McAllen, Texas —

A law that would have allowed Texas law enforcement to arrest immigrants suspected of entering the United States illegally has been put on hold again.

Just hours after the Supreme Court allowed a strict new immigration law to take effect, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late Tuesday issued an order blocking its enforcement.

The Justice Department is challenging the law, saying Texas exceeds the federal government’s immigration powers. Texas has argued it has the authority to take action against what the governor calls an “invasion” of migrants at the border.

Here’s what you need to know:

Who can be arrested?

The law would allow any law enforcement officer in Texas to arrest someone suspected of entering the country illegally. Once detained, immigrants either agree to a Texas judge’s order to leave the U.S. or are prosecuted on misdemeanor charges of illegal entry. Immigrants who don’t leave risk being rearrested on more serious felony charges.

Police must have probable cause to arrest, which may include witnessing an illegal entry or seeing an illegal entry on video.

The law cannot target people legally living in the United States, including those granted asylum or in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Critics, including Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, worry the law could lead to racial profiling and family separations.

A day after Gov. Greg Abbott signed the law, the American Civil Liberties Union’s affiliate in Texas and some neighboring states issued a travel advisory. The advisory warns that civil and constitutional rights may be at risk while traveling through Texas.

Abbott dismissed concerns about profiling. As he signed the bill, he said soldiers and National Guard members at the border could see immigrants crossing illegally “with their own eyes.”

Where will the law be enforced?

The law can be enforced in any of Texas’ 254 counties, including those hundreds of miles from the border.

But Republican state Rep. David Spiller, the author of the law, said he expected most arrests to occur within 80 kilometers of the U.S.-Mexico border. The Texas police chief expressed similar expectations.

Some places are off limits. Arrests may not be made in public and private schools, places of worship, hospitals, and other health care facilities, including those conducting forensic sexual assault examinations.

It’s unclear where migrants ordered to leave might go. The law states that even if they are not Mexican citizens, they will be sent to a port of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border. However, the Mexican government said on Tuesday that it would not accept any migrants from Texas back into its territory.

Does the law conform to the constitution?

The Supreme Court’s ruling did not address the constitutionality of the law.
The Justice Department, legal experts and immigrant rights groups said it was a clear conflict with the U.S. government’s authority to regulate immigration.

U.S. District Judge David Ezra, an appointee of former President Ronald Reagan, agreed in a 114-page order. He added that the law could hamper U.S. foreign relations and treaty obligations.

Opponents say the measure is the most high-profile attempt by states to regulate immigration since a 2010 Arizona law, decried by critics as the “show your papers” bill, that was largely banned by the nation’s top The court rejected it. Ezra cited the Supreme Court’s 2012 Arizona ruling in his decision.

Texas argued that the law mirrored federal law, not conflicted with it.

What’s happening at the border?

The number of people apprehended illegally crossing the southern border in January fell by half from a record high in December. Border Patrol officials attribute the shift to seasonal declines and increased enforcement by the U.S. and its allies. The federal government has not yet released data for February.

Texas began a more limited operation in 2021 charging thousands of immigrants with trespassing on private property.

Tensions remain between Texas and the Biden administration. In the Texas border city of Eagle Pass, National Guard members blocked Border Patrol agents from entering Riverside Park.

Other Republican governors also expressed support for Abbott, who said the federal government is not doing enough to enforce immigration laws. Other measures implemented by Texas include floating barriers in the Rio Grande and razor wire along the border.