Greg Abbott Stung by Supreme Court Order Over Border

The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a new law in Texas that would allow state law enforcement to detain anyone suspected of entering the state illegally. Texas Governor Greg Abbott had signed the legislation into law in December but the Supreme Court has ordered a stay until March 13.

The Context

Abbott, a Republican, has repeatedly clashed with the Biden administration on how to stop illegal immigration from Mexico into Texas over the past few months. In January the Supreme Court ruled federal agents could remove razor wire placed across the borders on Abbott's orders, sparking a furious response from the governor who claimed his state was being subject to an "invasion" and invoked its "constitutional authority to defend and protect itself."

What We Know

In December, Abbott signed Senate Bill 4 (SB4) into law but its implementation has so far been blocked by legal challenges. SB4 makes crossing the border illegally into Texas a Class B misdemeanor, with a maximum sentence of up to six months in jail. Anyone who breaks this law repeatedly could face a felony charge with a penalty of between two and 20 years in prison.

The legislation would also require state judges to order the deportation of convicted migrants to Mexico with this to be enforced by local law enforcement. It was challenged legally by both a coalition of civil liberties groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Biden administration whose cases have since been combined.

On February 29, federal Judge David Alan Ezra blocked SB4 from taking effect. In his judgment, Ezra wrote: "If allowed to proceed, SB4 could open the door to each state passing its own version of immigration laws."

Ezra also said SB4 "threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice."

This prompted an angry response from Abbott who launched an appeal, commenting: "We will not back down in our fight to protect our state and our nation from President Biden's border crisis."

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals over the weekend granted a stay of Ezra's decision but put this ruling on hold for one week, allowing the Biden administration to appeal to the Supreme Court. The legislation could still be approved by the Supreme Court but not until March 13 at the earliest.

Newsweek contacted Abbott's office by email at 3:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday. This article will be updated if they comment.

Views

Speaking in December, Abbott said SB4, which passed the Texas Legislature earlier in the year, was needed due to President Joe Biden's "deliberate inaction" over the border.

However critics argued the legislation is unconstitutional as immigration is usually regarded as a federal responsibility.

Representative Joaquin Castro, a Democrat representing Texas' 20^th congressional district, wrote to the Department of Justice urging them to "assert your authority over federal immigration and foreign policy and pursue legal action, as appropriate, to stop this unconstitutional and dangerous legislation from going into effect."

Speaking to The Texas Tribune, Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, who runs the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service nonprofit—since renamed Global Refuge—which helps refugees settle in the U.S., said: "These measures not only threaten the safety and dignity of asylum seekers, but also risk undermining the foundational principles of our legal system.

"Immigration is clearly a federal authority, and this legislation knowingly dances on the edge of constitutional cliffs at the expense of vulnerable children and families."

The federal Customs and Border Protection recorded 176,205 illegal border crossings into the United States in January, down 42 percent from December, when 301,983 were logged. It was the biggest month-to-month fall since Biden took office in January 2021.

Correction 3/5/2024, 5:00 a.m. ET: This article was updated to correct the date when Gov. Abbott signed the legislation and to add context.