Washington: The US Supreme Court allowed a controversial Republican-backed Texas law to take effect that gives law enforcement broad powers to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the US-Mexico border, rejecting a bid by the Biden administration to block the legislation. The court has a 6-3 conservative majority and three of its liberal justices dissented, saying the law turns immigration enforcement, generally under the ambit of the federal government, on its head.
The Texas law made illegal entry or re-entry into Texas a state crime, with penalties ranging from 180 days in jail to 20 years in prison. It requires Texas magistrate judges to order migrants to return to Mexico, with up to 20-year sentences for those who refuse to comply. This comes on the heels of a border crisis as the US reported record numbers of illegal migrants crossing the US-Mexico border, resulting in heavy criticism of the Biden administration.
Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the law, known as Senate Bill 4, in December last year, authorising state law enforcement to arrest people suspected of entering the US illegally, giving local officers powers long delegated to the federal government. Abbott said the law was required due to Biden's failure to enforce federal laws criminalising illegal entry or re-entry.
One of the most intense legal disputes
Abbott called the Supreme Court's decision "clearly a positive development". He and other Republicans favor the restrictive policies of former US President Donald Trump, their party's candidate challenging Biden in the November presidential elections.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Texas law will "sow chaos and confusion at our southern border" and called on congressional Republicans to settle the issue with a federal border security bill. Sonia Sotomayor, one of the liberal justices who dissented from the law being passed, said the court gave a "green light to a law that will upend the longstanding federal-state balance of power and sow chaos".
The advocacy group FWD.us said the Supreme Court’s decision could encourage other states to pass laws encroaching on federal authority. Andrea Flores, the organization’s vice president for Immigration Policy and Campaigns, said the law will “unjustly target Texas families, including American citizens, longtime undocumented residents awaiting federal relief, and recent migrants seeking legal protections.”
The battle over the Texas immigration law is one of multiple legal disputes between Texas officials and the Biden administration over how far the state can go to patrol the Texas-Mexico border and prevent illegal border crossings. Texas has tried to deter people who cross illegally under its Operation Lone Star using measures including deploying National Guard troops to the border, blocking migrants with concertina wire and installing a floating barrier over a stretch of the Rio Grande.
Meanwhile, conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote an opinion concurring in Tuesday's decision, explaining the justices were being asked to upend a lower appeals court's "administrative stay" of a judicial decision blocking the law - a measure that is meant to be short-lived.
What happens now?
The measure now goes back to an appellate court and could eventually return to the Supreme Court. In the meantime, it wasn’t clear how soon Texas might begin arresting migrants under the law. It was also unclear where any migrants ordered to leave might go.
The Biden administration is suing to strike down the measure, arguing it's a clear violation of federal authority that would hurt international relations and create chaos in administering immigration law. On Monday, US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Monday extended a temporary pause on a Republican-backed Texas law. The Justice Department sued in January to block the measure, which was originally set to take effect on March 5.
Texas-based US District David Ezra on Feb. 29 sided with the administration and agreed to preliminarily block Texas officials from enforcing the law, saying that it "threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice". However, the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals paused Ezra's ruling in an order that would have let the law take effect on March 10.
Mexico's reaction to Supreme Court verdict
Mexico's government on Tuesday said it would not “under any circumstances” accept the return of any migrants to its territory from the state of Texas. Mexico is not required to accept deportations of anyone except Mexican citizens. It condemned the Texas law being allowed to take effect, saying it would criminalise migrants and lead to the separation of families, discrimination and racial profiling.
“Mexico rejects any measure that allows state or local authorities to handle immigration control, detain or return nationals or foreigners to Mexican territory,” the Foreign Affairs ministry said in a statement. The government said it would put its position before the appeals court next considering the law.
This came after Republicans in February scuttled a bipartisan US Senate deal that would have bolstered border security and tightened immigration laws after Trump pushed members of his party to reject it.
(with inputs from agencies)
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