AUSTIN, Texas — Texas will begin authorizing state and local police to arrest migrants believed to be in the state illegally and granting state judges the power to order them to return to Mexico, under a new law signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in Brownsville on Monday.
The sweeping and controversial proposal is scheduled to take effect in early 2024 but some civil rights groups have already said they would file a lawsuit over the bill — which is likely destined to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mexican officials and congressional Democrats have criticized Abbott and said the bill, known as Senate Bill 4, would lead to discrimination against Hispanic and Latino Texans and other residents of color.
Abbott, however, has maintained the law is necessary to combat illegal immigration in Texas and again blamed President Joe Biden for failing to properly enforce immigration laws.
The law will create a new state crime — illegal entry from a foreign nation — which will allow the state to charge migrants with a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail or a $2,000 fine. The penalty could increase to a state jail felony if they have been previously convicted of the crime.
It will allow state judges to order the expulsion of migrants to the country from which they entered — presumably Mexico.
Abbott also signed on Monday a separate bill, known as Senate Bill 3, allocating $1.54 billion in funding for the state to continue building a state border wall similar to one that was built under former President Donald Trump.
Republican state leaders, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan, have all praised Senate Bill 4, referring to it as the strongest border security bill ever passed.
But Democrats and immigration attorneys — and even a Republican state senator — have called the bill unconstitutional and said it would likely be struck down since the Supreme Court has ruled that Congress and the federal government have full authority over immigration enforcement and states have a more limited role.
Dozens of former federal immigration judges — appointed by both Democratic and Republican presidents — have also criticized the measure and penned a letter last month saying the bill violates federal law.
If the law does end up getting caught up in legal proceedings, it would be the third case where Texas is attempting to defend its border security policies. The two other cases have so far not gone in Texas’ favor.
The Justice Department sued Abbott over the summer after the governor installed a 1,000-foot-long barrier of buoys in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass. A federal court and federal appeals court have both ruled against the state’s arguments.