By ACACIA CORONADO (Associated Press)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday blocked a new Texas law that gives police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of illegally entering the U.S., dealing a victory to the Biden administration in its feud with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott over immigration enforcement.

The preliminary injunction granted by U.S. District Judge David Ezra pauses a law that was set to take effect March 5 and came as President Joe Biden and his likely Republican challenger in November, Donald Trump, were visiting Texas’ southern border to discuss immigration. Texas officials are expected to appeal.

Opponents have called the Texas measure the most dramatic attempt by a state to police immigration since a 2010 Arizona law that opponents rebuked as a “Show Me Your Papers” bill. The U.S. Supreme Court partially struck down the Arizona law, but some Texas Republican leaders want that ruling to get a second look.

Ezra cited the Constitution’s supremacy clause and U.S. Supreme Court decisions as factors that contributed to his ruling. He said the Texas law would conflict with federal immigration law, and the nation’s foreign relations and treaty obligations.

Ezra wrote in his decision that allowing Texas to “permanently supersede federal directives” due to an invasion would “amount to nullification of federal law and authority — a notion that is antithetical to the Constitution and has been unequivocally rejected by federal courts since the Civil War.”

The lawsuit is among several legal battles between Texas and Biden’s administration over how far the state can go to try to prevent migrants from crossing the border.

The measure would allow state law enforcement officers to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally. Once in custody, they could agree to a Texas judge’s order to leave the country or face a misdemeanor charge for entering the U.S. illegally. Migrants who don’t leave after being ordered to do so could be arrested again and charged with a more serious felony.

At a Feb. 15 hearing, Ezra expressed skepticism as the state pleaded its case for what is known as Senate Bill 4. He also said he was somewhat sympathetic to the concerns expressed by Abbott and other state officials about the large number of illegal crossings.

Ezra, who was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan, said he feared the United States could become a confederation of states enforcing their own immigration laws. “That is the same thing the Civil War said you can’t do,” Ezra told the attorneys.

Civil rights groups, who also sued the state, have argued the law could lead to civil rights violations and racial profiling.

Republicans who back the law have said it would not target immigrants already living in the U.S. because of the two-year statute of limitations on the illegal entry charge and would be enforced only along the state’s border with Mexico.

Tensions have remained high between Texas and the Biden administration this year over who can patrol the border and how. Other GOP governors have expressed support for Abbott, who has said the federal government is not doing enough to enforce immigration laws.

Among other things, Texas placed a floating barrier in the Rio Grande, put razor wire along the U.S.-Mexico border and stopped Border Patrol agents from accessing a riverfront park in Eagle Pass that they previously used to process migrants.

Whatever direction the Chicago Bears go with their quarterback situation, the new infrastructure for development at the position is coming together.

Four days after hiring Shane Waldron as their offensive coordinator, the Bears added another assistant to the mix with Kerry Joseph following Waldron from Seattle to become the new quarterbacks coach on Matt Eberflus’ staff.

The Bears announced the move Friday evening.

Waldron and Joseph coached together for the last three seasons, with Joseph serving as the Seahawks assistant wide receivers coach in 2021 and assistant quarterbacks coach in 2022 and 2023. Now he will take on much bigger responsibilities inside the quarterbacks room at Halas Hall. At a pivotal time for the organization, he will be tasked with overseeing the growth of either three-year starter Justin Fields or a prospect selected in April’s draft.

Joseph was part of the offensive staff in Seattle in 2022, with Waldron and quarterbacks coach Dave Canales, when quarterback Geno Smith revived his career with a Pro Bowl season that also earned him Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year honors.

Joseph, 50, will serve as the quarterbacks coach for the American Team at the Senior Bowl next week. He replaces Andrew Janocko, whom the Bears fired along with coordinator Luke Getsy this month after the team’s passing offense ranked 27th in the NFL averaging 182.1 yards per game.

The Bears still need to hire wide receivers and running backs coaches to fill out their offensive staff. They also are interviewing defensive coordinator candidates.

Sanjay Lal, who spent the last two seasons as the Seahawks passing game coordinator and receivers coach, was in the mix for the Bears receivers coach job but decided Friday to explore other opportunities, according to a source. The Bears remain in competition to fill out their coaching staff, as eight teams entered the month in the hunt for new head coaches. Six of those vacancies have since been filled, with those teams working to fill out their staffs.

Before his time with the Seahawks, Joseph was the passing game coordinator and running backs coach at Southeastern Louisiana in 2019. He began his coaching career at McNeese State, where he was the co-offensive coordinator for three seasons and worked with the wide receivers and quarterbacks.

Joseph was also a quarterback at McNeese State but moved to safety in the NFL. He played in 56 games over four seasons with the Seahawks. He also played quarterback in the Canadian Football League and NFL Europe.

The Bears on Tuesday officially hired Waldron, who was the Seahawks offensive coordinator for three seasons after four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams.

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Yes, the Detroit Lions are in the Chicago Bears’ division. Yes, the Bears play them twice a year.

But we can’t help but root for the Lions as they make their improbable way through the NFL playoff gauntlet and are one win away from their first-ever Super Bowl appearance.

Chicagoans can relate. Lions Nation is one fan base that has seen almost nothing but failure in the nearly six decades that make up the Super Bowl era. One measly playoff win in all that time.

The Bears put their fans through a lot of disappointment on the field, verging on abject embarrassment sometimes. But we at least can (and do) continue to bask in the brutal majesty of the 1985-86 Bears. Lions fans have Barry Sanders highlights on YouTube, and that’s pretty much it.

Also, as fellow Upper Midwesterners, we ought to have each other’s backs, with the obvious exception of the Green Bay Packers, who’ve won quite enough, thank you very much.

The Lions’ success this year is sort of a football version of when the Cubs finally won it all in 2016, some 108 years after last doing so. Watching Lions fans, young and old, celebrate the two playoff victories in their own stadium reminded us a little of the multigenerational delirium that took hold when that Cubs team broke through at last.

It’s a lovely thing to see people bond over something shared, a phenomenon sports at its best promotes more often than just about anything else in this fractious age.

So have your day, Detroit! A lot of us are enjoying seeing folks in our neighboring state experience something for the first time even if they have more than a little gray in their hair.

If the Lions win it all, we will be glad for you. But that pledge is good for this season only.

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