A federal appeals court is hearing arguments Wednesday over whether to allow Texas to temporarily enforce its controversial law that allows state officials to arrest and detain people they suspect of entering the country illegally.

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.

Tensions remain high between state and federal officials, with Texas this week blocking the US Border Patrol from accessing miles of the US-Mexico line and its Republican governor saying his state is doing everything short of shooting new arrivals to stem the migration flow.

The migrant surge overwhelming US-Mexico border authorities is being driven by pseudo-legitimate travel agencies and organized transportation networks that are advertising travel to the US southern border and ultimately connecting migrants to smugglers, according to a US Customs and Border Protection official.

The Defense Department is ramping up resources at the US-Mexico border as officials describe a surge in border crossings.

The barrier has drawn protests from the the U.S. and Mexican governments. 

Detention facilities along the US-Mexico border have surpassed capacity as a growing number of migrants cross into the United States leading up to the May 11 expiration of a Covid-era border restriction known as Title 42, according to a Department of Homeland Security official.

It is one of several options administration officials are mulling as they prepare for the end of Title 42, the public health order that allows border agents to immediately turn away certain migrants who crossed the southern border illegally.

On her first foreign trip since taking office, the vice president announced task forces to address the corruption and human trafficking viewed as potential drivers of migration.

Any detainees the U.S. believes should remain in custody will be transferred elsewhere, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in announcing the move, which had been sought by immigrant advocates.