After a few days of judicial whiplash, Texas’ SB 4 remains in limbo. Will any part of this law ever get to be enforced?

From CNN. A federal appeals court heard arguments Wednesday over whether to allow Texas to temporarily enforce its controversial law that allows state officials to arrest and detain people they suspect of entering the country illegally.

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After an hour of oral arguments, it seemed clear that the main question was whether a key swing vote on the three-judge panel at the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals could be persuaded to join her more conservative colleague in allowing some of the law to take effect – even if other parts remain blocked.

The debate over whether to “sever” part of SB 4 featured most prominently when Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham, a conservative appointee of former President Donald Trump, suggested to an attorney for the Biden administration that there are parts of the law that do not overlap with federal authority on immigration. Oldham hinted that he disagreed with a district court’s move to block the entire Texas law instead of just parts of it.

Fifth Circuit Chief Judge Priscilla Richman, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, picked up on that point later with Texas Solicitor General Aaron Nielson. She suggested that even if a federal judge was wrong to block the entire law from going into effect, the appeals court might not have to permit the state to begin enforcing every provision of the law. …

The hearing unfolded one day after the Supreme Court cleared the way for the measure to take effect, only for it then to be blocked by the 5th Circuit late Tuesday night. Wednesday’s arguments were over whether the intermediate court should block the law while it considers the larger legal challenge to it. …

The judges did not say when they will rule.

The law, SB 4, is part of the ongoing battle between Texas and the Biden administration over border policy and the flow of migrants into the United States. Immigration enforcement, generally, is a responsibility of the federal government, but the law signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in December makes entering Texas illegally a state crime and allows state judges to order immigrants to be deported.

The law was initially challenged by the Biden administration, a pair of immigration advocacy groups and El Paso County, all of which have stressed throughout the litigation that the entry and removal of migrants has long been within the federal government’s bailiwick.

For its part, Texas has argued that SB 4 “comports with federal law” and claims that “states generally enjoy wide latitude to regulate alien misconduct and prosecute crimes involving illegal entry.” …

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(Excerpt from CNN. Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America – Greg Abbott, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons)