US Appeals Court Extends Hold on Texas Senate Bill 4
The three-judge panel in the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 that the Texas Senate Bill 4 (SB4) should remain blocked, in a decision issued overnight.
Court’s Decision
The court noted that the statutes in the new state law “significantly impair the exercise of discretion by federal immigration officials.” The decision was made by the same court that blocked the controversial immigration law hours after the Supreme Court overturned a previous ruling from a different panel which had put the law into effect.
The court has also scheduled a hearing on April 3 to review a lower court ruling that last month blocked the law.
Judge’s Perspective
“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,” said Judge Priscilla Richman, who voted in favour of blocking the Texas law. She also cited the 2012 Supreme Court ruling which had struck down a similar law in Arizona.
Richman noted that whatever the state’s criticisms about the federal government’s “actions and inactions” are, it is the president’s role to decide how to deal with “noncitizens illegally present” in the country.
Previous Ruling and Legal Battle
Last month, US District Judge David Ezra in the Texas city of Austin, agreed with Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration which argued that the law interferes with the federal government’s power over immigration granted by the US Constitution.
The Justice Department, back in January, sued the state of Texas and its governor to block the law which was supposed to take effect on March 5. The DOJ argued that the law not only violates the Constitution and federal law which gives the government the power to regulate immigration, but also goes against the precedent set by a 2012 Supreme Court ruling.
SB4, signed by Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott, makes illegal entry or reentry a state crime, the violation of which can lead to penalties ranging from 180 days to 20 years in prison. The law also gives state officials the power to arrest, process, and imprison people, a role which had long been reserved for federal authorities.
