WEBVTT

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A US Appeals Court panel on Wednesday seemed split over

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a Texas law that would empower state authorities to arrest

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and prosecute migrants and asylum seekers suspected of illegally crossing

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the US Mexico border. The hearing before a panel

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of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans

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is the latest in a whipsaw of judicial decision about

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the contentious law. It comes a day after the

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US. Supreme Court ruled the law could go into

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effect while challenges made their way through the appeals process

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. But just hours later, the three judge appeals

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panel scheduled an emergency hearing and reversed its own earlier

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ruling, resulting in the state law again, being

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blocked from taking effect. SB four would make a

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state crime to illegally enter or re enter Texas from

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a foreign country and would allow state judges to order

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that violators leave the United States with prison sentences up

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to 20 years for those who refuse to comply.

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The Biden administration has sued to block the law arguing

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the federal government has sold jurisdiction over immigration and enforcement

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. The two judges who spoke during Wednesday's hour long

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arguments split sharply over whether SB four improperly interferes with

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federal powers. The dispute over the Texas law is

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one in a series of legal battles between Republican state

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officials and the Biden administration over Texas's ability to police

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its border with Mexico. It remains to be seen

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if the appeals court panel will allow SB four to

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take effect pending the outcome of a challenge by the

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administration of Democratic President Joe Biden and civil rights groups

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