- Judge Samuel Alito issued the temporary freeze on state law SB 4
- It was originally supposed to start on March 10, but it’s now frozen until March 13
Supreme Court justices temporarily blocked a new law in Texas that would allow law enforcement to arrest and detail suspected illegal immigrants.
Monday’s freeze, known as an administrative freeze, was issued by conservative Justice Samuel Alito.
It postpones the enactment of the law – titled SB 4 – until March 13 – three days later than originally planned.
The freeze gives no indication of how the Court’s nine judges – six conservative and three liberal – would ultimately rule on the law.
Migrants arrive in the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas, on March 4. The Lone Star State is temporarily banned from enacting a new law that allows law enforcement officials to arrest suspected illegal immigrants
The freeze on Texas law SB 4 was issued by conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito (photo bottom row, second from right, in group photo with his fellow justices)
Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the law in December as the Lone Star State continues to lead the way in the worsening migrant crisis.
He did this in an attempt to deter border crossers from making the trip across the Rio Grande River into Texas.
SB 4 would make illegally crossing the border into Texas a Class B misdemeanor, with anyone convicted facing up to six months in prison.
Repeat offenders can be charged with a second-degree felony and face up to 20 years behind bars Texas Tribune reported.
Last week, a federal judge in Austin, the capital of Texas, blocked the implementation of SB 4.
U.S. District Judge David Ezra said the law “threatens the fundamental idea that the United States should regulate immigration with one voice.”
An appeals court in Louisiana subsequently reinstated the law, but the Supreme Court has now frozen the law again.
Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott, pictured, passed the new law in an effort to deter migrants from illegally entering the Lone Star State
The Biden administration has condemned the law, with the Justice Department saying it would fundamentally change a long-standing status quo that allows federal agents to target illegal immigrants.
Supporters of the bill say urgent action is needed to tackle illegal immigration.
More than 3.2 million were intercepted last year – the vast majority along the southern border, with the surge showing no signs of abating.
Critics say the law will lead to racial profiling and fear that many Hispanic Americans, who make up 40 percent of Texas’ population, could face suspicion or even wrongful detention.
Gov. Abbott is credited with forcing Democrats to take a tougher stance on illegal immigration over the past year.
He has bused more than 100,000 migrants to Democratic-run sanctuary cities, which provide additional legal protections to illegal migrants.
The enormous strain on services in cities like New York, Chicago and Denver has fueled anger even among liberal voters — and led to calls for a crackdown on illegal immigration.