The U.S. Supreme Court made a surprise decision on Tuesday, voting 6-3 to allow Texas' Senate Bill 4 (S.B. 4) law to go into effect and provide Texas law enforcement officials the authority to arrest, detain and remove individuals suspected of being in the United States illegally.
"The Court gives a green light to a law that will upend the longstanding federal-state balance of power and sow chaos, when the only court to consider the law concluded that it is likely unconstitutional," Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in her dissent.
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 take issues into their own hands.
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.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been arguably the most vocal opponent against the Biden administration regarding the influx of illegal immigration. In March 2021, he lauded the forming of Operation Lone Star and different methods of deterring illegal migrants from entering his state—including floating barriers in the Rio Grande and razor wire erected along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Newsweek reached out to Abbott's office, the White House, and the Department of Justice via email for comment.
What We Know
On March 11, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, a conservative, extended a stay until March 18, at the time further delaying Texas' implementation of its immigrant deportation laws related to Senate Bill 4.
That stay was again extended on Monday, March 18. Abbott vowed to remain vigilant, saying his state would still use its authority to arrest illegal immigrants for criminal trespassing and other unlawful violations.
"We continue building the wall, use NG to erect razor-wire barriers to repel migrants, and buoys remain in the river," Abbott said on Monday.
Liberal Justice Sotomayor's dissent was joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justice Elena Kagan wrote a separate dissent.
"This law implicates serious issues that are subject to ongoing political debate, and Texas's novel scheme requires careful and reasoned consideration in the courts to determine which provisions may be unconstitutional," Sotomayor wrote.
"Although the Court today expresses no view on whether Texas's law is constitutional, and instead defers to a lower court's management of its docket, the Court of Appeals abused its discretion by entering an unreasoned and indefinite administrative stay that altered the status quo. This Court stands idle. Because I cannot, I dissent."
Views
"We still have to have hearings in the 5th circuit federal court of appeals," Abbott wrote on X, formerly Twitter, following the ruling. "But this is clearly a positive development."
"HUGE WIN: Texas has defeated the Biden Administration's and ACLU's emergency motions at the Supreme Court," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote on X. "Our immigration law, SB 4, is now in effect. As always, it's my honor to defend Texas and its sovereignty, and to lead us to victory in court."
Opponents of S.B. 4, including myriad civil rights groups who were initially successful in delaying its implementation, have referred to the legislation as "one of the most extreme anti-immigrant laws ever passed by any state legislature in the country."
"Today's decision is unfortunate," Tami Goodlette, director of the Beyond Borders Program at the Texas Civil Rights Project, said in a statement shared with Newsweek. "Allowing this law to be implemented as the case makes its way through the legal process needlessly puts people's lives at risk.
"Everyone, no matter if you have called Texas home for decades or just got here yesterday, deserves to feel safe and have the basic right of due process. We remain committed to the fight to permanently overturn S.B. 4 to show the nation that no state has the power to overtake federal immigration authority."
Anand Balakrishnan, senior staff attorney at the ACLU's [American Civil Liberties Union's] Immigrants' Rights Project, referred to the Court's decision as "disappointing and threatening the integrity of our nation's immigration laws and bedrock principles of due process."
What's Next
Texas can implement the law now but it may once again be legally hindered in the future, pending a ruling in a neighboring state.
The New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit will hear arguments on the issue this April.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett warned that the Court could again rule in this specific case.
"Before this Court intervenes on the emergency docket, the Fifth Circuit should be the first mover," Barrett wrote in today's ruling. "Texas's motion for a stay pending appeal was fully briefed in the Fifth Circuit by March 5, almost two weeks ago. Merits briefing on Texas's challenge to the District Court's injunction of S. B. 4 is currently underway. If a decision does not issue soon, the applicants may return to this Court."
Update 03/19/24, 3:29 p.m. ET: This story was updated with more information.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek reporter based in Michigan. His focus is reporting on Ukraine and Russia, along with social ... Read more
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