new orleans –

A Texas law that allows the state to arrest and deport immigrants suspected of entering the United States illegally will remain on hold for now, a federal appeals court has ruled.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held a hearing on March 20 and issued a 2-1 ruling late Tuesday. It’s just the latest step in a tug-of-war legal battle over Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s strict new immigration law.

The Justice Department argued that the Texas law clearly violated federal authority and would create chaos at the border. Texas has argued that President Joe Biden’s administration is not doing enough to control the border and that the state has the authority to take action.

Judge Andrew Oldham, an appointee of former President Donald Trump and a former aide to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, dissented from the majority decision.

The Biden administration faces a high bar in seizing sovereignty from Texas and must enforce the laws its people and leaders want, Oldham wrote. When the legal challenge concluded and the merits of the case were considered, the judge predicted the same 2-1 draw.

“There are real dangers in this approach. In our federal system, Texas should retain at least some sovereignty,” Oldham wrote. “Its people should be able to use that sovereignty to elect representatives and send them to Austin to debate and enact laws that address the emergencies Texans experience and the problems Texans want addressed.”

The law took effect hours after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for it on March 19. But the High Court did not rule on the merits of the case. Instead, it sent the case back to the Fifth Circuit, which then stayed execution while it considers the latest appeal.

The latest ruling upholds the blockade.

Spokespeople for Abbott and state Attorney General Ken Paxton did not immediately return calls for comment Wednesday morning.

The law Abbott signed allows any law enforcement officer in Texas to arrest someone suspected of entering the country illegally, but the brief window while the law was in effect showed that many sheriffs were unprepared, unable or uninterested in enforcing SB4 in the first place .

The Terrell County border is more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) long, and Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland told a gathering of about 100 sheriffs at the state Capitol last week that he had no practical way to enforce it. a law.

Cleveland said he has no way to transport people, the county jail can only hold seven people and the nearest port of entry is more than 2 1/2 hours away.

Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith, president of the Texas Sheriffs Association, said the law would have little impact in jurisdictions in eastern Texas, a state further away from Louisiana and Oklahoma. It’s even closer, nearly 400 miles (644 kilometers) to Mexico.

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.

No arrests were announced in Texas in the brief period before the law took effect. Authorities have offered various explanations for how they enforce the law. Mexico said it would refuse to take back anyone ordered to cross the border by Texas.

Opponents see the law as the most high-profile attempt by states to regulate immigration since an Arizona law was partially struck down by the Supreme Court more than a decade ago. Critics also say the Texas law could lead to civil rights violations and racial profiling.

Supporters dismissed those concerns, saying officers must have probable cause for the arrest, which could include witnessing an illegal entry or being seen on video. They also said they expect the law will be used primarily in border counties, although it will apply statewide.