Within hours of a federal appeals court decision Monday allowing a new Texas law to stand that makes illegal entry into the state from a foreign nation a state crime, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito stayed the appellate court’s decision.
The order from Alito, who oversees the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, states “that the March 2, 2024 order of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit … is hereby administratively stayed until 5 p.m. (EDT) on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. It is further ordered that a response to the application be filed on or before Monday, March 11, 2024, by 5 p.m. (EDT).”
Alito's ruling prevents the law from going into effect on March 5, as originally intended, or on March 11, as the Fifth Circuit ruled unless the Supreme Court intervened.
The Supreme Court intervened in record speed in a case expected to ultimately be ruled on by the country's highest court.
Earlier Monday, the federal appeals court overturned a lower court ruling halting enforcement of the law.
Before the Supreme Court halted the appellate court decision, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said it allowed the Texas law to go into effect, which is no longer the case.
“Law enforcement officers in Texas are now authorized to arrest and jail any illegal immigrants crossing the border,” Abbott said, “unless the Supreme Court intervenes by March 9,” which it did.
The conflicting rulings come two months to the day of the Biden administration suing over a bill the legislature passed last year, which Abbott signed into law in December.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western Division of Texas Austin Division and names Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety and its director, Steven McCraw, as defendants.
On Thursday, the U.S. district judge ruled in favor of the Biden administration and issued a preliminary injunction blocking the bill from going into effect. The state quickly appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. On Monday, three appellate justices delivered an opinion for the entire court granting a temporary administrative stay to the district court’s ruling for seven days pending the appeal to the Supreme Court.
