The Supreme Court says Texas can arrest illegal immigrants.

 

A suspect being arrested in Texas. BBC/Getty.

The Supreme Court says a Texas law that allows for the arrest and even deportation of illegal immigrants, can go into effect. BBC. The laws, SB4, allows police to stop and arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally, with penalties including fines, misdemeanors and felonies, with previously deported people being eligible for as much as 20 years in prison. The law was appealed as previous court rulings have said that only the federal government can enforce immigration laws. The case will go back to the 5th circuit for another ruling and both sides of the debate would be able to appeal the results to the Supreme Court again. 

My Comment:

Pretty major news on the immigration front and not the only major story today (a Judge also ruled, controversially, that illegals have gun rights as well). This is a huge victory for opponents of illegal immigration and a loss for the Biden administration. 

The problem is that SB4 might not be long for the world anyways. The 5th circuit court could indeed rule that only the federal government can enforce immigration law. The Supreme Court would probably reverse that, but in the meantime the law might go back to being unenforceable. My guess is that is what will happen and the entire process will likely take months, maybe years. 

In the end SB4 will probably be the law in the State of Texas. I don't think the argument that only the federal government can enforce immigration laws holds water. I understand it could affect foreign policy, but at this point, who cares? Immigration is a crisis and unless the constitution specifically says that states can't do this, it should be assumed that they can. 

Will the law help things? Yes, but it will be a band-aid on a bullet wound. I am guessing Texas will have some of the same problems the federal government has. In order to be deported on SB4 grounds, a judge has to sign off. Does Texas has anywhere near the number of judges to do so? I doubt it. And imprisoning these folks doesn't really fix the problem, it only transfers it to the already overwhelmed prison system. Any help is better than no help at all, and at least some people will be deported in the time it goes into effect. 

The other problem is mostly logistical. How Texas is going to deport people is an open question. Mexico has already said that they won't take these folks back. And though some of these countries might take them back, a lot of them are from Venezuela, which won't. Can Texas solve these problems? I am not sure, but I know they will try. 

Either way, even though this is a major victory for Texas and anyone who wants immigration, it's still frustrating that this came up in the first place. If the federal government was deporting these people it would be a moot point. But the Biden administration won't do a thing about the millions of people in the country illegally.