Supreme Court gives Texas a free hand to detain and deport migrants

He Supreme Court of Justice he pleaded this Tuesday in favor of the state Texas allowing the law to come into force allowing police to detain and deport migrants suspected of having entered illegally NOW.

Legislation, known as SB4may enter into force until the arguments of the lawsuit filed by the President’s Government are heard Joe Biden and organizations that defend migrants.

The case reached the highest court after a legal battle led by the Biden administration and immigrant advocates American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU, in English), which state that the initiative is unconstitutional.

The prosecutors asked the Supreme Court to stop the implementation of the measure while the case is resolved in Fifth Appellate Circuit. On Monday, Justice Samuel Alito blocked the legislation indefinitely pending a plenary session to vote on the request.

This Tuesday, six conservative justices voted in favor of Texas, allowing the law to take effect pending a final ruling on the case.

Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxtonhailed the high court’s decision in a message to X. “Texas has rejected the emergency requests of the Biden administration and the ACLU” and stressed that the law is now in effect.

The law, one of the most drastic anti-immigration measures in US history, makes it a misdemeanor for an alien to “irregularly enter or attempt to enter the country from a foreign country.” The criminal offense becomes a serious criminal offense, for which a penalty of up to 20 years in prison is prescribed, if the perpetrator is a returnee.

The initiative also allows the state judiciary to order the deportation of people without due process. In addition, police officers will be able to arrest any person they suspect of entering the country illegally and will have the discretion to deport them to Mexico instead of arresting them.

The measure was initially promoted by the Republican governor of Texas Greg Abbottit was set to go into effect on March 5, but a federal judge sided with the plaintiffs and banned it.

Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxtonhe took the fight to the Fifth Circuit of Appeals where he won support, so the plaintiffs went to the Supreme Court to prevent the law from taking effect by requesting an emergency motion, which was ultimately denied.

Anand Balakrishnan, senior attorney at the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, called Tuesday’s decision “disappointing.”

In a statement, the attorney added that the bill “threatens the integrity of our nation’s immigration laws and the fundamental principles of due process,” so he will continue to fight until it is defeated.