Supreme Court alters course, rules AGAINST Biden in border case

On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a temporary block on Texas Senate Bill 4, which aimed to authorize Lone Star State police to detain individuals suspected of unlawfully crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. This bill, passed by lawmakers and endorsed by Governor Greg Abbott in 2023, encountered legal opposition from the Biden administration. The administration contended that Texas lacked the authority to operate an independent immigration system, prompting a lawsuit against the bill.

On Tuesday, shortly after rendering the previous day’s setback against Texas, the court altered course, voting to allow the state to enforce the controversial bill. Defeated, the White House blasted the decision: “We fundamentally disagree with the supreme court’s order allowing Texas’s harmful and unconstitutional law to go into effect,” protested press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “SB4 will not only make communities in Texas less safe, it will also burden law enforcement and sow chaos and confusion at our southern border.”

While Gov. Abbott praised the ruling as a “clearly... positive development,” the case was far from decisive. As Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s concurring opinion reveals, the court did not determine whether or not the bill in question is constitutional, opting instead to quibble with the appellate court’s handling of the case.

“I think it unwise to invite emergency litigation in this Court about whether a court of appeals abused its discretion at this preliminary step—for example, by misjudging whether an administrative stay is the best way to minimize harm while the court deliberates,” she wrote. “Before this Court intervenes on the emergency docket, the Fifth Circuit should be the first mover.”

The case will now return to the Fifth Circuit Court, which Barrett suggested should issue a decision “soon.” If not, “the applicants may return to this Court,” she advised.

While the feud between Texas, along with the 25 states that signed an open letter in support of the Lone Star State, and the federal government is far from over, Tuesday’s ruling marked a clear victory for the forces of federalism — a positive step toward reasserting state and local power over Washington. To join the American people in this fight — the fight to restore freedom, self-governance, and state sovereignty over federal control — sign the Convention of States petition below.