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Page Number: 5

2 

UNITED STATES v. TEXAS 

Opinion of the Court 

I 
In  2021,  Secretary  of  Homeland  Security  Mayorkas
promulgated new “Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil 
Immigration  Law.”  The  Guidelines  prioritize  the  arrest 
and removal from the United States of noncitizens who are 
suspected  terrorists  or  dangerous  criminals,  or  who  have
unlawfully entered the country only recently, for example.

Texas and Louisiana sued the Department of Homeland 
Security,  as  well  as  other  federal  officials  and  agencies. 
According  to  those  States,  the  Guidelines  contravene  two 
federal  statutes  that  purportedly  require  the  Department 
to arrest more criminal noncitizens pending their removal. 
First, the States contend that for certain noncitizens, such 
as  those  who  are  removable  due  to  a  state  criminal 
conviction,  §1226(c)  of  Title  8  says  that  the  Department 
“shall” arrest those noncitizens and take them into custody
when  they  are  released  from  state  prison.    Second, 
§1231(a)(2),  as  the  States  see  it,  provides  that  the
Department  “shall”  arrest  and  detain  certain  noncitizens
for 90 days after entry of a final order of removal. 

In  the  States’  view,  the  Department’s  failure  to  comply
with those statutory mandates imposes costs on the States. 
The States assert, for example, that they must continue to 
incarcerate or supply social services such as healthcare and
education to noncitizens who should be (but are not being) 
arrested by the Federal Government.

The  U. S.  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of 
Texas found that the States would incur costs as a result of 
the  Department’s  Guidelines.    Based  on  those  costs,  the 
District  Court  determined  that  the  States  have  standing.
On the merits, the District Court ruled that the Guidelines 
are unlawful, and vacated the Guidelines.  606 F. Supp. 3d 
437, 502 (SD Tex. 2022); see 5 U. S. C. §706(2).  The U. S. 
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit declined to stay the 
District Court’s judgment.  40 F. 4th 205 (2022).  This Court 
granted certiorari before judgment.  597 U. S. ___ (2022).