Senate Bill 4

The controversial new law would allow Texas law enforcement officers and judges to arrest and deport people in the country illegally, powers that have traditionally belonged to the federal government.

A temporary hold on the law was set to expire Wednesday, but the high court extended the pause.

The United States Supreme Court has put on hold a federal appeals court decision that would have allowed Texas’ controversial immigration-enforcement law, Senate Bill 4, to go into effect as early as this weekend. The Supreme Court’s decision means the law is on hold until at least the middle of next week.

The law would have allowed local and state police to arrest a person who allegedly interviewed the country illegally. It was scheduled to go into effect but lawsuits filed by the U.S. Justice Department and civil and immigrant rights groups argued in court the legislation