U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocks Texas’ controversial ‘show me your papers’ law

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday evening temporarily halted Texas’ controversial immigration law that would allow local and state law enforcement to arrest people suspected of crossing the border illegally, according to the Texas Tribune.

Senate Bill 4, which was scheduled to take effect Tuesday, also would permit Texas judges to deport those found guilty of being in the country without papers. The Supreme Court ruling halts the law from going into effect until March 13 so justices can review its legality. The high court’s decision reverses a ruling by the notoriously conservative New Orleans-based 5th Circuit of Appeals, which ruled Saturday that the law could take effect, the Tribune reports.

The 5th Circuit’s decision reversed another ruling by U.S. District Judge David Ezra of Austin, who found SB 4 was unconstitutional since it gave the state unprecedented powers to enforce immigration. The legislation “threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice,” Ezra ruled.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott hasn’t released a social-media statement regarding the Supreme Court ruling. However, he did say during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes that aired over the weekend that Texas will continue to defy the federal government until President Joe Biden chooses to “enforce the laws of the United States of America.”

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This article appears in Feb 21 – Mar 5, 2024.