Hundreds of Department of Public Safety troopers along the border and thousands of police officers across the state will soon have the power to arrest, detain, and help deport people they believe crossed into the state against the law.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed Senate Bill 4 Monday at an event along the border wall near Brownsville. He also signed a bill putting $1.5 billion more state tax dollars towards border efforts and a bill increasing the penalties for those caught human smuggling or operating a stash house.
But the most controversial item was the new power given to law enforcement. It led to a heated confrontation and all-night debate in the state legislature when Republicans approved it over the outnumbered Democrats. The law takes effect in the spring.
Under the Constitution, most immigration issues fall under federal law, with little left to the states. Around a decade ago, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down an Arizona law giving officers the power to enforce immigration law. Abbott told the crowd Monday he hoped the court expanded a dissent made by the late Justice Antonin Scalia and allowed the law.
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"We think that Texas already has a constitutional to do this but we also welcome a Supreme Court decision that would overturn the precedent set in the Arizona case," said Abbott.
When the bill was being debated, the authors of the item argued that a critical difference would make this law constitutional. The Arizona law gave locals the power to police immigration status, which was ruled unconstitutional. This law makes it a crime to cross the border physically. Republican leaders hope that distinction makes a difference in the Supreme Court.
Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, told NBC 5 Monday his group was filing a lawsuit to defeat this law like they did the Arizona law.
"It doesn’t solve the problem. You want to solve the problem? Easy. Make it a felony to hire an undocumented immigrant and put (the person who hires) that nanny in Highland Park or that CEO of the Fortune 500 company that has them in construction, or agriculture, or meatpacking, put them in jail," said Garcia.
Abbott delivered his announcement with a section of the unfinished border wall with Mexico as his backdrop. In the past few years, a historic number of people have traveled to Texas, fleeing poverty, violence, or simply a better life. Many of them have been caught trying to cross the border illegally, but many have also made it into the country.
Abbott's Operation Lone Star has bussed tens of thousands of migrants North to large cities, sparking calls for action on a national level from city leaders in Chicago and New York. Abbott argued Monday that the Biden Administration needs to dedicate more resources to the border.
“The FBI director warned the border poses a threat to national security, and the United Nations declared the border between the United States and Mexico is the deadliest land crossing in the entire world," said Abbott.
President Joe Biden and his team argue the governor is politicizing a humanitarian crisis.
Senate Bill 4 also gives more power to local police. Critics of the law fear it will give license to overzealous police officers to racial profile. Many North Texas police chiefs and department spokespeople did not comment when asked by NBC 5 however the Arlington Police Department issued a statement saying they believed federal agencies were better equipped to handle immigration than local police departments.
"Immigration remains a federal issue and we believe our federal partners continue to be best equipped and trained to handle it. The Arlington Police Department is focused on reducing crime, disrupting gun violence, and promoting traffic safety in our city while engaging with community members and forging lasting relationships with them," the department said.
Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn spoke with NBC 5's Lone Star Politics earlier this year about the law. He argued that since his deputies are so far from the border, his staff rarely uses this new power.
“This will really only affect the peace officers on the border. They have to see the crossing. They have to see the illegal entry before they make any arrests. I think the impact will actually be zero here actually," said Waybourn.
State Rep. Victoria Neave Criado (D-Dallas), chair of the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus, asked the Biden administration for help stopping the law.
"We urge the U.S. Department of Justice to use every resource at their disposal to stop Gov. Abbott in his tracks before SB 4 goes into effect, causing mass arrests and family separations," wrote Neave Criado in an email.
On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union, its Texas branch, and the Texas Civil Rights Project filed a lawsuit on behalf of El Paso County and two immigrant aid groups claiming that the new law is unconstitutional and preempted by federal law.
