Appeals court halts strict Texas immigration law | First Thing

SB4 law allowing state authorities to arrest people suspected of entering the US illegally has encountered a new roadblock. Plus: young people becoming less happy

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Good morning.

Hours after the supreme court ruled to allow a strict new Texas immigration law, known as SB4, to take effect, a federal appeals court issued an order that prevented the state from enforcing it.

What did the supreme court decide? The supreme court didn't address whether the law is constitutional and sent the measure to the appeals court. However, the panel did reject an emergency application from the Biden administration, which says the law is a clear violation of federal authority that would cause chaos.

In a dissent, the liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson said their rightwing colleagues had invited further chaos and crisis in immigration enforcement" by giving a green light to a law that will upend the longstanding federal-state balance of power and sow chaos".

How did the White House react to the supreme court ruling? The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said: 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."