Texas police will have the authority to stop, arrest, and detain migrants under new charges of state-level illegal entry. It also allows state judges to issue de facto deportation orders against alleged lawbreakers.

State authorities will have the power to detain and request the deportation of immigrants suspected of illegally crossing the Mexico-US border, after Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed one of the toughest state immigration laws in the United States on Monday.

Known as SB4, the law grants Texas police the authority to stop, arrest, and incarcerate migrants under new state-level charges of illegal entry. It also allows state judges to issue de facto deportation orders against alleged lawbreakers, although it is unclear how this provision might be enforced. The state government does not have the authority or infrastructure to carry out deportations.

The law passed by the Texas legislature earlier this year, SB4, is an attempt by the Texas government to have a say in immigration and border law enforcement, which are the responsibility of federal authorities.

“The law provides a mechanism for ordering an ‘illegal’ immigrant to return to the foreign nation from which they entered Texas,” Abbott emphasized during the signing of the laws, where he was joined by politicians, sheriffs, and around twenty state National Guard members.

It is considered that the approval of this law could trigger a legal and political confrontation with civil rights advocacy groups and even with the Biden administration.

It is worth noting that the law will go into effect in March 2024, although it is at risk of being overturned as lawsuits against the law are expected to be filed.

Legal challenge against SB4 law in Texas

Despite the fact that the bill will not take effect until March of next year, the National Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced that it will proactively file a lawsuit against the law, as it believes that it violates the rights of asylum seekers not only through U.S. laws but also through international laws.

“Our goal is to file the lawsuit well in advance of the law’s effective date in March 2024 so that we can present our argument to the court and ensure it is heard in time to prevent this law from taking effect and resulting in the arrest of an individual,” said David Donatti, ACLU lawyer.

Texas police empowered to deport migrants

The SB4 law, approved by the Texas Senate and House of Representatives, also authorizes state police in the Republican-governed state to summarily deport alleged migrants without complying with constitutional due process requirements. Texas law enforcement agencies hope that the law will facilitate the fight against Mexican cartels.

On the other hand, experts in international law believe that the Texan legislation could lead to a legal dispute with the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, given that officials from that state could send thousands of people to Mexican territory regardless of their immigration status or nationality.

At the same time, Abbott signed SB3, which allocates $1.54 billion to complete Donald Trump’s wall on the border between Texas and Mexico, as well as to build additional vehicular and pedestrian barriers.

Greg Abbott said that he has built 16 miles of walls and steel bollard barriers since taking office, and that another 33 miles are under construction.

With information from Telediario, Baja News, El País