Alito extends pause on Texas law allowing state arrests of migrants

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Tuesday extended an order blocking a Texas law allowing state law enforcement authorities to arrest people suspected of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

Alito’s action gives the justices additional time to weigh a request by the Biden administration to freeze a judicial order allowing the Texas law, known as Senate Bill 4, to take effect while its challenge proceeds in the lower courts.

The administration has argued the law violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law by interfering with the U.S. government’s power to regulate immigration.