Supreme Court Rules Texas Can Enforce Law Allowing Police to Arrest Migrants

by Charlotte Hazard

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Texas could enforce an immigration law that would allow local officials to arrest migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally. 

This means the law can go into effect as litigation occurs in lower courts, according to CNN. 

The law in question is Senate Bill 4 and it allows police to arrest migrants who illegally cross the border and give judges authority to deport them back to Mexico. 

Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott signed the legislation last year, but it was blocked by a federal judge last month. 

“HUGE WIN: Texas has defeated the Biden Administration’s and ACLU’s emergency motions at the Supreme Court. Our immigration law, SB 4, is now in effect. As always, it’s my honor to defend Texas and its sovereignty, and to lead us to victory in court,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote on the social media platform, X. 

The three liberal justices dissented with Justice Sotomayor writing that the law would “upend the longstanding federal-state balance of power and sow chaos,” according to NBC News. 

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Charlotte Hazard is a 2022 Liberty University alumni who graduated with a major in journalism and a minor in government.