The U.S. Supreme Court extended its temporary block on Senate Bill 4, a Texas law that makes unauthorized border crossing a state crime. SB 4 allows state law enforcement to arrest people accused of illegally entering Texas from Mexico.

The law was originally set to go into effect on March 5, but the nation’s highest court on March 12  extended a temporary stay on SB 4, blocking its enforcement, after immigrant rights advocates and the federal government sued the state. The Supreme Court had until today, March 18, to make a ruling on the case. Instead of issuing a ruling, the court just extended the temporary stay until further notice.

Immigration law falls under federal jurisdiction and is enforced by agencies under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Critics of SB 4 say the new law is an unconstitutional attempt to usurp the federal government’s authority while forcing local police to reallocate already strained resources.

But Gov. Greg Abbott and Republican lawmakers have complained the federal government is not doing an adequate job. Since taking the gubernatorial office in 2015, Abbott has removed Texas from the federal refugee resettlement program, expanded U.S.-Mexico border wall construction and commenced Operation Lone Star, which deploys National Guard members and Department of Public Safety troopers to the border.

Abbott signed SB 4 into law in December 2023 after it passed both the Republican-majority Texas House and Senate. 

In response, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas and the Texas Civil Rights Project sued Texas on behalf of two immigrant rights organizations, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso and American Gateways in Texas. The U.S. Department of Justice later filed a lawsuit against Texas and the lawsuits were combined.