Supreme Court deals blow to Greg Abbott's border plans

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has further delayed Texas' implementation of its immigrant deportation laws related to Senate Bill 4.

Alito, a conservative, extended the stay until 5 p.m. March 18.

Newsweek reached out to Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the White House via email for comment.

The Context

S.B. 4 was approved by a special Texas legislative session in November, providing a green light for local and state law enforcement to arrest, detain and remove individuals suspected of entering the state illegally from other countries.

It was initially scheduled to begin March 5, but one day prior to implementation, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas granted a motion for a preliminary injunction to block it from going into effect. March 4 was the same day President Joe Biden and likely Republican presidential opponent Donald Trump were in Brownsville and Eagle Pass, respectively, to meet with local officials about border security.

Abbott immediately vowed to appeal the decision, saying he "will not back down in our fight to protect our state—and our nation—from President Biden's border crisis."

What We Know

Judge David Ezra blocked S.B. 4 from going into effect, ruling in favor of multiple civil rights groups who sued Abbott and Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McGraw in December 2023. The lawsuit was later consolidated with another suit filed by the Department of Justice.

Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas, the Texas Civil Rights Project on behalf of El Paso County, American Gateways, and Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center were among the plaintiffs in the case.

"Surges in immigration do not constitute an 'invasion' within the meaning of the Constitution, nor is Texas engaging in war by enforcing S.B. 4," Ezra wrote in his 114-page ruling.

"To allow Texas to permanently supersede federal directives on the basis of an invasion would amount to nullification of federal law and authority—a notion that is antithetical to the Constitution and has been unequivocally rejected by federal courts since the Civil War."

But Ezra's ruling was immediately disputed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose emergency stay was granted by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, providing seven days for review by the U.S. Supreme Court. As part of the Fifth Circuit order, the appeal was expedited and argued immediately.

Views

Robert Heyman, assistant director of policy and development with another plaintiff, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center of El Paso, told Newsweek via phone that Ezra's ruling makes it more likely that the plaintiffs will prevail.

While that is just a hope and not a formality, Heyman added that the Alito stay is "a victory for now," saying that fewer deportations and racial profiling is positive.

"You can't predict from an administrative stay where a case is heading," he said. "The stay is just to keep things frozen in place as the justices adjudicate. The only thing you can get from it is that they need more time.

"But at the same time, any day that S.B. 4 is not in effect is a day that real people living in communities across Texas aren't going to face the kinds of threats and challenges that the law will present."

The ACLU of Texas referred to S.B. 4 as "one of the most extreme pieces of anti-immigrant legislation any state legislature has ever enacted."

If it is implemented, the ACLU said that Black and brown communities and those traveling through the state are at a higher risk of racial profiling and over-policing.

"We are pleased that S.B. 4 remains on hold and will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that this law is struck down once and for all," Anand Balakrishnan, senior staff attorney at the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, said in a statement shared with Newsweek.

Tami Goodlette, director of the Beyond Borders Program at the Texas Civil Rights Project, said in a statement shared with Newsweek that the stay prevents "a racist, unconstitutional law from going into effect."

"No state has the right to implement its own immigration policies that threaten to upend the lives of people for simply seeking safety, better opportunities, and a place to call home in Texas," Goodlette said.

"One more day without #SB4 and its inherent discrimination is worth celebrating," the Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday. "Our fight continues to ensure this anti-immigrant and unconstitutional law is struck down for good."

What's Next

The Fifth Circuit is scheduled to hear arguments on S.B. 4 on April 3, according to CBS News.

Update 3/12/24, 12:50 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from plaintiffs in the lawsuit.