A federal judge stopped a new Texas law that would let police arrest migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally. This decision is a win for the Biden administration and pushes back against Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s immigration plans.
U.S. District Judge David Ezra’s temporary stop to the law, which was supposed to start on March 5, happened while President Joe Biden and potential November rival Donald Trump were at Texas’ southern border discussing immigration.
Texas’ attorney general’s office quickly appealed the ruling. The judge’s decision criticized Texas’ immigration approach, rejecting claims by Republicans about a supposed “invasion” at the southern border due to a high number of illegal crossings.
Migrants traveling to the U.S. (Via Adam Jones/Getty Images)
Ezra also said the law goes against the Constitution’s supremacy clause, clashes with federal immigration law, and might hurt U.S. foreign relations and treaty commitments.
This is the second time Ezra has halted one of Abbott’s border actions in six months, previously ruling against a floating barrier Texas built in the Rio Grande.
The judge wrote that allowing Texas to override federal directives because of a supposed “invasion” would go against the Constitution and has been rejected by federal courts since the Civil War.
