HOUSTON – Texas’ legal chess match with the federal government continues after an appeals court put the state’s controversial immigration law, Senate Bill 4, back on hold.
State lawmakers initially approved SB 4, which allows law enforcement to arrest people for illegally crossing the Mexico border. However, it became a hot-button issue because the new law would make it a state crime to cross the Texas-Mexico border between ports of entry.
For example, if a police officer believes they have evidence a person illegally crossed the Rio Grande, that person could be charged with a Class B misdemeanor, which carries a punishment of up to six months in jail. For subsequent offenses, the person could be charged with a second-degree felony and face up to 20 years in prison.
The new law was expected to go into effect in early March, but legal challenges from the U.S. Justice Department and immigration advocacy organizations have repeatedly prevented the law from going into effect as litigation makes its way through federal courts.
And late Tuesday night, just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the law to go into effect, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit filed an appeal, blocking SB 4 once again.
Read the full ruling from the appeals court below: