Photo: LOREN ELLIOTT / AFP / Getty Images
Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a new law allowing local and state police to arrest people entering the United States illegally. The new bill makes it a misdemeanor to enter or attempt to enter Texas from Mexico anywhere other than a lawful port of entry.
The bill also allows the courts to order migrants to return to Mexico or face prosecution in the United States. A second violation of the law would be a felony.
The new law does not make exceptions for migrants who claim asylum unless their claim has already been granted.
Abbott said the new law was necessary to "stop the tidal wave of illegal entry into Texas."
"Biden's deliberate inaction has left Texas to fend for itself," Abbott said.
The American Civil Liberties Union said it plans to fight the new law, arguing that it violates the Constitution.
"It's very much our view that Texas has no authority to police and prosecute immigration crimes," said David Donatti, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. "We will go to federal court to make it so they are never able to do so."