Appeals court extends block on Texas' ability to arrest illegal migrants

Late on March 27, a federal appeals court issued a ruling that extends the block on a Texas immigration law that "authorizes local law enforcement to arrest those suspected of entering the country illegally."

A three-justice panel from the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 decision to pause Senate Bill 4.

This continues a months-long saga around the law, with no apparent end in sight.

"Texas does not demonstrate why it would be entitled to vacatur of the preliminary injunction," the court wrote when announcing its decision. "Constitutional text, structure, and history provide strong evidence that federal statutes addressing matters such as noncitizen entry and removal are still supreme even when the State War Clause has been triggered."

America's southern border is a mess right now. So much so that many Americans feel it's the most important issue facing our country today.

Judge Andrew Oldham, the lone voice of dissent, at least partially agreed.

He argued that Texas "is supposed to retain at least some of its sovereignty" in the federal system.

"And its people are supposed to be able to use that sovereignty to elect representatives and send them to Austin to debate and enact laws that respond to the exigencies that Texans experience and that Texans want addressed," Oldham said in his dissent.