Gov. Abbott replies, ‘It is Congress, not the President, that has the Constitutional power to regulate immigration.’
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against Texas over a new state law aimed at increasing security at the southern border by granting police broader powers to arrest, prosecute, and deport immigrants who illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
The DOJ filed the lawsuit against Senate Bill 4 (SB 4) in an Austin federal court on Jan. 3 on behalf of the United States federal government, including the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of State.
It lists Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw as defendants.
Plaintiffs argue SB 4 is preempted by federal law and thus violates the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution and the Foreign Commerce Clause.
The legislation at the center of the lawsuit was introduced by Republican state Sen. Charles Perry and sponsored in the House by Republican state Rep. David Spiller in November.
It was passed by the Republican-controlled Texas legislature that same month and signed into law by Mr. Abbott in December.
The measure makes it a state misdemeanor to illegally cross or attempt to cross into Texas from Mexico at any location other than a lawful port of entry.
It also allows state and local law enforcement officials to arrest suspected illegal immigrants, take their fingerprints, and conduct a background check.
According to the legislation, judges would be granted the option to order some illegal immigrants to return to the country from which they illegally entered the United States, in lieu of prosecution, but only after all identifying information is obtained and cross-referenced with local, state, and federal criminal databases.
However, the misdemeanor charge would be raised to a felony charge if the illegal immigrant has previously been convicted of two or more misdemeanors involving drugs, crimes against a person, or both or if the individual refuses to comply with the judge’s order to return to leave the United States.
