A federal appeals court issued an order late Tuesday that again blocks Texas from arresting migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally, hours after the Supreme Court allowed the strict new immigration law to take effect.
It comes at the same time MexicoThe government said it would “under no circumstances” accept the return of migrants from the state
The decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes weeks after a panel from the same court cleared the way for Texas to enforce the law by putting a pause on a lower judge’s order.
But in a 2-1 order, an appeals court panel lifted that pause ahead of arguments in court on Wednesday.
Texas authorities had not announced any arrests made under the law.
A federal appeals court issued an order late Tuesday that again blocks Texas from arresting migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally, hours after the Supreme Court allowed the strict new immigration law to take effect.
It also appears that the Lone Star State will receive no help from the Mexican government in its effort to enforce the law.
Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena said in a strongly worded statement that it would refuse to take back anyone ordered to leave the country under state law and that it would punish any state or local government that enforces immigration laws ‘categorically rejects’.
“Mexico reiterates its legitimate right to protect the rights of its nationals in the United States and to determine its own policies regarding access to its territory,” they said.
It further condemned the Texas law taking effect, saying it would criminalize migrants and lead to family separation, discrimination and racial profiling.
The Mexican government said it would take its position to the appeals court if it considered the law.
The administration had asked the Supreme Court to freeze the original injunction, which allowed the Republican-backed Texas law to take effect, while the Justice Department’s challenge to the statute continued in the lower courts.
The SCOTUS decision had allowed Texas police to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally, giving local officers powers long delegated to the federal government.
Liberal Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor dissented from the majority decision.
It also appears that the Lone Star State will receive no help from the Mexican government in its effort to enforce the law
Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena said in a strongly worded statement that it would refuse to take back anyone ordered to leave the country under state law and that it would punish any state or local government that enforces immigration laws ‘categorically rejects’.
Migrants seeking asylum in the United States wait at the border of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico, on March 19
Mexico further condemned the Texas law taking effect, saying it would criminalize migrants and lead to family separation, discrimination and racial profiling.
Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who signed the bill in December, has said the law was needed because Biden failed to enforce federal laws criminalizing illegal entry or re-entry, claiming in December that ” Biden’s deliberate inaction has left Texas behind. .’
In a statement to
The Biden administration has argued that the law violates the Constitution and federal law by interfering with the federal government’s power to regulate immigration.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said shortly after the decision: “We fundamentally disagree with the Supreme Court’s order allowing Texas’ harmful and unconstitutional law to take effect.
The Democratic president’s handling of the record numbers of migrants who illegally crossed the US-Mexico border during his presidency has drawn sharp criticism from Republicans.
Abbott and other Republicans have said Biden should have maintained the restrictive policies of former President Donald Trump, their party’s candidate who is gearing up for a Biden rematch in the upcoming November presidential election.
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. Under it, magistrate judges in Texas will be required to order migrants to return to Mexico, with prison sentences of up to 20 years for those who refuse to comply.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit in January to block the measure, which was originally set to take effect on March 5.
Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who signed the bill in December, has said the law was needed because Biden failed to enforce federal laws criminalizing illegal entry or re-entry, claiming in December that ” Biden’s deliberate inaction has left Texas behind. ‘
The Supreme Court has rejected a bid by the Biden administration to block a Texas law that would allow state officials to arrest people suspected of crossing the southern border illegally. Liberal justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor dissented
The Biden administration has argued that the law violates the Constitution and federal law by interfering with the federal government’s power to regulate immigration.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit in January to block the measure, which was originally set to take effect on March 5
Lawyers for the Biden administration argued that it violates federal laws and constitutional provisions that give the U.S. government the power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce, and violates a 2012 Supreme Court precedent .
Texas-based U.S. District David Ezra sided with the administration on February 29, agreeing to block Texas officials from enforcing the law for the time being. He said it “threatens the fundamental idea that the United States should regulate immigration with one voice.”
But the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed Ezra’s ruling in an order that would have allowed the Texas law to take effect March 10, prompting the administration to file an emergency petition with the Supreme Court.
Judge Samuel Alito, who is handling certain emergency cases involving cases from a group of states including Texas, on March 4 halted the entry into force of the 5th Circuit’s ruling — and thus the law — giving the Supreme Court more time to hear the case to consider.
Texas has taken a series of measures under Operation Lone Star to deter people crossing the border illegally, including deploying National Guard troops to the border, blocking migrants with concertina wire and installing a floating barrier over part of the Rio Grande.
Republicans in February scuttled a bipartisan deal in the Senate that would have strengthened border security and tightened immigration laws, after Trump pushed members of his party to reject it. Biden said the blame for the bill’s failure lay with Republican lawmakers, who bowed to political pressure from Trump, who “thinks it’s bad for him politically.”
An analysis of exit polls conducted by Edison Research after primary voting in early March found that many voters were concerned about the situation along the border. Many called it their main voting problem. Reuters/Ipsos polls showed Biden’s public approval level at 37 percent as of February 28.