Supreme Court extends hold on new Texas law that allows state to arrest migrants

March 18 (UPI) -- Justice Samuel Alito on Monday indefinitely extended the Supreme Court's temporary hold on a Texas law that would detain and jail migrants who illegally cross the U.S. border.

Alito extended an prior order that paused enforcement of a new Texas immigration law empowering state and local law enforcement to arrest those who illegally cross the southern border into Texas. A prior Supreme Court order halting the arrests expired moments before Alito extended it indefinitely, NBC News and CBS News reported.

The law was to take effect on March 10, but the U.S. Department of Justice challenged its legality in a case before the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The DOJ previously asked the Supreme Court to halt Texas' enforcement of the state law until the federal appellate case is decided.

The new Texas immigration law criminalizes at the state level illegal border crossings made outside of designated ports of entry. It also empowers state judges to order migrants to return to Mexico instead of prosecuting them for illegally entering the United States.