Texas Immigration Law Heads Back to Appeals Court: A Showdown Over State vs. Federal Power

This legal battle over Texas's SB 4, a law allowing state police to arrest and judges to deport individuals suspected of illegal border crossing, has reached a critical stage at the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court's en banc rehearing comes amidst a sharp drop in border crossings and the Trump administration's decision to drop the federal government's challenge, forcing the court to weigh complex issues of states' rights, federal supremacy, and the legal concept of "standing." The outcome could reshape immigration enforcement across the nation, determining the extent of state involvement in what has traditionally been a federal responsibility.