The US Supreme Court lifted its hold Tuesday on a controversial Texas law that would allow state police to arrest and deport migrants who cross illegally into the United States from Mexico.
The move by the conservative-majority court allows the law, known as Senate Bill 4 (SB 4), to take effect while a legal battle continues to play out in lower courts.
The administration of Democratic President Joe Biden has strongly opposed SB 4, arguing that the federal government has authority over immigration matters, not individual states.
A federal judge last month temporarily blocked the law passed by the Republican majority in the Texas state legislature saying it “conflicts with key provisions of federal immigration law.”
But a conservative-dominated appeals court said SB 4 could go into force unless the Supreme Court ruled otherwise.
The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, issued a temporary stay on SB 4 earlier this month but lifted it on Tuesday while further arguments about the law are heard in the appeals court.
The three liberal justices on the court dissented.
“Today, the Court invites further chaos and crisis in immigration enforcement,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote.
“Texas passed a law that directly regulates the entry and removal of noncitizens and explicitly instructs its state courts to disregard any ongoing federal immigration proceedings,” Sotomayor said. “That law upends the federal-state balance of power that has existed for over a century.”
Republicans blame Biden for the recent record flow of migrants into the United States, while the White House accuses Republicans of deliberately sabotaging a bipartisan attempt to find a solution.
Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas and an ally of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, has decried an “invasion” of the southern border.
“Texas has the right to defend itself because of President Biden’s ongoing failure to fulfill his duty to protect our state from the invasion at our southern border,” Abbott said recently.
SB 4 is the latest immigration flashpoint between Abbott and federal authorities.
The US Justice Department has also filed a lawsuit seeking the removal of a floating barrier installed by Texas authorities in the Rio Grande river to stop migrants crossing from Mexico.
