On Tuesday March 19, the American Supreme Court lifted the suspension of a controversial Texas law which criminalizes illegal entry into this state bordering Mexico, encroaching on the prerogatives of the federal authorities. This decision, which the conservative majority Court motivates for purely procedural reasons, provisionally allows the entry into force of the law, initially scheduled for March 5, but blocked by a federal court in this southern state.
A declared supporter of Donald Trump, who made the rejection of immigration a major axis of his electoral campaign, the Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has openly defied for months the authority of the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden. He accuses her of“deliberate inaction” faced with the influx of migrants that he describes as“invasion”.
The White House deplored the Supreme Court’s decision in a statement “allowing the harmful and unconstitutional Texas law to take effect”claiming that she “will sow chaos and confusion on the southern border”.
The three progressive justices of the Supreme Court dissociate themselves from the decision
An ultraconservative appeals court had lifted the stay pronounced by the federal trial judge, subject to an order from the Supreme Court. The three progressive judges of the highest court in the country dissociated themselves from the decision taken Tuesday by the six other conservative judges. Court of Appeal “should have taken into consideration the constitutionality and irreparable damage caused by the law before allowing it to come into force”writes one of them, Sonia Sotomayor. “This Court makes the same mistake”she adds.
The law known as “SB 4”, signed in December by the governor, creates a “criminal offense of illegal entry into Texas from a foreign country”, punishable by six months in prison, or even up to twenty years in the event of a repeat offense. Giving state authorities the power to arrest migrants and deport them to Mexico, it is contested by the justice ministry, immigrant support NGOs and a local community.
“States do not have powers over immigration unless authorized by the federal government”underlined on February 29 the judge of first instance, warning that this law “would pave the way for each state to adopt its own version of immigration laws”. The law also infringes on “US foreign relations and treaty obligations”he added, with particular reference to relations with Mexico.