Is Paxton Testing Legal Boundaries On Immigration Policies?

Attorney General Ken Paxton, aka the chief antagonist on immigration, is pushing to overturn a key U.S. Supreme Court decision that restricts states from enforcing federal immigration law.

The precedent established in the 2012 ruling, known as Arizona v. United States, has been among the biggest obstacles for Texas Republicans. Limiting the scope of their state-sponsored border crackdown and serving as a legal justification behind the attempt to dismiss the charges of hundreds of migrants who have been arrested under Gov. Greg Abbott’s “catch-and-jail” program.

According to The Houston Chronicle, the Arizona ruling blocked the Texas governor’s order for state troopers to pull over drivers who they suspect of transporting migrants.

Paxton has said for months that he was looking for a legal path to challenge the 2012 ruling, not so Texas can enact its own immigration policies, but rather to regain the authority “to enforce federal immigration laws as a backstop to the federal government failing or refusing to do their job.”

“Arizona v. United States needlessly limits what Texas can do to pick up the slack, and it absolutely should be overturned,” Paxton said in a statement.

When answering the question: Why now? Paxton has made it clear that he feels encouraged to bring the case back before the Supreme Court in part because of its bolstered conservative wing that Former President Donald Trump instated during his term.

It’s not a new trend for Conservatives, who have been pushing state leaders into testing the legal boundaries of state immigration powers since Biden’s administration has taken over.

They argue such an approach is needed to counter an array of Biden Administration policies that are viewed as permissive toward asylum-seeking migrants and drug cartels.