New Texas law allows officers to arrest migrants crossing border illegally; El Paso County sues

By CP Staff, Wednesday, December 20, 2023

A Texas State Trooper gestures near a group of illegal immigrants, many from Haiti, next to the Rio Grande near the Del Rio-Acuna Port of Entry in Del Rio, Texas, on Sept. 18, 2021. - The United States said on Sept. 18 that it would ramp up deportation flights for thousands of illegal immigrants who flooded into the Texas border city of Del Rio, as authorities scramble to alleviate a burgeoning crisis under President Joe Biden's administration. The illegal immigrants who poured into the city, many of them Haitian, were being held in an area controlled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection beneath the Del Rio International Bridge, which carries traffic across the Rio Grande River into Mexico. | PAUL RATJE/AFP via Getty Images

A new Texas law signed by Gov. Gregg Abbott will permit state officers to arrest anyone suspected of illegally crossing into the United States, as federal authorities reported over 2.4 million southwestern border encounters in fiscal year 2023.

Under Senate Bill 4, which takes effect in March, anyone who makes an illegal entry or re-entry into Texas faces penalties from 180 days in jail up to 20 years in prison, according to Reuters.

The law — which some critics are calling one of the toughest immigration law in the U.S. — also requires state magistrate judges to send anyone who is illegally in Texas back to Mexico. Those who fail to comply face up to 20 years in prison.

According to the governor's office, SB 4 shields local and state government officials, employees and contractors from lawsuits stemming from the enforcement of the law.

In a statement, Abbott, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, linked the U.S. border crisis to the failure of the Biden administration to enforce federal law.

"Four years ago, the United States had the fewest illegal border crossings in decades," Abbott said. "It was because of four policies put in place by the Trump Administration that led to such a low number of illegal crossings. President Biden has eliminated all of those policies and done nothing to halt illegal immigration. President Biden's deliberate inaction has left Texas to fend for itself."

El Paso County joined immigration rights groups as plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed Tuesday against the state, alleging SB 4 is unconstitutional and "patently illegal."

Some border sheriffs reportedly expressed concern that SB 4 could overwhelm already-strained jails and court systems due to an anticipated jump in immigration arrests.

Earlier this year, ACLU Texas warned that allowing state officers to enforce immigration laws could result in "racial profiling and over-policing."

In addition to SB 4, Abbott signed legislation that commits $1.5 billion in funding for border wall construction on top of another $5 billion in state funds already appropriated for border security.

In fiscal year 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded over 2.4 million migrant encounters at the southwest border and more than 3.2 million encounters nationwide.

U.S. Border Patrol reported a spike in encounters between agents and terror watchlist suspects attempting to enter the U.S. illegally and undetected at the southern border.

In an October report, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security called fiscal year 2023 the "worst year at America's borders," adding that 169 individuals on the terrorist watchlist were apprehended while attempting to enter the U.S. illegally.

"[A]t least 1.7 million known gotaways have evaded apprehension since FY2021," the report reads.