Supreme Court DENIES Biden Administration’s request to block Texas bill – allowing cops to arrest anyone who crosses border illegally

The Supreme Court has declined to block a Texas law that would allow state officials to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, in a blow to the Biden administration.

The administration had asked the justices to freeze an injunction that would have put the Republican-backed Texas law into effect while the Justice Department’s challenge to the statute continues in the lower courts.

The SCOTUS decision means Texas police can 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.

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.

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. .’

Two migrants struggle to cross the Rio Grande River at the Mexico-US border as the Texas National Guard takes security measures in Eagle Pass, Texas

Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks during a press conference on the Panhandle wildfires, Friday, March 1 in Borger, Texas

Responding to the SCOTUS decision on We still need to hold hearings in the 5th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals.

“But this is clearly a positive development.”

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 challenged Biden in the upcoming presidential election in November.

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. 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 runs counter to 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.”

Migrants attempt to cross the North American side of the border between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in Texas, United States on March 3, 2024

The surge of migrants in Texas has created a huge burden on the state and on the nonprofits that help migrants. In the photo above, migrants rest on cots at a shelter in El Paso, Texas

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.