Texas efforts to restrict illegal crossings at the US-Mexico border are challenged

Civil rights groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday against a new Republican-backed law in Texas that will give state officials broad powers to detain, prosecute and deport people who illegally cross the border between USA and Mexico.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Austin, Texas, claims that the law signed Monday by Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott unlawfully infringes on the federal government’s authority under the Constitution to enforce immigration laws. from the country.

The groups, led by the American Civil Liberties Union, also claimed that the law, which takes effect in March, illegally prevents immigrants from requesting asylum or other humanitarian protections from the US government.

The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, announced on Tuesday that his government will also challenge the recent Texas anti-immigration law, which he described as “inhuman.” “We will always be against these measures,” he added.

The president explained that a procedure was being carried out with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for this purpose, without offering more details.

The law, known as SB4, allows state judges to order the deportation of people, with sentences of up to 20 years in prison for immigrants who refuse to comply. The Republican-controlled Texas legislature passed the measure in November.

Adriana Pinon, legal director of the Texas chapter of the ACLU, said the law was one of the most extreme immigration crackdown measures taken by a U.S. state.

“The bill ignores fundamental constitutional principles and flouts federal immigration law, while harming Texans, particularly brown and black communities.”Pinon said in a statement.

Abbott noted Monday that the law was necessary because of the alleged failure of Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration to curb the rise in illegal immigration.

Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor of immigration law at Cornell Law School, said before the lawsuit was filed that the Texas law was vulnerable to legal challenges.

Yale-Loehr cited a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said Arizona could not authorize state officials to detain and prosecute people for being in the United States illegally, because that was the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government.

Texas is already embroiled in a series of court cases related to Abbott’s efforts to deter and punish illegal border crossings, known collectively as Operation Lone Star.