McALLEN, Texas — Texas’ plan to arrest migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border is on hold while the Supreme Court considers Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest move on immigration.
The nation’s highest court has suspended the law because of a lawsuit led by the Justice Department that claims Texas is violating the federal government’s immigration authority. Under the law, any police officer in Texas could arrest migrants for illegal entry and a judge could order them to leave the US
Judge Samuel Alito ordered a delay until Monday at 5 p.m. EDT, when the law could potentially go into effect.
A federal judge in Texas had blocked the law in a sweeping rejection last month, calling it a violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Texas quickly appealed the ruling, arguing it has the right to take action against what Abbott has described as an “invasion” of migrants at the border.
Here’s what you need to know:
The law, which Abbott signed in December, allows any law enforcement officer in Texas to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally. Once in custody, migrants can either comply with a Texas judge’s order to leave the U.S. or face criminal charges of illegal entry. Migrants who do not leave could be rearrested on more serious charges.
Arresting officers must have probable cause, such as witnessing the illegal entry themselves or seeing it on video.
The law cannot be enforced against people legally residing in the U.S., including those who have been granted asylum or enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Critics, including Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, have said the law could lead to racial profiling and family separation. Affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union in Texas and some neighboring states have issued a travel warning of a possible threat to civil and constitutional rights as they pass through Texas.
Abbott has dismissed concerns about profiling. As he signed the bill, he said troopers and National Guard members at the border will be able to see migrants crossing illegally “with their own eyes.”
The law can be enforced in any of Texas’ 254 counties, including those hundreds of miles from the border.
But Republican state Rep. David Spiller, the bill’s author, has said he expects the vast majority of arrests to occur within 50 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. Texas’ police chief has expressed similar expectations.
Some places are off-limits. Arrests cannot be made in public or private schools; places of worship; or hospitals and other health care facilities, including those where forensic investigations into sexual violence are conducted.
Under the bill, migrants ordered to leave would be sent to ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border even if they are not Mexican citizens.
Amrutha Jindal, executive director of the Lone Star Defenders Office, said her organization expects the law will be enforced in the border regions. Her office already represents migrants arrested since 2021 as part of a more limited operation in Texas that has charged thousands of migrants with trespassing on private property.
The Justice Department, legal experts and immigrant rights groups have said the measure is a clear conflict with the U.S. government’s authority to regulate immigration.
U.S. District Judge David Ezra, an appointee of former President Ronald Reagan, agreed in a 114-page order. He added that the law could hamper U.S. foreign relations and treaty obligations.
Opponents call the measure the most dramatic state effort to control immigration since a 2010 Arizona law — denounced by critics as the “Show Me Your Papers” law — was largely struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Ezra cited the 2012 Arizona Supreme Court ruling in his decision.
Texas has argued that the law reflects federal law rather than conflicts with it.
Arrests for illegal crossings along the southern border fell by half in January from record highs in December. Border Patrol officials attributed the shift to seasonal declines and increased enforcement by the U.S. and its allies.
However, tensions remain between Texas and the Biden administration. In the border town of Eagle Pass, Texas, National Guard members prevented Border Patrol agents from entering a riverside park.
Other Republican governors have expressed support for Abbott, who says the federal government is not doing enough to enforce immigration laws. Other measures implemented by Texas include a floating barrier in the Rio Grande and razor wire along the border.
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Associated Press writers Acacia Coronado and Paul Weber in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.