A federal appeals court has again blocked enforcement of a Texas law that allowed the state to arrest and deport people who enter the country illegally, according to Bloomberg.
The three-judge panel began hearing late Tuesday night after the Supreme Court sent the case back to the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals. However, the failure to resolve the issue with Texas state officials led to confusion at the border and drew sharp criticism from immigrant rights groups and some Mexican officials.
After the Supreme Court denied the Biden administration’s request, the appeals court scheduled a new hearing for Wednesday morning. However, the panel later lifted the temporary suspension the court had placed on the order issued by the first-stage judge blocking enforcement of the measure, without explanation.
The Biden administration is fighting to repeal the law, arguing it would be an unprecedented intrusion on federal authority to set immigration policy. The SB4 law makes it a state crime to illegally enter or re-enter the US through Texas. The measure would allow state judges to order some undocumented immigrants to leave the country by directing Texas law enforcement officials to ensure compliance.
Texas is claiming broad new powers to crack down on illegal immigration, arguing that the US Constitution empowers the state to protect itself from the influx of people crossing the border.
The Supreme Court offered no explanation for its split decision earlier Tuesday rejecting the Biden administration’s request for a halt to the law. But Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh agreed that Supreme Court intervention would be premature, given that the SB4 dispute was still pending at the 5th Circuit.
Roberto Velasco Álvarez, the Mexican undersecretary of foreign affairs for North America, stated that Mexico “rejects” the Supreme Court’s decision and “will not accept repatriations from the state of Texas.”
