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by **Paul** Thu 21 Mar 2024, 5:31 pm

NBC NEWS * What to Know About the Battle Over Texas’ Immigration Law* BB1keoWI

What to Know About the Battle Over Texas’ Immigration Law:copyright: Provided by The Wall Street Journal

[size=64]On Tuesday afternoon, the Supreme Court allowed a state-level immigration law in Texas to take effect. The unsigned order, over the dissent of three liberal justices, allowed Texas to begin implementing the law, known as S.B. 4, while a federal appeals court decided whether doing so conflicts with the federal government’s purview over immigration matters.[/size]

Hours later, that federal appeals court took up the Supreme Court’s invitation. In a 2-1 order late Tuesday, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans reversed course, halting for the moment Texas’ ability to enforce S.B. 4, which enables Texas to arrest and deport migrants who have entered the U.S. illegally.
The same three-judge panel in New Orleans is hearing arguments Wednesday over whether to extend its order—and keep S.B. 4 on ice—for a broader period.
The case is likely headed back to the Supreme Court, though when that might happen is an open question. The Supreme Court in 2012 struck down a similar Arizona law. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has acknowledged that S.B. 4 may conflict with that precedent, but has said he hopes S.B. 4 will prompt the court to overrule Arizona v. U.S.
Here is what you need to know:
What is S.B. 4 and how did we get here?

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Texas passed S.B. 4 in late 2023 as part of a broader push to wage its own fight against illegal immigration in defiance of the Biden administration, which Republicans including Gov. Greg Abbott have blamed for a record surge in illegal immigration.
The law makes illegal border crossing a state crime in Texas and allows state officials to conduct arrests and deportations. The authority to do that has historically rested solely with the U.S. government.
The Biden administration and immigrant rights groups quickly sued to block the law. A federal-district court halted it temporarily in February. Earlier this month, the Fifth Circuit upended that ruling and temporarily allowed the law to take effect, which teed up the case for the Supreme Court—and Tuesday’s legal whiplash.
What did the Supreme Court do on Tuesday?
The Supreme Court on Tuesday effectively kept in place an earlier order from the Fifth Circuit that allowed S.B. 4 to move forward. We don’t totally know the rationale behind the high court’s order, as it was unsigned, as is typical when the justices are ruling on emergency requests. However, a key pair of justices in the majority, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh, signaled their views were based on procedural reasons and might change after the appeals court took additional steps.

Barrett and Kavanaugh, both members of the court’s conservative majority, left the door open to reconsidering the question sooner rather than later. The procedural timeline of the case, they said, suggested that the Fifth Circuit would issue a more definitive ruling quickly, and that would be the appropriate point for the Supreme Court to consider whether to temporarily suspend the law.

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NBC NEWS * What to Know About the Battle Over Texas’ Immigration Law* BB1keoWO

What to Know About the Battle Over Texas’ Immigration Law:copyright: Provided by The Wall Street Journal

What did the Fifth Circuit then do?
The appeals court seemed to take Barrett and Kavanaugh’s words to heart, and by Tuesday night, had stepped in. By a 2-1 vote, the court changed course, and effectively blocked S.B. 4 from taking effect, at least for the moment.
The panel, in its brief order, didn’t explain its reasoning. But it set up a hearing for Wednesday to consider more fully whether to keep S.B. 4 on hold while the legal challenges play out.

So did the Fifth Circuit overrule the Supreme Court?
No. A lower court such as the Fifth Circuit can’t overrule the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court effectively said it was staying out of the Fifth Circuit’s way for now. That gave the appeals court some room and time to make its next move.
The Fifth Circuit decided—for reasons that aren’t entirely clear at this point—to put Texas back on ice until it could consider the issues more carefully.
What happened during Wednesday’s hearing?
Federal appeals-court judges weighing the law appeared at odds over its legality and whether it can go into effect, as courts test whether it is constitutional for states to set their own immigration policies.
Chief Judge Priscilla Richman, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, appeared skeptical of the law, noting that no state has previously claimed the power to deport migrants and questioning how the state would carry out deportations and whether it would honor federal protections granted to people seeking asylum.

Judge Andrew S. Oldham, a former general counsel to Abbott who was appointed to the court by former President Donald Trump, seemed to question whether all provisions of the law could immediately be seen as invalid.
A third judge, Irma Carrillo Ramirez, a border native and President Biden appointee who remained quiet during the hearing, could cast a decisive vote if the other two disagree.
The judges gave no indication of when they might take action on whether to continue the pause on enforcement of the Texas law.
How does S.B. 4 work? Who can be arrested under the Texas law?
The new law makes it illegal to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into Texas without going to a federally operated port of entry. Anyone suspected of crossing the border illegally can be arrested by state or local police and charged with a Class B misdemeanor for a first offense and a felony for a repeat offender. Migrants who don’t want to face trial and a possible jail sentence can agree to be deported to Mexico instead.

Police also have authority to check the immigration status of anyone they have probable cause to believe crossed the border illegally into Texas.
What will happen when migrants are arrested by Texas authorities?
Unlike those apprehended by the Border Patrol, migrants arrested by Texas law enforcement aren’t allowed to ask for asylum. They would have the option of returning to Mexico or facing state criminal charges.
The law doesn’t address how authorities will deal with migrant families with children, who have recently made up about 30% of Border Patrol arrests in Texas. Under an existing state law meant to deter illegal immigration by arresting migrants for trespassing on private land, police have only charged single adults.
For those convicted, Class B misdemeanors in Texas generally carry a sentence of up to 180 days in jail. A felony could carry a sentence of up to 20 years in state prison.

After finishing their criminal sentence, migrants would be driven to ports of entry for possible expulsion to Mexico.
Can Texas deport migrants who enter the U.S. illegally?
While the law gives state officials the authority to deport migrants to Mexico, doing so may be impossible.
The Mexican government said Tuesday it wouldn’t accept deportations from state or local authorities in Texas. Under U.S. law, only federal immigration authorities at the Department of Homeland Security can carry out deportations.
A lawyer for the state of Texas said in a February court hearing that if Mexican authorities opt not to accept someone back, that would be the end of the case. It is unclear what would happen next, including whether Texas would have to let migrants go free.
Further complicating matters, some 75% of recent arrests by the Border Patrol have been of people from countries other than Mexico. S.B. 4 doesn’t authorize Texas to deport migrants by plane.

If Texas detains migrants for longer than about two weeks, federal authorities could be barred from quickly expelling them under U.S. law.
What do supporters and opponents of S.B. 4 say would be the result of the law going into effect?
Texas officials have said the law was necessary to carry out a border enforcement job they say the federal government isn’t doing and securing the state from what Abbott has described as “an invasion.”
In a statement posted on X, the Texas governor called the Supreme Court move “clearly a positive development.”
Immigration and civil-rights advocates, along with Democratic lawmakers, have said S.B. 4 will create chaos on the border and encourage racial profiling of Latino people.
“The Supreme Court has opted to allow for a trial run of a constitutional crisis,” said Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat whose district includes San Antonio. “SB 4 is an alarming state overreach that will likely lead to massive civil-rights violations.”
Elizabeth Findell contributed to this article.
Write to Alicia A. Caldwell at alicia.caldwell@wsj.com, Michelle Hackman at michelle.hackman@wsj.com and Ashby Jones at Ashby.Jones@wsj.com