Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) signed a bill into law that allows state law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants.
“Four years ago, the United States had the fewest illegal border crossings in decades,” Abbott said in a press release. “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. Today, I will sign three laws to better protect Texas—and America—from President Biden’s border neglect. These laws will help stop the tidal wave of illegal entry into Texas, add additional funding to build more border wall, and crackdown on human smuggling.”
The bill was signed alongside two other security measures.
Under the new law, illegal immigrants may be expelled from the United States due to misdemeanor penalties.
In early December, a federal appeals court ordered the state of Texas to remove buoys that were installed in the Rio Grande River in an attempt to deter illegal border crossers.
In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Lone Star State’s request to overrule a federal district judge, who ordered the removal of the barriers in September.
Biden appointee Judge Dana Douglas wrote in the panel’s opinion that the district judge had appropriately “considered the threat to navigation and federal government operations on the Rio Grande, as well as the potential threat to human life the floating barrier created.”
