Republican President Donald Trump's administration dropped the federal government's case, but Texas's law known as SB4 had continued to be challenged by, among others, the immigrant rights group Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, which argued federal law preempted the state's.

An appellate panel grilled lawyers about why courts should be able to “second-guess” the president’s deportations in defending the country amid armed conflicts.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling means that Senate Bill 4, which allows local police to arrest suspected undocumented immigrants, continues to be blocked.