Courts flip-flop on controversial Texas immigration law SB 4

SB 4: Fight over immigration law in Texas

The fight over who gets to enforce immigration law in Texas continued on Wednesday with more twists and turns.

AUSTIN, Texas - In a crowded Capitol reception room, Gov. Greg Abbott met with a group of Texas sheriffs on Wednesday afternoon.

A statement was made in support of Abbott’s efforts to secure the border. Members of the Sheriff’s Association of Texas also requested the United States government to assist in securing a border, "without delay."

Earlier in the day, Gov. Abbott was at a conference organized by the Texas Public Policy Foundation. While there, he spoke about the ongoing legal battle taking place in multiple courts over the state's new immigration law, SB 4.

"Like watching a tennis match. The ball goes back and forth across the net constantly," said Gov. Abbott.

The latest legal bounce landed Wednesday morning in New Orleans at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. A special hearing was held by a 3-judge panel on whether to allow the enforcement of SB 4.

SCOTUS allows Texas to enforce SB 4

The Supreme Court has given Texas the green light to begin enforcing a state immigration law that allows police to arrest undocumented migrants.

The controversial law would allow local law enforcement officers to arrest migrants caught crossing the border between ports of entry. Those who are caught later, anywhere in Texas, and admit they crossed illegally can also be charged under SB 4.

A jail sentence can be avoided if the undocumented migrant agrees to go back to a port of entry.

The possibility of a ruling against the State of Texas, keeping the court hold in place, did not deter the governor from digging in.

"Even without SB 4, Texas has the legal authority to arrest people coming across the razor wire barriers on our border, and we will continue to use our arrest authority and arrest people coming across the border illegally," said Abbott.

Arrests by DPS Troopers are currently being made under state trespassing law.

"To have an administrative stay bounce all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court and back again to the Fifth Circuit for an argument the next day is really unprecedented," said constitutional law attorney David Coale.

Coale told FOX 7 that a trial in Austin may still be in play, but he expects many more pre-trial hearings.

"It's not even the end game for this appeal," said Coale.

Neither side, regardless of what the ruling is after the Wednesday hearing, may be able to claim total victory.

"They can claim a temporary victory. They can say, look, we're good to go for the next month or two on this. And they have a right to seek emergency review of that in the Supreme Court," said Coale.

The issue before the Appeals Court on Wednesday, according to Coale, will be an Interim state of affairs ruling from March 20 through the resolution of the Appeal on the Merits by the Fifth Circuit. It could all mean more legal chaos for the next several weeks.

"I'm not sure Texas is really ready to become a country, have its own immigration policy, and I'm not sure that they're really willing to go all in on something where the courts could easily go the other direction once they've heard the merits of the case, and potentially risks some big civil rights liability for wrongfully jailing people or something in the meantime," Coale said. "So, there may be a lot of things for the cameras. If the law becomes effective. I don't know how serious Texas is going to be about devoting massive resources to this until it's worked. It's way fully through the appeal process."

The ultimate ruling may hinge on the state's trespassing law. Coale considers that fight may have a better outcome for Texas when the SB 4 fight eventually goes back to the Supreme Court. That process could allow the High Court to revisit its 2021 ruling that struck down an Arizona immigration law.

The Austin Police Department issued a statement Tuesday night in response to the ongoing legal action. APD officers will not enforce SB 4 while it is on hold, and certainly not until the courts figure this out.

Those who are opposed to SB 4 describe it as a state deportation law that violates federal law.