivarez added.
