Controversial project
Texas immigration law halted shortly after approval
March 20, 2024, 10:57 a.m
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The conservative-dominated Supreme Court clears the way for a law in Texas that allows the detention and deportation of migrants who entered the country illegally. But just a few hours after the approval, the project was stopped again. But possibly only for a short time.
According to media reports, a US appeals court has initially put the controversial Texas immigration law on hold – after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Texas a few hours earlier.
The law is intended to give Texas authorities broad powers on the border with Mexico that are otherwise reserved for federal authorities. It would allow Texas police officers to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the border from Mexico into the United States. Texas courts should therefore also be able to initiate deportations and impose long prison sentences for repeated border crossings.
As early as Wednesday morning, the appeals court will hear an application from Texas to allow the law to come into force again for the time being, US media reported. The law has long been controversial.
Biden administration wants national solution
The Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, signed it in December. After a lengthy legal tug-of-war, the US Department of Justice finally argued before the Supreme Court that the southern US state was exceeding its authority with the project – and thus caused a delay.
With the Supreme Court’s decision, the law was initially able to come into force until the appeals court stopped it again. According to US media, it was initially unclear whether there had been any arrests in the meantime.
The issue of migration plays a major role in the US presidential election campaign. The latest decisions surrounding the law are likely to further fuel the debate about US migration policy. The legal dispute over the law is now entering the next round. Lawsuits from the Department of Justice and several human and civil rights organizations also still have to make their way through the legal authorities.