Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signs law allowing police to ARREST illegals

 Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a bill that allows law enforcement officers in the Lone Star State to apprehend illegal aliens entering the country unlawfully.

Abbott signed the new bill on Dec. 18, the same day as U.S. Customs and Border Protection temporarily shut down railroad border crossings in Texas. The closure sought to shift officers from field duty to assist in migrant processing. But, according to rail operators, the closures at Eagle Pass and El Paso would hamper trade ahead of Christmas.

Under the new law, any Texas law enforcement officer can arrest people 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 charges of illegal entry, a misdemeanor. Migrants who refuse to comply could be arrested again, this time under more serious felony charges.

According to POLITICO, "immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility." But the Biden administration appears to be shirking from its duty, instead turning a blind eye to the ongoing migrant crisis. Thus, Texas has assumed this duty – busing more than 65,000 migrants to so-called "sanctuary cities" across the U.S. and installing razor wire along the banks of the Rio Grande. 

"Opponents have called the measure the most dramatic attempt by a state to police immigration since a 2010 Arizona law … that was largely struck down by the Supreme Court," the outlet added. "Texas' law is also likely to face swift legal challenges."

State Rep. David Spiller, a Republican, pushed back against concerns that the law would be used as a dragnet to arrest immigrants across the state during debates at the Texas House of Representatives. "This is not 'Round up everyone who is here illegally and ship them back to Mexico,'" he said.

Spiller also clarified that the new law's enforcement would mostly take place in border counties. He also shot down efforts by Democrats to narrow down the law's scope, including a proposed carve-out for police on college campuses.

New law widely criticized

However, the new law signed by Abbott received much criticism. Legal experts dubbed the law a violation of the government's purview over immigration enforcement. A group of 30 former U.S. immigration judges who served under both Republican and Democratic administrations signed a letter denouncing the law as unconstitutional.

Priscilla Olivarez, an attorney and strategist for the San Antonio-based Immigrant Legal Resource Center, denounced the law as "sanctioned racial profiling." She continued: "All Texans must stand up and demand this measure, which will no doubt cause massive family separations, be struck down."

Under the newly signed Texas law, migrants ordered to leave would be sent to ports of entry along the border with Mexico even if they aren't Mexican citizens. However, Mexico is required to accept deportations of its own citizens under bilateral and international agreements – but not other nationals.

"The Mexican government categorically rejects any measure that would allow local or state authorities to detain or deport Mexicans or other nationalities to Mexican soil," the Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs wrote in a statement.