The new law is likely to face legal challenges given that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a border security bill into law that will give state law enforcement broad authority to arrest migrants who have entered Texas illegally and will allow local judges to order such migrants out of the country.
The Dec. 18 move by the Republican governor puts into place one of the nation’s strictest immigration laws and sets up a clash with the federal government, which has authority over immigration policy. Under the new rules, all law enforcement officials in the state of Texas, including those who are hundreds of miles from the border, would have the authority to detain migrants suspected of entering the nation illegally.
Because the offense is considered a misdemeanor, the judge has the authority to order the defendant to leave the country.
“Biden’s deliberate inaction has left Texas to fend for itself,” Mr. Abbott said in a bill-signing ceremony at the border wall in Brownsville, Texas.
Separately on Dec. 18, U.S. Customs and Border Protection temporarily shut down two railroad border crossings in Texas to shift officers to help process migrants. Rail operators said the closures at Eagle Pass and El Paso would hamper trade ahead of Christmas.
Opponents of the new law argue that it could result in racial profiling or the unlawful arrest of citizens and immigrants who are legal residents. Additionally, Democrats said it would make immigrant victims of crime apprehensive about calling the police.
The new legislation doesn’t apply to residents who have been in the nation for more than two years, according to state Rep. David Spiller, one of the Republicans who sponsored the bill. In its defense, he stated it would be implemented primarily in the vicinity of the border and that it contained adequate safeguards.
Legal experts and organizations that advocate for immigrant rights have voiced their opposition to the Texas legislation, arguing that it’s in direct opposition to the jurisdiction of the U.S. government to regulate immigration.
Democrats asserted that Texas Republicans are seeking to have the newly appointed conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court reconsider a case from 2012 that invalidated significant sections of previous immigration legislation.
