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A federal appeals court has upheld a block on a Texas law targeting individuals suspected of illegal entry into the country.

The decision was made by a 2-1 vote from a 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel, keeping Senate Bill 4 from being enforced. This legislation has been the subject of ongoing legal challenges, reaching the Supreme Court before being temporarily stopped by the appeals court.

The court stated, “Texas does not demonstrate why it would be entitled to vacatur of the preliminary injunction. Constitutional text, structure, and history provide strong evidence that federal statutes addressing matters such as noncitizen entry and removal are still supreme.”

Judge Andrew Oldham, in dissent, supported Texas’ position: “Texas is supposed to retain at least some of its sovereignty… And its people are supposed to be able to use that sovereignty to elect representatives and send them to Austin to debate and enact laws that respond to the exigencies that Texans experience.”

What does Senate Bill 4 do?
Senate Bill 4, specifically, sets penalties for entering Texas outside of designated ports of entry, proposing jail terms of up to six months, and for repeated offenses, up to 20 years.

The Biden administration has argued against the law, calling it an “unprecedented intrusion into federal immigration enforcement.” Texas, in return, has argued that the Biden Administration has “failed its duty” to secure the southern border, resulting in Texas exercising its rights.