A controversial Texas law that would criminalize unauthorized entry into the state has been placed back on hold by a federal appeals court.
The law has been caught in a whirlwind as the state and federal governments battle for the right to control the flow of US immigration, particularly at the southern US border.
A three-judge panel from the fifth US circuit court of appeals voted 2-1 on Tuesday night to suspend the law, known as SB4, with the two federal judges who voted in favor saying: “For nearly 150 years, the supreme court has held that the power to control immigration – the entry, admission, and removal of noncitizens – is exclusively a federal power.
“Despite this fundamental axiom, SB4 creates separate, distinct state criminal offenses and related procedures regarding unauthorized entry of noncitizens into Texas from outside the country and their removal.”
The dissenting judge, Andrew Oldham, was appointed by Donald Trump and once worked as an aide to Abbott.
Now SB4 remains in legal limbo until a broader, firm decision is made. The same appellate court will hold a hearing next week on 3 April to decide its legality.
One of the strictest immigration laws ever passed in American history, SB4 would allow Texas state police to arrest any person suspected of crossing the border illegally, and would make “improper border entry” a new criminal offense.
It would also give state judges the power to send noncitizens back to the country from which they entered.
The law drew the ire of the federal government and rights groups when it was first passed in November last year. They argued that not only was SB4 inhumane, but the US constitution specifies that immigration falls under the purview of the federal government, not individual states.
In January, the justice department sued Texas and its Republican governor, Greg Abbott, to block SB4 and the next month a federal judge in Austin blocked it, but the fifth US circuit court of appeals granted a stay – preventing the lower court’s order from taking effect – and on 19 March the US supreme court cleared the way for it – though without ruling on its constitutionality.
The law was in effect for several hours but was then blocked again by an appeals court that same night, creating confusion, though no arrests or deportations were made in that brief window.
Immigration has risen as a significant issue in the 2024 election, with Republicans condemning Joe Biden for an alleged “open border crisis”.
Democrats point in turn to a bipartisan law passed in Congress that Republicans themselves negotiated but then refused to pass, citing it as evidence that Republicans have no interest in resolving the issue so that they can campaign on it instead.
