Justice Amy Coney Barrett cautioned that Texas Governor Greg Abbott's border fight could come back before the U.S. Supreme Court in a new ruling.
On Tuesday—just a day after Justice Samuel Alito extended his administrative stay on the implementation of the controversial Texas Senate Bill 4—the court reversed its position, clearing the way for Texas officials to begin enforcing the law, which allows local and state law enforcement to arrest, detain and remove individuals suspected of entering the state illegally from other countries.
"Before this Court intervenes on the emergency docket, the Fifth Circuit should be the first mover," Barrett wrote. "Texas's motion for a stay pending appeal was fully briefed in the Fifth Circuit by March 5, almost two weeks ago. Merits briefing on Texas's challenge to the District Court's injunction of S. B. 4 is currently underway. If a decision does not issue soon, the applicants may return to this Court."
Justice Samuel Alito, who delayed the implementation of SB4 earlier this month, extended his stay on Monday while the court considers emergency appeals from the Biden administration and others trying to block enforcement of the law. SB4 was approved by a special legislative session in November and signed it into law by Abbott in December.
Abbott had been facing pressure to defy Monday's administrative stay from conservatives, including several prominent Republicans like TV personality Jesse Kelly, conservative talk show host Steve Deace and right-wing activist Cary Cheshire, who called on Abbott to order the enforcement of SB4 even while the law was blocked.
"Now Texas will find out if it really has a governor or not. Your move, @GregAbbott_TX," Deace said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
On Monday, Kelly told Abbott on social media to ignore Alito and "Create a 10 state coalition to stand with you."
"Arrest and deport every illegal your state. Arrest and try anyone from federal government who tries to stop you. It's time," Kelly tweeted.
Others argued that Abbott should ignore the stay because President Joe Biden ignored the governor's continued calls for stricter immigration policies and because the Biden administration found other ways to cancel student debt, even after the Supreme Court struck down his larger forgiveness plan.
"It's time for Texas to ignore the Supreme Court ruling permanently blocking Texas from enforcing immigration law. If Joe Biden can ignore SCOTUS so can we!" one X user from Texas wrote. "We Texans and MANY others have your back Ken Paxton and Greg Abbott!"
MAGA political commentator Gunther Eagleman responded to the tweet, saying, "I agree!"
"Hey @GregAbbott_TX ignore them! Joe Biden did. They said he couldn't forgive student debt/loans and he ignored them. And remember: States Rights Baby," another X user said.
Michael Quinn Sullivan, the host of the Texas Minute podcast, warned Abbott that his compliance or defiance of the Supreme Court's halt on SB4 would ultimately show Texans just how serious he is about addressing the border crisis.
"After the #SCOTUS action today, Greg Abbott must decide if he will comply with their order siding with the lawless Biden regime... Or, go ahead and implement the border security law," Sullivan posted on X. Quoting former Texas Governor Sam Houston, Sullivan added, "Do right and risk the consequences."
In response to the administrative stay, Abbott vowed Monday to continue carrying out other measures to stymy the influx of illegal migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
"SCOTUS temporarily halted enforcement of SB 4, but Texas is still using its authority to arrest illegal immigrants for criminal trespass and other violations of law," Abbott said. "We continue building the wall, use NG to erect razor-wire barriers to repel migrants, and buoys remain in river."
SB4 has raised concerns among immigration advocates that it could increase racial profiling of Latinos, who represent 40 percent of the state's population.
On Tuesday, Democratic candidate for Texas state Senate Karthik Soora criticized the Supreme Court ruling on X, calling it "one of my biggest fears."
"The state of Texas can now round up and deport anyone suspected of being undocumented with minimal due process," Soora said.
Democratic strategist Sawyer Hackett also slammed the decision, saying: "The Supreme Court just put a target on the back of every brown person in Texas."
The Justice Department had argued to the Supreme Court that allowing Texas to enforce the law would "profoundly" alter "the status quo that has existed between the United States and the states in the context of immigration for almost 150 years," citing legal precedent that does not allow states to regulate immigration "in the field of entry and removal."
Texas Republicans, however, argue that the state "has the sovereign right to defend itself from violent transnational cartels that flood the state with fentanyl, weapons, and all manner of brutality." In court papers, Texas officials argued that the state has been "forced to deal with the deadly consequences of the federal government's inability or unwillingness to protect the border."
Update 3/19/24, 2:53 p.m. ET: This story was updated and the headline was changed to reflect additional information.
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Katherine Fung is a Newsweek reporter based in New York City. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and world politics. ... Read more
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