Sign up for The Brief, the Texas Tribune's daily newsletter that provides readers with the most important Texas news.
Last month, the Texas Legislature approved Senate Bill 4, an immigration bill that allows Texas police to arrest people who cross the border illegally from Mexico.
SB4, which Gov. Greg Abbott has said he will sign into law, has sparked intense debate, with opponents saying it will lead to racial profiling by police and supporters saying the federal government isn't doing enough. The state of Texas says it needs to intervene. deter illegal immigration;
Once Mr. Abbott signs the bill, it is expected to go into effect in early March.
Mr. Abbott has taken a series of steps since March 2021, including sending police and National Guard troops to the 1,200-mile Texas-Mexico border to apprehend migrants crossing the Rio Grande.
Federal agents encountered nearly 2.5 million migrants at the southern border in fiscal year 2023, which ended in September, breaking the record set in 2022, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. These encounters included migrants heading to ports of entry to apply for asylum.
Federal law already makes it illegal to enter the United States without permission. Because there are no state laws against illegal crossings, state police charge immigrants with trespassing when they cross the Rio Grande onto private property.
Here's what you need to know about the proposed new state law.
What is Senate Bill 4?
The bill would make it a national crime to cross the Texas-Mexico border between ports of entry. If a police officer has probable cause to believe a person crossed the Rio Grande, that person could be charged with a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in prison. If the person has previously been convicted of illegally entering Texas under SB 4, the charge can be upgraded to a second-degree felony, punishable by two to 20 years in prison. .
The bill would allow a judge to dismiss the charges if the immigrant agrees to return to Mexico.
If the immigrant is convicted and serves his or her sentence, a judge must order police to transport the immigrant to a port of entry, and he or she could be charged with a felony for refusing to return to Mexico. .
SB 4 prohibits police from arresting immigrants at public or private schools. churches and other places of worship; Medical facility; A facility that provides forensic examinations to sexual assault victims. The bill does not prohibit arrests on college or university campuses.
Instead of arresting children, police would be allowed to hand over immigrant families to Border Patrol agents to avoid separating them from their parents, according to a state House report published on SB 4.
Can Texas enforce immigration laws?
Federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have ruled that immigration laws can only be enforced by the federal government.
In a landmark 2012 case, Arizona v. United States , the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that local police do not have the authority to arrest people based solely on their immigration status. That responsibility lies with the federal government. The case stems from a 2010 Arizona law, known as Senate Bill 1070, that makes it a state crime for legal immigrants to not carry immigration documents and requires police officers to investigate the immigration status of anyone who comes into contact with them. Ta.
State Rep. David Spiller (R-Jacksboro), a sponsor of SB4 in the Texas House, said he believes the proposal is constitutional because it simply follows federal immigration law. He said the purpose of the bill is not to trigger a new Supreme Court precedent that would overturn the 2012 ruling.
“People asked me, 'Are you trying to overturn the Arizona vs. USA game?' My answer is no,” Spiller said.
But other Texas Republicans say they hope the legislation will lead to a showdown at the Supreme Court.
A lawyer for the Texas attorney general's office, who has repeatedly sued the Biden administration over immigration policy, told lawmakers last year that “the makeup of the Supreme Court has changed and we welcome any legislation that would trigger a court challenge.” Ta. ”
“I ask everyone to consider legislation that would allow us to contest this issue. [2012 Supreme Court] We have re-sentenced him,” said Texas Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster.
Will SB 4 allow police to arrest illegal immigrants in Texas?
Spiller said the law targets people who have recently crossed the border, not undocumented immigrants who have lived in Texas for years.
Texas' statute of limitations for misdemeanors is two years, and most felonies are three years, so undocumented immigrants who have been in the country longer than that cannot be charged with state crimes, the bill's authors said.
The bill does not limit arrests to border areas, allowing police to arrest illegal immigrants anywhere in the state.
How will this affect asylum seekers?
Anyone who enters the United States, legally or illegally, has up to one year to apply for asylum.
The federal government is asking immigrants not to show up at ports of entry, but instead to schedule appointments with immigration officials on the CBP One app. But the 1,450 appointments available each day across the U.S.-Mexico border fill quickly, and many migrants choose to leave their ports of entry, cross the border and surrender to U.S. authorities.
Kathleen Campbell Walker, an El Paso immigration attorney and former president and general counsel of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said that under SB4, if Texas police apprehend immigrants before they surrender to Border Patrol, they will be denied future asylum. He said this would affect the application.
When immigrants apply for any type of benefit to remain in the country, including asylum, federal officials investigate whether the applicant has a disqualifying criminal history, such as a gross misdemeanor or felony. do.
“This person has been arrested under state law, and under U.S. immigration law, if I were to be charged and convicted of a state crime, I would have a state crime and could be removed from the United States.” she said. she said.
How did the Biden administration respond?
Neither President Biden nor any administration official has made any public comment on SB 4.
How did Mexico react?
Mexico's Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena's office said in a statement that it “categorically rejects any measures that would allow state and local authorities to detain and deport nationals and foreign nationals to Mexican territory.” The statement did not explicitly say that Mexico would refuse to accept immigrants removed under Texas law.
Immigration experts said Mexico is under no obligation to accept immigrants from Texas who are not Mexican citizens. In fiscal year 2023, approximately 83% of the 1 million migrants encountered by Border Patrol at the Texas-Mexico border were not Mexican nationals. Many come from Central and South America, Asia, and Eastern European countries.
Tonatiu Guillén López, former director of Mexico's National Institute of Migration, said that, like in the United States, Mexico's immigration policy is set at the federal level, and Mexico does not negotiate agreements with individual U.S. states. said.
“Texas cannot do this because it does not have diplomatic relations with Mexico,” Guillen López said.
