US Supreme Court allows Texas deportation law in blow to Biden administration
- White House disagrees after US Supreme Court lets Texas border enforcement law take effect
- Texas law allows state police to arrest and deport migrants who cross illegally into the US from Mexico
A divided US Supreme Court let Texas start arresting and deporting people who enter the country illegally, refusing to block a new law that the Biden administration says will be an unprecedented intrusion on federal power to set immigration policy.
Over three dissents, the justices on Tuesday rejected the administration’s request to keep the Texas law on hold while a legal fight goes forward at a lower court. Two pivotal justices left open the possibility the administration could renew its request in the coming weeks.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. “The court gives a green light to a law that will upend the long-standing federal-state balance of power and sow chaos,” Sotomayor wrote for herself and Jackson.
The rebuff is a blow to US President Joe Biden’s administration on an issue that has defined the 2024 presidential election campaign.
Polls show voters give Biden poor marks for his handling of the border, making immigration one of his top liabilities heading into a likely rematch with former President Donald Trump.