A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday put on hold an injunction that had prevented Texas from enforcing significant elements of a state law aimed at people suspected of entering the country unlawfully. The order, issued by a 2-1 panel based in New Orleans, restores the ability of Texas officials to implement parts of the 2023 statute while the appeals process continues.
The injunction that was paused had been issued on May 14 by U.S. District Judge David Ezra in Austin. Judge Ezra concluded that the state statute improperly infringed on long-standing federal authority over immigration, naturalization and deportation. That district court ruling was the basis for the class-action lawsuit brought by civil rights advocates on behalf of thousands of individuals who could be affected by the law's provisions.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican who is campaigning for a seat in the U.S. Senate, appealed the injunction promptly after it was issued. His appeal led to the 5th Circuit's temporary order vacating the district court's block and permitting enforcement of key parts of the law while the courts consider the dispute.
The groups representing the plaintiffs - the American Civil Liberties Union, its Texas affiliate and the Texas Civil Rights Project - issued a joint statement calling the appeals court ruling disappointing and saying they "will continue to fight against this abhorrent and blatantly illegal law."
Officials in Paxton's office did not provide a response to a request for comment.
The lawsuit aimed to stop specific sections of the 2023 statute from taking effect. Earlier developments in the litigation include an April decision by the 5th Circuit that overturned a prior injunction which had been issued during the administration of President Joe Biden, an injunction that had temporarily halted enforcement of the Republican-backed measure known as SB 4.
The complex procedural history also includes a prior action that was not pursued by the subsequent administration. Republican President Donald Trump's administration had dropped a case the Biden administration brought challenging the law. Separate immigrant-rights organizations had also filed suits, but the 5th Circuit ruled in a 10-7 vote that those organizations lacked the legal standing necessary to pursue their claims.
To address the standing issue, the new lawsuit backed by the ACLU was filed on behalf of non-citizens who could fall under four principal provisions of the Texas law. Among the provisions cited in the complaint are ones that create a state crime for reentering the United States after deportation - even in situations where a person has federal authorization to return or has since obtained lawful permanent resident status - and provisions that grant magistrate judges in Texas the authority to issue deportation orders.
With the 5th Circuit's stay now in place, key parts of the law can be enforced while legal challenges remain pending, leaving the ultimate resolution of the statute's constitutionality and the scope of state power over immigration to further judicial determinations.