Appeals Court Blocks Texas From Arresting, Deporting Illegal Immigrants Hours After Supreme Court Ruling

Late Tuesday evening, a three-judge panel on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the implementation of Senate Bill 4, a Texas law that would grant state and local authorities the right to arrest illegal immigrants and grant state judges the right to deport them, just hours after the law was allowed to take effect following the rejection of the Biden administration attempts to stop the law by the Supreme Court.

The appellate judges, two of whom are appointees and the other appointed by President Joe Biden, voted 2-1 to stop the law from going into effect until the Fifth Circuit made its decision on the case following arguments from the state of Texas and the Biden administration.

As previously reported by the DC Enquirer, the six conservative Supreme Court justices did not explain why they dismissed the emergency filings from the Biden administration. However, Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett issued a concurring opinion that said Texas should be able to enforce its law until the lower courts come to a verdict. 

Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) said the ruling was a positive step in the right direction, writing on X, "In a 6-3 decision, SCOTUS allows Texas to begin enforcing SB4 that allows the arrest of illegal immigrants. We still have to have hearings in the 5th circuit federal court of appeals. But this is clearly a positive development." Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-TX) also celebrated the ruling, writing, "HUGE WIN: Texas has defeated the Biden Administration's and ACLU's emergency motions at the Supreme Court. Our immigration law, SB 4, is now in effect. As always, it's my honor to defend Texas and its sovereignty, and to lead us to victory in court."

The court's three liberal justices issued a dissenting opinion, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor writing, "Today, the court invites further chaos and crisis in immigration enforcement. Texas passed a law that directly regulates the entry and removal of noncitizens and explicitly instructs its state courts to disregard any ongoing federal immigration proceedings. That law upends the federal-state balance of power that has existed for over a century, in which the national government has had exclusive authority over entry and removal of noncitizens."

While the Fifth Circuit's decision is unfortunate, as SB4's fate hangs in the balance, the Supreme Court's ruling offers some hope for Texans who wish to take matters into their own hands amid the president's open border policies. Whether or not Texas has the authority to take action against illegal immigrants will undoubtedly head to the Supreme Court later this year, where the justices could reshape immigration policy depending on their decision.

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