Judge blocks Texas law giving police power to arrest suspected illegal immigrants

Texas police will not have the power to arrest suspected illegal immigrants after a federal judge stopped a new law from going into effect in an order Thursday, the same day that President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are set to visit the southern border.

U.S. District Judge David Ezra temporarily stopped a law from going into effect on March 5, stating that the legislation would allow Texas to "permanently supersede federal directives," which would "amount to nullification of federal law and authority — a notion that is antithetical to the Constitution and has been unequivocally rejected by federal courts since the Civil War," The Associated Press reported. 

The legislation would allow state law enforcement officers to arrest people suspected of illegally entering the United States.

It is one of multiple legal battles between Texas and the Biden administration over border enforcement amid record-breaking levels of illegal immigration. 

Meanwhile, illegal immigration is set to be a top issue in the 2024 election, with both Biden and Trump scheduled to visit different spots at Texas' border with Mexico on Thursday.

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