Texas Border Law Clears Hurdle, Critics Worry

0:00It's April 27. This is Canada News Today, local news powered by AI. A federal appeals court just cleared the way for Texas' 2023 law-letting state cops arrest folks, suspected of crossing the border. Illegally. That Senate bill 4, which makes it a state misdemeanor and orders judges to send those folks back to Mexico instead of prosecuting. The fifth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a block that had kept its sideline for years. The court ruled 10-7 that the challengers like immigrant aid groups in El Paso County don't have standing to sue. They didn't touch the big legal questions about whether states can handle immigration, which has always been federal turf. Texas pushed the law amid a surge in crossings they called an invasion, though numbers have dropped since. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called it a huge win for safety and law in order on social media. Critics from rights groups say the court dodged the real issues, worrying it'll lead to profiling and fear in places like El Paso.

1:01The Biden team challenged it as unconstitutional, but that got dropped under Trump. One judge in a side-opinion backed Texas, saying states can defend against what he sees as weaponized migration. Groups like Las Americas plan to keep fighting in court. This ruling ramps up the border battle, with Texas ready to enforce and lawsuits, likely heating up ahead.