The United States Supreme Court has ruled to allow Texas to detain and deport migrants and asylum seekers.
Critics have dubbed the judgement a “show me your papers” law.
The Texas Senate passed Bill 4 (SB4), but it was challenged in the courts. However, on Tuesday, the Supreme Court lifted the pause on the law. The court voted six to three to allow the law.
Legal scholars say the law contradicts the federal government’s constitutional authority to enforce immigration. Rights groups are also saying the law threatens to increase racial profiling and imperil the rights of asylum seekers. The American Civil Liberties Union says SB4 is “one of the most extreme anti-immigrant laws ever passed by any state legislature” in the United States.
The Supreme Court judgment does not weigh the law’s merits, which continue to be challenged in lower courts. Rather, it nullifies a lower court ruling that paused the law’s implementation
President Biden’s administration has challenged SB4 on its unconstitutionality..Migrant advocates and civil rights groups have also pledged to render the law void through the courts.
Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbot and his Attorney General Ken Paxton have argued that the law runs parallel to, but does not conflict with, federal law.
