Supreme Court Temporary Halts Texas Immigration Bill

Facts

• The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has placed a Texas immigration law on hold, after the Biden administration filed an emergency request to freeze a lower court decision that would have allowed the law to take effect on Sunday.¹
• Justice Samuel Alito issued the administrative stay on Monday, blocking SB4 from taking effect on March 10. SCOTUS will now have until 5 p.m. (EST) on March 13 to consider the case. Alito has given the State of Texas until Monday evening to respond to the Biden administration’s request.²
• Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 4 — allowing state law enforcement to detain and arrest migrants who entered Texas illegally — in December. Last week, Judge David Ezra blocked SB4, claiming the legislation could 'open the door to each state passing its own version of immigration laws.”³
• The ruling was then overturned by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which would have enabled the law to go into effect at 12:01 am on March 10, barring SCOTUS intervention. The Department of Justice (DOJ) immediately asked SCOTUS to issue the stay.⁴
• Texas and the federal government have been at odds over immigration policy with Texas, alongside other Republican-led states, that have been asking for tougher border security and accusing the Biden administration of not doing enough to stop illegal crossings.⁵
• SCOTUS recently decided against Texas’ implementation of physical barriers on the Southern border, allowing federal law enforcement to remove such structure. However, Gov. Abbott has defied the ruling and continued to put barriers in place.⁶

Sources: ¹NBC, ²ABC News, ³CNN, ⁴ABC7 Chicago, ⁵Al Jazeera and ⁶American Greatness.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by PJ Media. Texas Republicans are taking the lead and defending the US Southern border from an invasion while the federal government seeks to destroy American sovereignty. SB4 is a common sense bill that would allow Texas authorities to enforce existing immigration laws, which the federal government refuses to do. The Biden administration has openly declared that open borders are a key policy agenda, but Texas will not allow an opportunistic and destructive regime to flood the US with illegal migrants. SB4 must take effect immediately so that Texas can restore border security.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by El Paso Matters. SB4 is another racist and xenophobic bill that Texas Republicans are looking to enact against the state’s Hispanic community. In addition to attempting to create immigration laws that supersede the federal government, Texas is openly allowing law enforcement to racially profile people and demand their papers. These discriminatory laws violate the spirit of American justice and would tear families apart. The Trump administration notoriously ripped children away from their parents, and we cannot allow Texas Republicans to implement such cruel policies.

Predictions