Texas Governor Republican Greg Abbott signs anti-immigrant bill into law today, MondayIncluding SB4, which is considered one of the strictest rules in American history and gives police the authority to: detaining and deporting immigrants without due process.
With construction on the border wall between Mexico and Brownsville (Texas) in the background, Abbott today signed a package of three bills approved in extraordinary sessions of the Legislature in response to what he sees as the US “open borders” policy. United States President Joe Biden.
taken into account One of the strictest anti-immigrant laws in American historySB4 makes it a misdemeanor for a foreign national to “enter or attempt to enter the state from a foreign country” in an irregular manner. The crime becomes a serious crime and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison if the offender is a repeat offender. The law allows state justice to decide on the deportation of individuals without judicial process. Most controversially, police officers will be able to arrest any person they suspect of entering the country illegally and have the discretion to deport that person to Mexico.
“The purpose of this law is stemming the tide of illegal entry of foreigners To Texas,” the Governor said as he signed the bill, highlighting that more than eight million immigrants crossed the border during the Biden Administration, which began in January 2021.
Given the concerns of activists advocating this law encourages racial profiling Abbot warned that enforcement of this law would be “focused on borders,” among other negative consequences for immigrants residing in the state.
The measure joins other measures that Abbott has implemented under Operation Lone Star against irregular migration, which has allocated $9.5 billion since 2021 and includes the installation of a razor-wire fence and buoy barrier along the Río Grande border (Río Bravo in Mexico). Abbott also signed two other bills, including SB3, which allocates an additional $1.54 billion to fund border wall construction and security operations in the region; this includes providing funding for police departments to implement SB4. Another law signed by the governor provides for a prison sentence of at least 10 years for people found guilty of immigrant smuggling. Likewise, Abbott attacked Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, warning that the border was two-way and that his government “could stop all this.” He called López Obrador’s policy of subjecting immigrants to torture, rape and death a “reprehensible” policy.
Despite the exorbitant cost of immigration policy, the measures taken by Abbott, who has been governor since 2015, strengthen your strength He is running in the state overcoming objections from Democrats, promoting his anti-immigrant agenda nationally and challenging President Biden’s administration, which he accuses of illegal immigration for its so-called “open borders” policy.
Abbott faces possibility of new laws being enacted, especially SB4 is being challenged by the federal government or pro-immigrant groupsIt is stated that these organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), have already announced their intention to go to court. The new provisions could also lead to rejection of Texas’ approximately 12 million Hispanics, who make up the largest demographic group in the state at 40.2% of the population of nearly 30 million.