The ruling halts implementation of a law that would allow police officers to arrest and expel migrants, a victory for the federal government in its clash with Texas over immigration powers.
A federal court in Austin on Thursday blocked a Texas law that would allow state and local police officers to arrest migrants who cross from Mexico without authorization, siding with the federal government in a legal showdown over immigration enforcement.
The ruling, by Judge David A. Ezra of the Western District of Texas, was a victory for the Biden administration, which had argued that the new state law violated federal statutes and the U.S. Constitution.
The Texas law had been set to go into effect on March 5; it will now be put on hold while a federal lawsuit to overturn the law moves forward. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals could step in and issue a stay, suspending Judge Ezra’s injunction and allowing the law to go into effect while it considers the appeal by Texas.