The Biden administration has petitioned the US Supreme Court to urgently address a Texas law criminalizing unauthorized entry into the state, following a recent appellate court decision upholding the law’s enforcement.
This move comes after the Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court’s ruling, empowering Texas law enforcement to arrest and detain individuals suspected of unlawfully crossing the border.
Should the Supreme Court take up the case, it would mark a significant legal battle over immigration, potentially shaping the discourse leading up to the 2024 presidential election. It would also introduce another contentious issue to the court’s docket, joining ongoing debates on voting rights and gun laws.
Senate Bill 4, the Texas law in question, has drawn criticism for allowing individual states to establish their own immigration regulations, which traditionally fall under federal jurisdiction.
The US Department of Justice initiated legal action against Texas and Governor Greg Abbott in January, aiming to block the law’s implementation. The Justice Department argued that Texas’s statute violated the US Constitution, which affirms federal law’s supremacy over state legislation.
While a federal judge in Austin initially halted the law in February, the Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay, delaying the lower court’s decision.
The Supreme Court now has until March 9th to intervene.
The Texas government contends that under the US and Texas constitutions, it possesses the authority to enact immigration laws in response to an “invasion,” likening migrants to a public foreign threat. However, legal experts have expressed skepticism regarding this argument.
In its plea to the Supreme Court, the Biden administration emphasized that an influx of unauthorized immigration does not constitute an invasion within the scope of the state’s war clause. Furthermore, it asserted that states cannot contradict the federal government’s response to any perceived invasion.
Critics of the law, including human rights groups, have raised concerns about potential racial profiling, particularly targeting Latino individuals who comprise a significant portion of the state’s population.
Prior to the appeals court’s decision, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) denounced SB4 as extreme legislation, warning of its potential to break up families and subject minority communities to racial profiling and civil rights abuses within the state’s prison system.