Appeals Court Reinstates Hold on Texas Immigration Law

This article originally appeared on The Epoch Times and was republished with permission.

Guest post by Caden Pearson

A federal appeals court issued an order late on Tuesday that reinstates a hold blocking Texas from enforcing a law that enables local law enforcement to arrest suspected illegal immigrants.

This decision came from a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, voting 2-1 to overturn a previous ruling made by another panel of the same court that granted an administrative stay of the law’s implementation.

The prior 5th Circuit ruling had temporarily halted an injunction from a federal district court judge in Austin, who had blocked Texas from implementing the law. The Austin judge’s rationale was that such a law might pave the way for other states to enact their own immigration legislation.

Following the Tuesday night order, the 5th Circuit will now hear arguments on whether to stay the preliminary injunction pending appeal on Wednesday, according to the order.

“A majority of the panel has concluded that the administrative stay entered by a motions panel on March 2, 2024, should be lifted,” reads the unsigned order by the court.

🚨NEW- Appeals Court Blocks Texas from Arresting Migrants Despite Supreme Court's Nod to New Immigration Law |

In a legal tug-of-war over immigration policy, a federal appeals court has intervened to prevent Texas from arresting illegal migrants suspected of entering the U.S.… pic.twitter.com/0Zvuw3N0Mv

— Vigilant News (@VigilantNews) March 20, 2024

Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham dissented from the majority opinion on Tuesday, advocating for the law to remain enforceable.

He wrote in his dissenting opinion, “I would leave that stay in place pending tomorrow’s oral argument on the question.”

This came hours after the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority rejected an emergency request from the Biden administration to review the administrative stay ordered by the 5th Circuit’s prior panel.

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The Department of Justice argued that the law is a clear violation of the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution and that states do not have the power to enforce immigration laws. The law, it argued, would cause chaos in immigration law.

Read the full story in The Epoch Times.