Jan 2024. Blues Vol 40 No. 1

AROUND THE COUNTRY
BROWNSVILLE, TX.
Texas governor signs bill that lets police arrest migrants who
enter the US illegally.
By Valerie Gonzalez and Paul J.
Weber, Associated Press
BROWNSVILLE, TX.— Republican
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on
Monday approved sweeping new
powers that allow police to arrest
migrants who illegally cross
the U.S. border and give local
judges authority to order them
to leave the country, testing the
limits of how far a state can go
to enforce immigration laws.
Opponents have called the
measure the most dramatic attempt
by a state to police immigration
since a 2010 Arizona
law — denounced by critics as
the “Show Me Your Papers” bill
— that was largely struck down
by the U.S. Supreme Court. Immigration
enforcement is a federal
responsibility, and Texas’ law
is also likely to face swift legal
challenges.
The law, which takes effect in
March, allows any Texas law enforcement
officer to arrest people
who are suspected of entering
the country illegally. Once in
custody, they could either agree
to a Texas judge’s order to leave
the U.S. or be prosecuted on
misdemeanor charges of illegal
entry. Migrants who don’t leave
could face arrest again under
more serious felony charges.
Abbott, who signed the law
in front of a section of border
fence in Brownsville, predicted
the number of people crossing
illegally into Texas would drop
by “well over 50%, maybe 75%.”
“The consequences of it are so
extreme that the people being
smuggled by the cartels, they
will not want to be coming into
the state of Texas,” he said.
The U.S. government on Monday
temporarily shut down two
railroad border crossings in
Texas, a move that rail operators
said would hamper trade ahead
of Christmas. Troy Miller, U.S.
Customs and Border Protection’s
acting commissioner, said the
closures at Eagle Pass and El
Paso were a response to more
migrants traveling on freight
trains, particularly over the last
week.
Miller said authorities are seeing
“unprecedented” arrivals at
the border, topping 10,000 crossings
on some days this month.
Shortly after Abbott signed
the new law, the American Civil
Liberties Union of Texas said it
would challenge the measure
in court. More than 20 congressional
Democrats also signed a
letter urging the U.S. Justice Department
to sue to stop the law,
known as Senate Bill 4.
Mexico’s government also
has rebuked the measure. Under
bilateral and international
agreements, Mexico is required
to accept deportations of its own
citizens, but not those of other
countries.
44 The Blues - January ‘24