Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a bill Monday evening making illegal immigration a state crime. The law gives local law enforcement the power to arrest anyone illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Illegal entry into Texas will be subject to removal or imprisonment ranging from 180 days to 20 years depending on aggravating circumstances, such as human smuggling or running a stash house.
“Biden’s deliberate inaction has left Texas to fend for itself,” Abbott said at yesterday’s signing ceremony in Brownsville.
The law goes into effect in March, leading to a likely showdown with the feds over immigration enforcement, as The Texas Tribune noted:
Immigrant rights organizations, Democrats and former immigration judges said the SB 4 that makes illegally crossing the border a state crime is unconstitutional because immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility.
Federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have ruled that immigration laws can only be enforced by the federal government. But some Texas Republicans have said they hope the new law will push the issue back before a U.S. Supreme Court that is more conservative since three appointees of former President Donald Trump joined it.
The law would make it a state crime to cross the Texas-Mexico border between ports of entry. The new crime is a Class B misdemeanor carrying a punishment of up to six months in jail. Repeat offenders could face a second-degree felony with a punishment of two to 20 years in prison.
The law allows a judge to drop the charges if a migrant agrees to return to Mexico.
The former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement discussed Abbott’s decision on Tuesday’s edition of “Mornings with Maria.”
Abbott also signed a bill during his trip to the border earmarking more than $1.5 billion for Texas’ own border wall.
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