US Supreme Court extends hold on Texas law that would allow police to arrest migrants

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday extended a hold on a new and expansive Texas immigration law that was set to go into effect at 4 p.m., preventing state law enforcement officers, at least for now, from arresting, jailing and even deporting people suspected of illegally crossing into Texas from Mexico.

With a last minute motion Monday the high court allowed the stay of Senate Bill 4 to remain in effect indefinitely as the justices consider several questions over the law’s constitutionality.

The court’s decision came just as a previous hold, which was extended by Justice Samuel Alito last week, was set to expire Monday afternoon. If the law were to have gone into effect, Texas law enforcement officers would have been able to begin arresting migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally and initiating deportation proceedings against them or have them face stiffer criminal penalties.

SB 4, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed in December, had previously been scheduled to take effect March 5 before rights groups and the Justice Department challenged the new legislation’s constitutionality.

However, since Alito first expressed the high court’s interest in the case by issuing an initial hold on the law on March 4, the Texas immigration provision has remained under the court’s purview.

The Legislature during a special session in November passed SB 4, creating a series of penalties for anyone suspected of illegally crossing into Texas from Mexico other than through an international port of entry. The penalties range from a Class B misdemeanor to a second-degree felony.

SB 4, which faced heavy opposition from Democrats and civil rights groups throughout the 2023 legislative calendar, also requires people accused of illegally crossing into Texas to either accept a magistrate judge’s deportation order or face a second-degree felony charge for noncompliance.

“The U.S. Supreme Court has extended its pause on #SB4 until further order,” the ACLU of Texas posted on X, formerly Twitter, immediately following the order. “We’re not backing down until this anti-immigrant law is gone once and for all.”