The US Supreme Court indefinitely extends the temporary blockade of Texas' controversial immigration law

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday indefinitely extended a temporary blockade of Texas' controversial immigration law, which allowed law enforcement to arrest migrants arriving from Mexico. Justice Samuel Alito, who issued the administrative suspension at the beginning of the month to block the law scheduled for March 10, extended the suspension while the court evaluates the emergency request filed by the Joe Biden administration to block the law. For a longer period. This new temporary suspension continues until a “new order” is issued by Alito or the full court, without including an expiration date, whereas in previous cases it expired automatically on a date determined by the judge in advance. The Justice Department had filed an emergency request asking the Supreme Court to intervene, and Attorney General Elizabeth Prelogar said the law would change “the status quo that has existed between the United States and the states in the context of immigration for the past 150 years.” . The law enacted by Abbott in December 2023, known as SB4, makes crossing into the state illegally punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. Reentry is classified as a serious crime punishable by between two and 20 years in prison, depending on the immigrant's background. This measure is an initiative by Texas to challenge Biden on immigration matters, as the Republican governor has previously transported tens of thousands of immigrants by buses to cities governed by Democrats, such as Chicago or New York. He also built a barrier of giant buoys in the Rio Grande River, installed to try to prevent migrants from crossing.