(Washington) – The US Supreme Court on Monday indefinitely extended its blockade of a Texas law that would give police broad powers to detain immigrants suspected of entering the United States illegally, as the legal battle over it unfolds with regard to the immigration authority.
The one-page order signed by Justice Samuel Alito does not set a deadline, but extends the stay “pending further order.”
Opponents have called the law, known as Senate Bill 4, the most dramatic attempt by a state to control immigration since an Arizona law more than 10 years ago, which some parties struck down by the Supreme Court.
The Texas attorney general said the state law mirrors federal law and was “enacted to address the ongoing crisis at the southern border, which is hurting Texans more than anyone else.”
The Biden administration has filed a lawsuit to overturn the measure, arguing that it would usurp primary federal authority over immigration, harm international relations and create chaos in the administration of immigration law. Civil rights groups said the law could lead to civil rights violations and racial profiling.
A federal judge in Texas overturned the law in late February, but the Court of Appeal decided on the 5th of this monthH The department quickly halted this decision, prompting the federal government to appeal to the Supreme Court.
In 2012, the Supreme Court struck down key parts of an Arizona law that would have allowed police to arrest people for federal immigration violations, which opponents often referred to as an “exposure-all” bill. The Supreme Court, divided, then ruled that the impasse Washington found itself in on immigration reform did not justify state intervention.
The battle over Texas immigration law is one of several legal disputes between Texas officials and the Biden administration over the state's limits on patrolling the Texas-Mexico border and preventing illegal border crossings.
Several Republican governors have supported Gov. Greg Abbott's efforts, saying the federal government is not doing enough to enforce current immigration laws.
The issue is unfolding as record numbers of asylum seekers arrive in the United States and as immigration emerges as a central issue in the 2024 elections.
