The Biden administration is taking its fight against Texas’ strict immigration law to the Supreme Court.
The Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to vacate the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals’ stay and restore the injunction the lower court granted last Thursday that had temporarily struck down the law. If the Supreme Court does not intervene, the law would go into effect on March 10.
“Absent this Court’s intervention, SB4 will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on March 10, 2024, profoundly altering the status quo that has existed between the United States and the States in the context of immigration for almost 150 years,” Justice Department lawyers said in the filing.
The law, known as SB 4, would authorize local and state law enforcement to arrest migrants they suspect crossed into the state illegally. It would also also give judges the power to order migrants to be transported to a port of entry and returned to Mexico regardless of their country of origin.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had celebrated last week’s ruling being overturned earlier in the day Monday, writing on social media, “BREAKING HUGE NEWS. 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.”
Migrants wait to be processed by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol after they crossed the Rio Grande and entered the U.S. from Mexico, Oct. 19, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas.
Eric Gay/AP
The Biden administration has argued that immigration law is solely the responsibility of the federal government, and not local jurisdictions. It repeated that assertion again in Monday’s filing with the Supreme Court.
“This Court has long recognized that the regulation of entry and removal of noncitizens is inseparably intertwined with the conduct of foreign relations and thus vested ‘solely in the Federal Government,'” it wrote.
Texas has argued that it is within its rights to arrest migrants because SB 4 is applicable under the State War Clause of the Constitution, which allows states to act when it is “actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.”
Abbott has repeatedly referred to the situation at the southern border as an invasion, saying in January, ” I have already declared an invasion under Article I, § 10, Clause 3 to invoke Texas’s constitutional authority to defend and protect itself.”
The Justice Department said Monday that the clause “has no application here.”
“A surge of unauthorized immigration plainly is not an invasion within the meaning of the State War Clause,” Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar writes in the filing. “And even if it were, the Clause does not permit States to contradict the federal government’s considered response to any invasion that has occurred. Here, Congress has taken that subject fully in hand by enacting the INA, and the State War Clause does not exempt Texas from the Supremacy Clause or the preemption principles it embodies.”
In last week’s ruling, Judge David A. Ezra took a similar stance, writing, “…surges in immigration do not constitute an ‘invasion’ within the meaning of the Constitution, nor is Texas engaging in war by enforcing SB 4.”
Gov. Abbott signed the law in December, sparking outcry from immigrant civil rights organizations across the country who fear the law cannot be enforced without racially profiling migrants. If convicted under the law, first-time offenders face up to six months in jail and orders to return to Mexico. Repeat offenders can face up to 20 years in prison.Judge Ezra also wrote that the law would cause “irreparable harm” if it were to go into effect.
“If allowed to proceed, SB 4 could open the door to each state passing its own version of immigration laws,” Ezra wrote. “The effect would moot the uniform regulation of immigration throughout the country and force the federal government to navigate a patchwork of inconsistent regulations. SB 4 threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice.”
ABC News’ Mark Osborne, Luke Barr and Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.
The Biden administration is currently seeking to appeal a controversial Texas immigration law to the US Supreme Court. The law in question, known as Senate Bill 4 (SB4), was passed in 2017 and allows local law enforcement officers to question the immigration status of individuals they detain or arrest.
The Biden administration has argued that SB4 is unconstitutional and violates federal immigration laws. They believe that the law encourages racial profiling and undermines trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement. The administration also argues that SB4 interferes with the federal government’s authority to regulate immigration.
The Texas law has faced legal challenges since its passage, with several lower courts ruling against it. However, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld the law, prompting the Biden administration to seek an appeal to the highest court in the land.
If the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case, it could have far-reaching implications for immigration enforcement across the country. The outcome of the case could determine whether states have the authority to enact their own immigration laws or if such matters are solely within the jurisdiction of the federal government.
Immigration has been a contentious issue in the United States for many years, with both Democrats and Republicans offering differing views on how best to address the issue. The Biden administration has made immigration reform a top priority, with President Biden signing several executive orders aimed at reversing some of the Trump administration’s harsh immigration policies.
The appeal of SB4 to the Supreme Court is just one of many legal battles that the Biden administration is facing on the immigration front. It remains to be seen how the court will rule on this particular case, but one thing is clear: immigration will continue to be a hot-button issue for years to come.
