Texas Gov. Abbott Signs Bill Making Illegal Immigration a Crime in the State
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill making illegal immigration a criminal offense in the Lone Star State.
“The new law would authorize police to arrest people they suspect crossed the Rio Grande between ports of entry,” The Texas Tribune reported.
CNN noted that the soon-to-be-enacted legislation would also grant local judges “the ability to issue orders to remove [migrants] to Mexico.”
The New York Post clarified that suspects “arrested under the law will be able to choose whether to follow a judge’s orders to leave the country or be prosecuted and face either jail or a fine up to $2,000.”
“Repeat offenders will then be charged with a felony,” The Post reported.
The law is set to take effect in March.
In addition, it provides over $1.5 billion in earmarks to construction of Texas’ border wall as well as $40 million for law enforcement to protect areas where high numbers of illegal immigrants are thought to live.
“Texas is the first and only state in the history of our nation to build our own border wall,” Abbott posted to X (formerly known as Twitter) hours before he signed the bill. “I will soon sign new legislation to add even more funding for this historic project.”
According to The New York Post, the bill came as photos showed thousands of migrants in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody at Eagle Pass in the state, after illegally making their way into the country Sunday night and Monday morning.
Texas also halted two train crossings from Mexico at El Paso and Eagle Pass as of 8 a.m. Monday, on routes where thousands of migrants have been hitching rides through northern Mexico to the border.
