Gov. Abbott signs controversial law allowing Texas law enforcement to arrest migrants

Hogan Gore, Austin American-Statesman
·2 min read
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Gaps in the border wall are pictured near Sasabe on Friday, October 13, 2023.
Gaps in the border wall are pictured near Sasabe on Friday, October 13, 2023.
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Gov. Greg Abbott signed a controversial bill into law Monday that allows state law enforcement officers to arrest, detain and deport individuals suspected of illegally crossing the Texas-Mexico border.

The result of a yearlong push to implement a series of border security measures, including the continuation of Operation Lone Star and a further $1.54 billion investment in border wall construction, Abbott's final endorsement of Senate Bill 4 sets up a new state crime for entering Texas other than through a legal international port of entry, effective in March.

However, the legislation from Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, which creates penalties ranging from a Class B misdemeanor to a second degree felony, along with a further second degree felony for noncompliance with a judge's removal order, has come under fire in the state Capitol and by Congressional Democrats who argue this is the state's attempt to override federal jurisdiction.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, backed by other Republican state governors, Texas National Guard leaders, and law enforcement officers, speaks at a press conference on the U.S. southern border in Mission, Texas, on Oct. 6, 2021.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, backed by other Republican state governors, Texas National Guard leaders, and law enforcement officers, speaks at a press conference on the U.S. southern border in Mission, Texas, on Oct. 6, 2021.

At the signing ceremony in Brownsville on Monday, along a segment of unfinished border wall "that is being built by Texas, paid for by Texas taxpayers for Texas doing its part to step up and trying to secure a border made wide open by Joe Biden," Abbott thanked a number of lawmakers for advancing the bill.

After Abbott's news conference, members of the Texas U.S. House Delegation and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to assert his agency's authority over immigration and foreign policy to "stop this unconstitutional and dangerous legislation from going into effect."

"This bill is set to be the most extreme anti-immigrant state bill in the United States; it is clearly preempted by federal law and when it goes into effect will likely result in racial profiling, significant due process violations, and unlawful arrests of citizens, lawful permanent residents, and others," the coalition, led by U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, wrote.

Flanked by law enforcement officials and leading Republicans in Brownsville, Abbott laid the blame for the influx of migrants to the Texas-Mexico border squarely at the feet of President Joe Biden.

"Joe Biden's deliberate inaction has decimated America," Abbott said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Gov. Abbott signs border security law allowing Texas to arrest migrants