Governor Greg Abbott (R) traveled to the Rio Grande Valley earlier this week to sign into law three bills that will enhance the state's ongoing efforts to curb illegal immigration.
Art Arthur, a resident fellow in law and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), says Senate Bill 4, which makes illegally crossing into Texas from Mexico a state crime, will likely start a legal showdown with the federal government.
"This bill will allow Texas law enforcement officers to arrest any alien who would enter the United States illegally," he notes. "Texas is a big state, but with respect to that area near the border, I think it's going to make a significant difference, particularly in places where there is no Border Patrol presence."
Arthur asserts that S.B. 4 does not encroach on federal law enforcement's jurisdiction.
"This will now allow Texas state troopers and DPS officers to arrest those aliens on state charges, to hold upon state charges, and to give them the option to leave the United States voluntarily instead of being prosecuted," the attorney details. "I actually think this is a very smart move by Governor Abbott, Attorney General Paxton, and the entire Texas Legislature."
He does not see the looming federal challenge as a bad thing.
"This will provide an opportunity for the Texas state A.G. to put all of those Biden border policies on trial," Arthur says. "At issue will be Senate Bill 4, but at real issue in the minds of the public is going to be all of those things that the Biden administration has done to make this situation worse."
When the law goes into effect in March, Gov. Abbott predicts the number of people crossing illegally into Texas to drop by "well over 50%, maybe 75%."
