Texas state legislators along with Texas governor Greg Abbott have been pushing to pass SB 4, a newly introduced immigration law which gives the power to the state to arrest immigrants who enter Texas illegally and send them back to the US-Mexico border.
The Supreme Court allowed for SB 4 to be imposed on March 19. Hours later, this law was blocked by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The vote was 2-1.
SB 4 is currently in federal appeals court awaiting approval. The appeals court questions the constitutionality of the law.
Immigrants would be returned to Mexico, no matter the place they emigrated from.
This law was introduced by Texas republicans as a response to the Biden Administration’s border policies which they criticized for being too permissive.
As the law is interpreted by the Texas Attorney General’s office, migrants that are subject to state court deportation orders would then be turned over to federal immigration authorities at the border where federal officials would determine whether or not they should be released in the United States while awaiting any further proceedings.
Chief Circuit Judge Priscilla Richman, a key voter against this law, is skeptical of this interpretation of the law and believes it may skewer the full extent of this law.
“As someone who immigrated legally to the United States from Norway, I think it’s important to point out the fact that these are illegal immigrants. If you look at each individual family, you're going to say of course we don’t want to deport you, but you have to look at how it taxes the state. These immigrants don’t have the money to cover the costs and guess where the money comes from? The pockets of the people and we don’t necessarily have that money,” NHS teacher Tone Saether said.
The consideration of SB 4 has turned into a matter of who should have the power to control immigration in the U.S.
“Texas is a state that is going to notice the impacts the most because they are the first stop. They are going to, and this may be harsh but get the brunt of the burden,” NHS teacher Tone Saether said.
The Biden administration argues that this law, if it were to be imposed, would contradict with the federal government’s power to enforce immigration.
“This should be an issue on a federal scale,” NHS math teacher Deborah Holt said.
Texas Solicitor General, Aaron Nielson argues that this law does not interfere with federal immigration laws.
Since the 19th century, immigration has been controlled by the federal government. While states had their own role in controlling what policies they would impose to either support immigrants or monitor their activity, it has still remained a federal issue.
“I think this should be up to a country not a singular state,” NHS sophomore Amanda Faircloth said.
In February of this year, the law was blocked for similar reasons by US District Judge David Alan Ezra before it was able to be put into effect. He worried that it would allow for other states to do the same.
The enforcement of this law could also interfere with Mexico’s immigration policies. This could also possibly undermine its collaboration with the United States on legal migration framework as well as border management.
The passing of this law could possibly hinder trade between the United States and Mexico.
SB-4 remains on hold in appeals court to this day.