‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL’

Texas Passes Bill Allowing State to Arrest and Remove Migrants

It’s one of the strictest immigration laws anywhere in the U.S.

The Texas House of Representatives on Tuesday voted in favor of a new immigration bill that will allow the state to arrest and even deport unauthorized migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border. The bill, which had already passed in the state Senate, now moves to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign it into law. The new rules would make it a state crime to cross the border from Mexico between ports of entry for those unauthorized to be in the U.S. People suspected of making such a crossing could then be arrested by both state and local law enforcement, and local judges could order such migrants removed. The bill passed in Texas despite lawmakers questioning its constitutionality, given that determining and enforcing immigration law is a matter for the federal government. Oni K. Blair, executive director at the ACLU of Texas, said the bill would give “state officials the unconstitutional ability to deport people without due process.”