Texas Gov. Abbott Signs Law Making Illegal Entry from Mexico a State Crime

Good on ya, Texas.

Shame you'll be siding with California in the Hollywood-craved civil war.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill making Texas the first state in the union to give law enforcement officers the authority to arrest migrants who illegally enter the state. The measure, SB 4, was signed into law on Monday during a ceremony at the base of the border wall in Brownsville, Texas.

The bill is part of a package of measures designed to decrease the flow of migrants entering the state from Mexico. The Texas Legislature passed the bills during two special sessions this fall.

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Senate Bill 4 from Special Session #4 makes illegal entry into Texas from a foreign country a criminal offense. The law is the latest attempt by the state to crack down on migrants illegally entering the state between ports of entry. By creating the offense of illegal reentry, offenders can be penalized with sentences of up to 20 years in prison. It also provides the mechanism to order an offender to return to the foreign nation from which they entered or attempted to enter this state. The law provides civil immunity and indemnification for local and state government officials, employees, and contractors for lawsuits resulting from enforcing these provisions.

The law is similar to a current federal statute under Title 8 of the United States Code 1325, which makes illegal entry into the United States a misdemeanor offense for a first-time offender and a felony for a second offense. Under the current administration, the federal statute is not pursued to any significant degree.

Also similar to proceedings carried out under federal law, migrants may agree to return to their home country as part of sentencing agreements. The process in federal courts is known as Stipulated Deportation, where a previously deported migrant waives his right to a separate immigration hearing and agrees to removal as part of the sentencing process.

This is an interesting legal problem. Biden will sue Texas, claiming that Texas has no right to make its own law in this area, because the federal government has a special, constitutionally-granted power to make law affecting the border and a state cannot contradict the laws set forth by the federal government.

But... does this state law contradict the federal law? There is a federal law against illegally entering the country -- Biden is just ignoring that law.

Now, maybe state law has to yield to federal law, but state law doesn't have to yield to a president's mere policy of ignoring a federal law on the books.

But I think this law might fall, because the Texas law is different than the federal law. The federal law begins as a misdemeanor for first offense, then becomes a felony with the second offense. The Texas law is a major felony on the first offense.

I'm afraid that Biden will argue that this law is superseded by federal law and it will be struck down.

However, as a back-up, Texas can pass a law criminalizing illegal entry that substantially tracks with the federal law. Then Biden cannot argue that Texas is attempting to supersede superior federal law.

Then, Texas will have the power to enforce the law that the Biden Administration has chosen not to enforce. And what will a court say then? That a president's lawless decision to ignore the standing law of the US also trumps state law?

I don't think so. Maybe they'll get lucky and get a Hawaiian judge to agree to such a rule, but an the Fifth Circuit apcourt won't bless that.

posted by Disinformation Expert Ace at 01:23 PM

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