Courts Continue to Vacillate on Texas Law Enforcement Arresting Illegals

The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruled on Tuesday that Texas could begin enforcing a law which would allow state law enforcement to arrest people in the country illegally.

[RELATED: Texas Gov Challenges Feds with Laws Empowering State to Enforce Border Security…]

An appeals court halted enforcement hours later.

“In a 6-3 decision SCOTUS allows Texas to begin enforcing SB4 that allows the arrest of illegal immigrants. We still have to have hearings in the 5th circuit federal court of appeals. But this is clearly a positive development,” said Gov. Greg Abbot (R-Texas) on X following the SCOTUS ruling.

Abbot did not comment on the subsequent ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals which ordered another halt on enforcement of the law, Senate Bill 4 (SB4).

The SCOTUS 6-3 decision, which saw dissent from the court’s liberal justices, stopped a temporary stay on SB4 set by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, and did not make a judgement on the constitutionality of the Texas law.

Nevertheless, the Biden Administration could not resist criticizing the Supreme Court for the ruling, which addressed the minutiae of law surrounding court stays rather than immigration law.

“We fundamentally disagree with the Supreme Court’s order allowing Texas’ harmful and unconstitutional law to go into effect. S.B. 4 will not only make communities in Texas less safe, it will also burden law enforcement, and sow chaos and confusion at our southern border,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement on Tuesday.

Currently, the bill remains halted while Texas awaits an official ruling on the constitutionality of its bill.

[RELATED: SCOTUS Votes 5-4 to Vacate Injunction Barring CBP Agents from Removing Razor Wire Along Southern Border in Texas, 5th Circuit Ruling on Merits Pending…]

Recently, Texas has faced significant opposition from the federal government over the state’s attempts to secure its southern border amid an unprecedented surge of illegal immigration under the Biden Administration.

[RELATED: Illegal Immigration: We Are at War…]

In January, SCOTUS ruled that the federal government could remove fortifications on Texas’ Southern border, actively aiding criminals entering the country illegally.

Following that ruling, Texas has taken matters into its own hands, attempting to fortify its border despite the federal government, and has garnered the support of almost every Republican governor in the country.