A federal appeals court issued an order that prevents Texas from arresting migrants suspected of entering the US illegally – just hours after the Supreme Court allowed the strict new immigration law to take effect.
It comes at the same time Mexico‘s government said it would not ‘under any circumstances’ accept the return of any migrants from the state – and they would send back any deportees that show up in the country.
The decision by the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals comes weeks after a panel on the same court cleared the way for Texas to enforce the law by putting a pause on a lower judge´s injunction.
But by a 2-1 order, a panel of the appeals court lifted that pause ahead of arguments today. Texas authorities had not announced any arrests made under the law.
A federal appeals court late Tuesday issued an order that again prevents Texas from arresting migrants suspected of entering the US illegally, hours after the Supreme Court allowed the strict new immigration law to take effect
Migrants seeking asylum in the United States wait on the border of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico on March 19
It also appears that the Lone Star State will receive no help from the Mexican government in its attempt to force the law.
Mexico´s Foreign Affairs Secretary Alicia Bárcena said in a sharply-worded statement that it would refuse to take anyone back who is ordered to leave the country under the state law and that it ‘categorically rejects’ any state or local government enforcement of immigration laws.
‘Mexico reiterates the legitimate right to protect the rights of its nationals in the United States and to determine its own policies regarding entry into its territory,’ they said.
It further condemned the Texas law being allowed to take effect, saying it would criminalize migrants and lead to the separation of families, discrimination and racial profiling.
The Mexican government said it would put its position before the appeals court next considering the law.
The administration had asked the Supreme Court to freeze the initial judicial order allowing the Republican-backed Texas law to take effect while the Justice Department ‘s challenge to the statute proceeds in the lower courts.
The SCOTUS decision had meant that Texas cops would be allowed 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 attempt to force the law
Mexico´s Foreign Affairs Secretary Alicia Bárcena said in a sharply worded statement that it would refuse to take anyone back who is ordered to leave the country under the state law and that it ‘categorically rejects’ any state or local government enforcement of immigration laws
Mexico further condemned the Texas law being allowed to take effect, saying it would criminalize migrants and lead to the separation of families, discrimination and racial profiling
A group of migrants camp out along the border wall on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande
Encampments set up along the border wall, pictured on March 19
A group of migrants, including children, on the US side of the river
Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who signed the bill in December, has said the law was needed due to Biden’s failure to enforce federal laws criminalizing illegal entry or re-entry, claiming in December that ‘Biden’s deliberate inaction has left Texas to fend for itself.’
In a statement posted to X following the Supreme Court decision, he noted that the appeals court was yet to make its decision but saw SCOTUS’ ruling as ‘a positive development.’
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 go into effect.’
The Democratic president’s handling of the record numbers of migrants caught illegally crossing the US-Mexico border during his presidency has drawn sharp criticism from Republicans.
Abbott and other Republicans have said Biden should have kept the restrictive policies of former President Donald Trump, their party’s candidate gearing up for a rematch Biden in the upcoming presidential election in November.
The 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, Texas magistrate judges will be required to order migrants to return to Mexico, with up to 20-year sentences for those who refuse to comply.
The Justice Department sued 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 due to Biden’s failure to enforce federal laws criminalizing illegal entry or re-entry, claiming in December that ‘Biden’s deliberate inaction has left Texas to fend for itself’
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 sued in January to block the measure, which was originally set to take effect on March 5
Biden administration lawyers argued that it violates federal law and constitutional provisions giving the US government the power to regulate commerce with foreign countries and among states, and runs afoul of a 2012 Supreme Court precedent.
Texas-based U.S. District David Ezra on February 29 sided with the administration and agreed to preliminarily block Texas officials from enforcing the law, saying that it ‘threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice.’
But the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals paused Ezra’s ruling in an order that would have let the Texas law take effect on March 10, prompting the administration to file an emergency request to the Supreme Court.
Justice Samuel Alito, who handles certain emergency matters involving cases from a group of states including Texas, on March 4 halted the 5th Circuit ruling – and thus the law – from taking effect, giving the Supreme Court more time to consider the matter.
Texas has pursued a range of measures to deter people who cross illegally under its Operation Lone Star, including deploying National Guard troops to the border, blocking migrants with concertina wire and installing a floating barrier over a stretch of the Rio Grande.
Republicans in February scuttled a bipartisan Senate deal that would have bolstered border security and tightened immigration laws after Trump pushed members of his party to reject it. Biden said 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 following primary election voting in early March showed alarm among many voters over the situation along the border. Many called it their top voting issue. Reuters/Ipsos polling showed Biden’s public approval level at 37 percent as of February 28.