Its critics called it the harshest anti-immigrant law in the United States in 20 years. As of this Monday, this is a reality in Texas, the second largest state, which is 40% Hispanic. Gov. Greg Abbott signed three executive orders in Brownsville this afternoon that will tighten treatment of immigrants and allow local authorities to request papers anywhere in the state. If they do not have this, the person can be arrested and deported to Mexico. Whether a citizen of this country or not. The law, known as SB4, will take effect in March next year.
“The Joe Biden administration’s willful inaction has placed a burden on Texas to defend itself. “The authors of our Constitution foresaw a situation in which the federal government leaves states unattended when they face challenges at their borders,” Abbott said in front of the border wall between Mexico and the United States. The governor reiterates that the current state of the border “poses a risk to the national security” of the United States. As an example, he cited the fact that 24,000 Chinese citizens tried to enter here illegally last year.
Abbott says SB4 will help “stop the wave” of irregular immigrants arriving in Texas. That law, passed in November by the Republican majority in the local Congress, is part of a package of initiatives aimed at stemming the influx that has led to record numbers at the border this year. The law makes illegal border crossings a crime that can be punished by state authorities. This allows local police and judges to give the green light to deportations, something U.S. law only allows federal authorities to do. “For re-immigrants, this constitutes a felony punishable by a potential prison sentence of up to 20 years for illegal entry again,” the governor added.
The president has indicated that the law creates a mechanism that allows immigrants to be deported to the country from which they made the illegal crossing. Abbott did not mention Mexico in his speech, but it is this country with which the state shares thousands of kilometers of border. The Mexican government rejected this law. Mexico's foreign ministry issued a statement in November warning that the criminalization of immigrants “will lead to family separation, discrimination and racial profiling.” Mexico also denies the fact that the measure allows state authorities to detain and return nationals or foreigners to Mexican territory, according to the statement dated November. Texas has 10 million residents of Mexican origin.
Human rights groups have threatened to sue the Texas government to stop the law. “Senate Bill 4 supersedes federal law, promotes racial profiling and harassment, and unconstitutionally authorizes local authorities to deport people without due process, regardless of whether immigrants are seeking asylum or other humanitarian protection,” Oni said. Blair, the director of the ACLU of Texas.
Abbott issued the laws two days after Donald Trump promised at a rally the largest-ever deportation of immigrants when he returns to the White House in 2025. The former president also asserted in New Hampshire that undocumented immigrants are “poisoning the blood of the United States.” Last month, the governor accompanied Trump on a visit to the border. “We need him to return to the presidency of the United States,” the governor said. He has supported the Republican nominee on his way to the White House in 2024 because he will be able to “restore law and order at the border.” Trump, on the other hand, praised the methods Abbott uses to stop the flow of immigrants in his state. Those tactics include sending buses full of immigrants to Democratic cities or installing buoys and barbed wire in the Rio Grande.
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In order to be approved, SB4 caused days of tension in the local House of Representatives. The final yes came at four in the morning on a Thursday at the end of October. The Republican majority defeated attempts by Democratic politicians to derail Congressman David Spiller's proposal to allow the detention of anyone suspected of entering Texas illegally.
The governor also signed legislation providing $1.5 billion to local governments to strengthen border surveillance. The governor will continue construction of the immigration wall and erect additional barriers that can disrupt the flow of arriving people. Their actions are considered inhumane and have resulted in deaths in a year when the number of immigrants has increased. Their initiatives have also sparked several lawsuits in court. Earlier this month, a federal judge ordered Texas to relocate buoys that Abbott had installed in the Rio Grande. This floating wall has also led to diplomatic disputes with Mexico.
The third law increases the penalties for human traffickers. Abbott said about 317 people were arrested for human trafficking in 2017. This year more than 3,000 were produced, an increase of more than 2,000%. The law he signed increases the penalty for human trafficking to 10 years and imposes a five-year prison sentence for anyone who operates or helps operate a safe house in the state. These types of homes are used as migrant distribution centers by cartels and gangs looking to get people across borders. They wait in these illegal houses for the families of the trip participants to pay off their debts. Afterwards they are released.
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