Texas SB 4 again put on hold — again

More news from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Texas Senate Bill 4, a state immigration enforcement measure that has been the subject of a whirlwind of procedural rulings over the last week.   Last night, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit denied the request of the state of Texas to allow SB 4 to go into effect while the court considers the law’s legality. The ruling prevents the law from being enforced until the court rules whether the law is unconstitutional. The Fifth Circuit will hear arguments in New Orleans on April 3 on whether to uphold the injunction entered by the district court.

In the court’s decision, Chief Judge Priscilla Richman, a George W. Bush appointee, joined by Judges Andrew Oldham  (Trump appointee) and Irma Carrillo Ramirez (Biden appointee), wrote “for nearly 150 years, the Supreme Court has held that the power to control immigration — the entry, admission, and removal of noncitizens — is exclusively a federal power,” among other factors. The ruling allows the district court injunction to remain in place, which blocks S.B. 4 from going into effect while the case is litigated.

KJ