State of the Union, March 22, 2024. The Supreme Court affirmed Texas’ authority to implement a law allowing state law enforcement to detain migrants, dealing a blow to the Biden administration’s more lenient immigration stance.
The conservative majority rejected the federal government’s argument that immigration policy is solely under federal jurisdiction.
This paved the way for the Texas law to take effect while further litigation proceeds in lower courts. However, its future remains uncertain as it could still be overturned.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, saying it upends the federal-state balance of power.
“The court gives a green light to a law that will upend the longstanding federal-state balance of power and sow chaos,” Justice Sotomayor said.
“If a decision does not issue soon, the applicants may return to this court,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett said.
The Texas law allows detaining and potentially deporting individuals for state offenses related to unauthorized entry, escalating penalties for repeat offenses.
It represents a significant expansion of state authority that a federal judge had blocked, citing federal primacy over immigration law.
Texas argued it has a right to enforce laws complementing federal policy to address border security concerns.
The Constitution “recognizes that Texas has the sovereign right to defend itself from violent transnational cartels that flood the state with fentanyl, weapons, and all manner of brutality,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said.
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